On September 19, 2017 local time, Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the Global Pact for the Environment Summit at the UN headquarters in New York.

In his speech, Wang Yi expressed that China supports the international community to enhance dialogue and cooperation and jointly cope with sustainable development problems including environmental protection via multilateral platform. China is willing to actively participate in global environmental governance, firmly support and implement the Paris Agreement, and contribute its share to advance a fair and reasonable, win-win cooperative multilateral system of international environmental governance.

Wang Yi said that the interests of all parties should be taken into consideration during advancing international cooperation in environmental governance, including the process of discussing and drawing up the Global Pact for Environment. The following four points should be followed.

Firstly, insist on discussing environment problems under the framework of sustainable development to serve the coordination and harmonization between environment protection and economic and social development.

Secondly, follow the principle of “common but differentiated responsibility” to help developing countries steadily improve the level of environmental governance and sustainable development capability.

Thirdly, stick to the principle of national sovereignty of environmental resources, which is the premise of international cooperation in environment, as well as the rights bestowed upon each country by the UN Charter and the principles of general international law.

Fourthly, insist on the full involvement of developing countries. Developing countries are in the practical need of enhancing environmental protection and governance while developing economy and improving people’s livelihood. Developing countries should become indispensable participants in international environmental governance.

Wang Yi said that China attaches great importance to sustainable development, upholds the development concept of innovation, coordination, green, open and shared benefits, and has already included ecological civilization construction into national development strategy. President Xi Jinping further highlighted in his speech at the headquarters of the UN in Geneva early this year that ecological civilization construction will become an important dimension of the international community’s construction of a community of shared future for mankind. China is willing to actively participate in global environmental governance, firmly support and implement the Paris Agreement, and contribute its share to advance a fair and reasonable, win-win cooperative multilateral system of international environmental governance.