The Ninth Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM9) and the Third Mission Innovation(MI-3) Ministerial  were held in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Malmo, Sweden, respectively, from May 23 to 24, 2018. A Chinese delegation led by Vice Minister Li Meng of the Ministry of Science and Technology attended the meetings. Members of the delegation included representatives of the National Energy Administration, the Department of Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection of the National Development and Reform Commission, and the relevant departments of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Co-hosted by the four Nordic countries and the European Union, the meetings were attended by ministerial representatives of 24 countries including China, Australia, France, Germany, India, Korea, Britain and the United States, and also of the European Union, as well as representatives of some internationally known research institutions, enterprises, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the International Energy Agency and other international organizations. Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen addressed CEM9. The two meetings produced a series of results. Among them, CEM9 announced the launch of four initiatives on regional and global energy interconnection, clean energy investment and financing, carbon capture, utilization and storage, and nuclear innovation , and set up four campaigns on gender equality by 2030, long-term scenarios for clean energy transition, distributed generation in strategic regions, and power system flexibility. For its part, MI-3 announced the creation of Hydrogen Energy Innovation Challenge, of which China is one founding member, as well as the establishment of 14 bilateral or multilateral partnerships under the seven challenges of the MI framework.

At the meetings, Vice Minister Li Meng made speeches to express China‘s propositions and specifically expounded on the profound connotations of the five major ideas of development, especially green development, put forward by General Secretary Xi Jinping. Vice Minister Li Meng made an introduction to China’s practices to lead high-quality development guided by the five major ideas of development and put forward China’s action plans, drawing high attention and appreciation from all participating countries. The relevant Chinese proposals also won endorsement and response from other countries. Among them, the regional energy interconnection initiative, which was established under the CEM mechanism with China as the leading proponent for the first time, won unanimous praise from the participating countries. And some countries concerned voiced their support for the initiative right at CEM9. The electric vehicles initiative, in which China is a co-leader, won a growing number of participating countries. China’s specific action measures and achievements in the field of clean energy technology innovation and deployment drew attention and appreciation from all parties. Denmark, Britain, Finland and other countries invited bilateral and multilateral talks to explore opportunities for cooperation, showing China’s growing influence in the CEM and MI mechanisms.

In addition to the ministerial meetings, Vice Minister Li Meng also addressed the Smart Grid Workshop and the side events on flexible low-carbon energy systems and electric vehicles.