ASEAN-China National Focal Point Meeting on Environmental Cooperation 2019 was held by Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center (FECO) of MEE on March 25, 2019 in Beijing. About 40 representatives from home and abroad attended the meeting, including representatives from the Department of International Cooperation of MEE, FECO, provincial and municipal environmental authorities and related organizations in China, as well as representatives from nine ASEAN member countries, including Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and related international organizations, including UNEP, ASEAN Secretariat and ASEAN Center for Biodiversity. This meeting is part of the series of events of ASEAN-China Environmental Cooperation Week 2019.

Tu Ruihe, Representative of UNEP in China, analyzed the overall situation of environmental cooperation in Asia Pacific region, and introduced the environmental cooperation between UNEP and China. He stressed that both sides should take BRI environmental cooperation as an opportunity in the future and focus on deepening the cooperation in green finance and investment, biodiversity and ecosystem, environmental quality improvement and green city.

Mardiah Hayati, senior officer of the Environment Division of ASEAN Secretariat, highlighted the priority areas of cooperation identified in ASEAN 2025:Forging Ahead Together, and expressed appreciation to China for its long-term efforts and contributions in promoting China-ASEAN environmental cooperation, including establishing the China-ASEAN Environmental Cooperation Center, formulating and implementing ASEAN-China Environmental Cooperation Strategies and Action Plans, as well as initiating effective cooperation in priority areas.

During the meeting, representatives from China and ASEAN countries fully discussed the situation of regional environmental cooperation and exchanged the performance of ASEAN-China Environmental Cooperation Strategy (2016-2020), in particular the latest progress of key projects and fields, such as the China-ASEAN Environmental Cooperation Forum, China-ASEAN Environmental Information Sharing Platform, China-ASEAN Partnership for Eco-Friendly Urban Development, Silk Road Green Envoys Program, and environmental technology and industry cooperation. Activity arrangement for China-ASEAN environmental cooperation in 2019 and 2020 were also discussed at the meeting. Eddy Mazuaansah Bin Mohd Ali Murad, Deputy Director General of the Department of Energy, Science and Technology, Environment and Climate Change of Malaysia, Ngo Tuan Dung, Deputy Director General of International Cooperation Department of Vietnam’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and other distinguished guests participated in the discussion.