This Saturday (7 November), Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks will travel to China for political talks. The annual meeting of the China Council on International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) in Beijing is at the centre of this five-day trip. As one of the two international vice-chairs, Minister Hendricks is a member of this high-level body.
Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks stated: "The cooperation in the environmental council of the Chinese government is a great opportunity to support China in its transformation towards sustainable economic practices. The council has dealt with the topic intensively and will focus on it even more during the next phase of its work.
Climate action, urbanisation and water supply are crucial to China's development. Germany and China have been cooperating closely and successfully in these areas for some time now. "We want to strengthen this by signing a joint declaration", commented Minister Hendricks.
In Beijing, Minister Hendricks will meet her Chinese colleague Dr Chen Jining, Minister of Housing Chen Zhenggao, Minister of Water Resources Chen Lei and the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme Achim Steiner.