Conference group

On May 23, COSC and the World Resources Institute co-organized the China-US High-level Think Tank Dialogue on Energy and Climate Change in Beijing. COSC Chairman Wang Zhongwei attended and addressed the opening ceremony, which was moderated by COSC Vice Chairwoman Wang Hong. Attendees at the meeting included Liu Yanhua, Counsellor of the State Council and Chairman of National Experts Panel on Climate Change, Mr. He Jiankun, COSC Research Fellow and Vice Chairman of National Experts Panel on Climate Change, Wu Yin, COSC Research Fellow, Xu Dingming, COSC Research Fellow and member of National Experts Panel on Climate Change, Sun Weijia, Director-General of the COSC Department of International Exchanges and Cooperation, and Tian Chengchuan, Deputy Director General of the NDRC Department of Climate Change. 

Dialogue in session
Dialogue in Session.
Speaker at podium
COSC Vice Chairman Wang Zhongwei attended and addressed the opening ceremony.

The dialogue took place at a time when the new US administration was yet to articulate its position on climate change and the implementation of the Paris Agreement was beset with new challenges. It was aimed at facilitating discussions on the energy transition in China and the US and their climate change policies and thus increasing exchanges and understanding between the two countries on energy and climate change. 

Conference group
Group Photo

The National Experts Panel on Climate Change supported and got involved in the dialogue. Participants were all well-known experts on energy and climate change from both countries, including Du Xiangwan, Honorary Chairman of National Experts Panel on Climate Change, Zhou Dadi and Lin Erda, Members of National Experts Panel on Climate Change, Chao Qingchen, Deputy Director of National Climate Center, Teng Fei, Deputy Director of “Tsinghua-Berkeley” Energy and Climate Change Joint Research Center of Tsinghua University, and Liu Qiang, Director of Strategy Department of National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation. 10 former US senior officials and experts attended the dialogue, including Manish Bapna, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, World Resources Institute, James Connaughton, Former Chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and David Sandalow, former Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs at the United States Department of Energy. 

During the dialogue that lasted one and a half days, experts had in-depth discussions on “the situation, trend of development and policy regarding energy reform and low carbon transformation of China and the US, “ policies and actions of China and the US under the new mechanism of the Paris Agreement” as well as “how will the think tanks of China and the US promote China-US cooperation in energy and climate change”. 

(Originally on official website of the Counsellors’ Office of the State Council)