The “Joint Press Communiqué following the Second EU-China High Level Environment and Climate Dialogue”, released on 10 October 2021, is related to a September 2020 joint decision to initiate a high-level political dialogue exclusively devoted to the topic of climate change, the “High-Level Environment and Climate Dialogue” (HECD). The goal of the two parties is to “advance global climate ambition on mitigation, adaptation and finance” through cooperation and establish a bilateral platform for regular exchange on climate change policy. The second meeting took place on 27 September 2021 between Frans TIMMERMANS, vice-president of the European Commission, and HAN Zheng, Senior Vice Premier of the State Council and Politburo Standing Committee. The meeting underlined the aspiration to conduct climate diplomacy on a high level of decision-making hierarchy and the EU’s and China’s ambition to take a leading role in the fight against climate change and the loss of biodiversity, especially in the context of the recently held World Climate Conference in Glasgow and the Convention on Biological Diversity in Kunming.
