BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Building on the Joint Statement between the People's Republic of China and the French Republic on Cooperation in Addressing Global Climate and Environmental Challenges, issued on December 5, 2025, and the Joint Statement between the People's Republic of China and the French Republic on Climate Change on the occasion of the Tenth Anniversary of the Paris Agreement, issued on March 27, 2025, the Working Group on Addressing Climate and Environmental Challenges held its inaugural meeting in Beijing, China, on May 20, 2026.

The meeting was co-convened by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, and the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic, in collaboration with eight relevant Chinese Ministries and the French Ministry for the Ecological Transition, Biodiversity and International Climate and Nature Negotiations, which is co-leading this Working Group for France. The Working Group is a new and important platform for dialogue between China and France in the field of climate and environment.

Both sides exchanged views on key issues in the field of climate and environment, including global climate governance, and expectations for the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31) and the Second Global Stocktake, climate mitigation and energy transition, climate adaptation, biodiversity, land degradation and forests, pollution, water and ocean, territorial spatial planning and ecological conservation and restoration, as well as climate, biodiversity and environmental finance.

The two sides reaffirmed their commitments to upholding multilateralism, strengthening practical actions, and enhancing international cooperation, in the perspective of international conferences and processes. The two sides stressed their joint support for the objectives, principles and institutional arrangements of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and other relevant multilateral environmental agreements. The two sides reaffirmed the importance of fully implementing those international legal instruments. The two sides stood ready to work with other Parties to promote the success of UNFCCC COP31, CBD COP17, and UNCCD COP17.

The two sides discussed their respective policies, strategies and expressed their intention to continue collaborative efforts on nationally determined contributions, non-CO2 greenhouse gases including methane, clean energy and energy efficiency, early warning, biodiversity, forest protection, land degradation, pollution, including plastic pollution, coastal and ocean governance, water resources, territorial spatial planning and ecological conservation and restoration, climate, biodiversity and environmental finance. They also reaffirmed their attachment to science and exchanged views on the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution (ISP-CWP).

The two sides are committed to maintaining regular exchanges under the Working Group, enhancing mutual understanding on climate and environmental policies, and exploring practical cooperation in areas of common interest in accordance with their respective national priorities and international commitments.

The two sides expressed their intention to hold the second meeting of the China-France Working Group on Addressing Climate and Environmental Challenges in Paris, France in 2027.