On November 20, 2018, Zhang Jianguo, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and Administrator of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, met with Christian Zinglersen, Head of the Secretariat of the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM). The two sides exchanged views on the evolution of the CEM cooperation mechanism and China‘s participation in the mechanism.
Vice Minister Zhang Jianguo firstly welcomed Mr. Christian Zinglersen and his delegation to MOST. He pointed out that the Chinese government attaches great importance to the development of clean energy and that China now ranks first in the world in terms of installed capacity and construction scale of hydropower, wind and photovoltaic power generation. He noted that during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, MOST has implemented four key projects in the field of clean energy. Meanwhile, Vice Minister Zhang Jianguo said that the CEM is the most influential permanent ministerial mechanism in the field of clean energy in the world and also the main international intergovernmental multilateral cooperation mechanism to promote the R&D and innovation of clean energy and to address climate change through energy transformation. He said that China has so far joined 10 initiatives and seven challenges under the CEM and set up corresponding Chinese implementing agencies for all the relevant initiatives and that cooperation between the two sides has yielded fruitful results. Vice Minister Zhang Jianguo affirmed that as one of the founding members of the CEM, China is willing to continue to work closely with CEM member states and the CEM Secretariat to promote the development and transition of clean energy technology in the world.
Mr. Christian Zinglersen appreciated the fruitful work done by China in the field of clean energy and believed that China plays a critical role in the field of global clean energy development. He recalled the 8th Clean Energy Ministerial hosted by China in 2017 and pointed out that the meeting provided an all-new direction for the future of CEM. He also said that the China-led EV initiative was very successful and looked forward to an increasingly important role played by China in the CEM.
Chen Linhao, Deputy Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation of MOST, attended the meeting.