Sino-German Action Plan on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency

Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke and Zheng Shanjie, head of the State Commission for Development and Reform (NDRC), signed an action plan for a strategic dialogue on the topics of circular economy and resource efficiency in Beijing on April 16, 2024. With the action plan, both countries want to deepen their environmental policy cooperation and provide impetus for concrete cooperation in the environmental sector.

The action plan calls for high-level government meetings once a year to facilitate strategic dialogue. China and Germany will exchange strategies, legislation and instruments for the circular economy. The main focus is on particularly relevant materials (such as plastic and metals) and sectors or product groups (for example packaging, construction, vehicles and batteries). Representatives from politics and business, from companies and associations as well as from research and civil society will be part of the different dialogue formats.