Associated Press:

I would like to ask about China's policy in terms of climate change in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative project. Chinese institutions have been investing heavily in coal projects overseas, and this has raised concern among environmentalists in particular for the Belt and Road project. So, I was wondering if there might be any measures to compensate for the carbon emissions that might increase due to these projects for the Belt and Road.

Xie Zhenhua:

A large part of the Belt and Road cooperation is infrastructure development, which features a lock-in effect, meaning that long-term carbon emissions are mostly determined by the technologies, materials and standards the project adopted at its initiation. When proceeding with the Belt and Road development, the Chinese central government has been very clear that all the construction projects should be green and follows a low carbon path. Therefore, all the projects will adopt the latest technologies, save resources and energy as much as possible, and ensure the best performance in emissions reduction. Our existing standards on energy conservation and climate change reduction should also be adopted for both industrial and non-industrial programs. Moreover, the programs can also use as reference world-leading standards on climate change adaption in order to promote local development and cut emissions at the same time.

We have arranged several "South-South Cooperation" programs with countries along the Belt and Road to help increase their capacity to cope with climate change and also initiated some public welfare programs to help protect the local environment. When proceeding with Belt and Road development, we will strive to ensure the way forward is green and follows a low carbon path.

Both developed and developing countries are now wondering if their measures to cope with climate change will affect the local economy and employment. However, based on Chinese practices in tackling climate change, those worries might be unnecessary. I will give you some figures to showcase how China is following a transformative path in tackling climate change.

From 2005 to 2017, the GDP grew 1.8-fold, during which time the country lifted 170 million people out of poverty. Measures for energy conservation, emissions reduction and environmental protection have also created new employment opportunities and new industries. During the period, we have created over 30 million jobs. Those measures have also improved national performance in dealing with environmental pollution, which is beneficial to public health. Therefore, the measures have promoted high quality economic growth, improved people's wellbeing, and protected their health. Our green and low carbon practices will also be introduced to the Belt and Road countries, seeking to avoid the old development pattern of "pollution first, treatment afterwards" that developed countries followed in their industrialization. We have suffered losses in that process and do not want to see countries along the Belt and Road facing the same consequences. Therefore, we will strive to follow a low carbon path and build a green Belt and Road. Thank you.

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