The 15th Japan-China Energy Conservation and Environment Forum Held (Summary of the Results)

1. Summarized results of the forum

• The 15th Japan-China Energy Conservation and Environment Forum was held on December 26 (Sun.), 2021. Due to the impact of COVID-19, it was held online this year, the same as last year. The event was attended by some 700 stakeholders from both the public and private sectors, including: Minister Hagiuda, Mr. Yamaguchi Tsuyoshi (Minister of the Environment), and Mr. Muneoka Shoji (Chairman of the Japan-China Economic Association), and other officials as representatives of Japan; and Chairman He Lifeng of the NDRC, H.E. Mr. Ren Hongbin (Vice Minister of Commerce), H.E. Mr. Kong Xuanyou (Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China), and other officials as representatives of China.

• Memorandums for establishment of 11 new cooperation projects were exchanged at the forum (see the Appendix). With these exchanges, the number of such projects has come to 413 since the inauguration of the forum in 2006.

• At the plenary session, Minister Hagiuda stated that this forum should focus on "diverse paths to becoming carbon neutral and Japan-China cooperation" and explained Japan's efforts toward carbon neutrality. At the same time, he expressed the importance of Japan-China cooperation toward solving common issues, such as facilitation of smooth energy transition. He also presented the concrete progress of Japan-China cooperation in the fields of hydrogen and energy conservation, and expressed his hope for further expansion.

• Furthermore, the forum provided four sessions titled "improvement of energy efficiency (energy conservation)," "introduction of electrified and smarter vehicles," "hydrogen and clean electricity," and "Japan-China long-term trading (water environment management and sludge disposal)," and representatives of the public sectors, major companies and other organizations from Japan and China exchanged views at the sessions.

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2. Meeting between Minister Hagiuda and Chairman Lifeng, NDRC

• On the same day, Minister Hagiuda held an online meeting with Chairman Lifeng of the NDRC.

• The two ministers affirmed the importance of cooperation on decarbonization between the governments of Japan and China, and discussed speeding up policy dialogs. In addition, they exchanged views on the overall economic policies of both countries.

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Related material

• Appendix: List of the Japan-China cooperation projects (in Japanese) (PDF:295KB)

Division in Charge

• Northeast Asia Division, Trade Policy Bureau

• International Affairs Office, Policy Planning Division, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Department, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy