Commitments to be honored

Upholding the philosophy of building a community of shared future for mankind, China will join hands with the international community to address the climate challenge and contribute to global ecological safety, a leading Chinese official said.

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, made the remarks while addressing the ECO Forum Global Guiyang 2021 in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province, on Monday.

With the theme "Low-carbon Transition, Eco-Development－Building A Life Community of Human and the Natural World Together", the forum attracted over 500 participants, including senior politicians, leading experts and members of international organizations from home and abroad.

As a member of the international community, China always shoulders due responsibilities as a responsible major world power, said Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

An active participant in international cooperation on protecting the environment and tackling climate change, the country has proactively approved and implemented key international conventions of the United Nations, he said.

Aside from spearheading the publication and implementation of a national plan on its sustainable development strategy, China was the first major developing nation to carry out large-scale management on PM2.5 particulate matter, he said.

"China always honors its commitments," Li said. "China will comprehensively implement targets the country has set to make even greater contributions to environmental and ecological protection and biodiversity conservation and to cope with climate change."

Pohiva Tu'i'onetoa, prime minister of Tonga, said in a video speech that, in recent years, China has made many important contributions to the international community on sustainable development, ecological civilization construction and biodiversity.

The country, for example, is actively implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and firmly implementing the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris climate agreement, he said.

"China's actions and achievements should be recognized and respected by the international community," Tu'i'onetoa said.

Aside from raising ecological civilization's place in the national will and establishing four national pilot zones for ecological civilization, China has actively explored different fields and focuses and achieved rich results in promoting the construction of ecological civilization through policies, laws and ethics, he said.

"These practices can be useful for every responsible country, institution and individual," Tu'i'onetoa said.

Ana Brnabic, prime minister of Serbia, said at the opening ceremony that the concept of eco-civilization is an important contribution to all smaller countries.

"It is a concept that reduces dependence on fossil fuels and separates growth from the use of new resources, in which the poorest and the most vulnerable are protected from the consequences of that transition," she said during her video speech.

Brnabic said the Serbian government is working on the development of a strategic and legal framework for low-carbon development and the circular economy.

Serbia will learn from China's rich experience and deepen cooperation with China in the fields of environmental protection and green transformation, Brnabic said.

"China's experience in reaching a balance between the requirements for rapid GDP growth, the fair distribution of newly created value and the preservation of the environment and sustainable development is very important to us," she said.

Yang Jun contributed to this story.