On November 24, 2016, Vice Minister Yin Hejun met in Beijing a delegation led by Daniel Calleja Crespo, the Director General, Directorate-General for Environment of the European Commission. The two sides held in-depth discussions about the global challenges, circular economy, and the role of S&T innovation in sustainable development. 

Yin Hejun welcomed Mr. Daniel Calleja Crespo, and made a brief introduction of China’s current S&T innovation, its role in supporting economic and social development as well as the major mechanisms and progress of China-EU S&T innovation. He stressed the ideas of “innovation, coordination, green, open and sharing” development, and introduced the positive roles played by China’s high-tech zones and innovation demonstration zones in expediting industrial upgrading, creating favorable environment to develop innovation, optimizing economic structure and increasing economic benefits. Mr. Daniel Calleja Crespo shared European Union’s pursuit of smart, inclusive and sustainable development, and introduced the EU’s development of circular economy from such aspects as reducing carbon emissions, increasing resource utilization, strengthening industrial competitiveness and bringing benefits to society.

Both sides noted that China and EU share similar development ideas, and that means enormous space and potential of bilateral cooperation. Both sides agree to, on the basis of the existing mechanisms designed to promote bilateral cooperation in S&T innovation, discuss new areas of cooperation and explore new models of cooperation to expand and deepen pragmatic cooperation in the field of environmental protection.