As the world's two largest economies, China and the United States are the most prominent stakeholders in global climate change governance. With dynamic shifts in the global political and economic environment, both nations have the responsibility to work together to jointly address global challenges and advance the cause of sustainable development. From November 2 to 4, 2023, Energy Foundation China (EF China) organized, supported, and participated in four exchange activities between Chinese and American provinces, states, and cities, after hosting and participating in California Governor Newsom's visit to China on October 26, 2023. These events were strategically designed to promote cooperation and dialogue in critical areas, encompassing climate change mitigation, expeditious transition to sustainable energy sources, cultivation of green industry sectors, and stimulation of environmentally conscious investments. We look forward to both economies collaborating to confront multifaceted challenges of global climate change and promote ecologically sound and economically robust development.

President Zou Ji participates in the Roundtable on China-U.S. Subnational Legislatures Cooperation.

On the morning of November 2, 2023, “the Roundtable on China-U.S. Subnational Legislatures Cooperation” cohosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the Standing Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Congress and the State Legislative Leaders Foundation was successfully held in Nanjing, China. With the theme of "Collaborative Approaches to Addressing Climate Change", this meeting invited more than ten representatives from the Standing Committees of People's Congresses of the provincial, municipal and regional levels in China, including Jiangsu Province, Beijing and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, as well as speakers from California, Georgia, Alabama, and Delaware in the United States. For the first time after the Covid-19 pandemic, this in-person meeting provided the platform for high-level officials to share their insights and experiences on climate action at the provincial and state levels of the two countries, to discuss cooperation on climate governance and legislation at the provincial and state levels, and to contribute to reviving local-level exchanges between China and the United States. Zou Ji, CEO and President of EF China, was invited to attend the event and delivered a keynote speech.

Provincial and state legislative representatives in China and the United States unanimously acknowledge the importance of fortifying local collaboration in the sphere of climate action. China and the United States should not only maintain communication and exchanges between provinces and states in their respective climate legislation fields and specific project levels, but also need to effectively promote substantive climate and green economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. As the world's largest economies and major carbon emitters, China and the United States should jointly implement the goals of greenhouse gas reduction and temperature control, thus making due contributions to the environmental improvement and healthy development of all mankind. The participants highly recognized the dialogue and exchange mechanism between legislative institutions in Chinese and American provinces and states. They called on more constructive approaches when handling any geopolitical disparities. Furthermore, they hold high expectations for strengthening and deepening China-US provincial and state climate cooperation in the future.

In his keynote speech, Zou Ji, CEO and President of EF China, proffered a strategic proposition advocating that competition and cooperation coexist in the climate field; cooperation should be the main theme, and competition should be fair based on rules. Competition is supposed to be conducive to reducing costs, enhancing service quality, and boosting innovation. In recent years, China has achieved outstanding development in the expansion of wind and solar power generation capacity, as well as in the proliferation of electric vehicles, while the state level in the United States, represented by California, has also demonstrated ambitious carbon reduction and energy transition plans. Looking forward, it is important for both China and the United States to maintain an all-round and multi-dimensional dialogue mechanism, and jointly strengthen provincial and state cooperation and practice in addressing climate change.

EF China participates in the "Climate Change and Environment Protection" themed parallel session of the Fifth China-U.S. Sister Cities Conference

On November 3, 2023, the grand opening of the Fifth China-U.S. Sister Cities Conference took place in Kunshan, Suzhou. This event was jointly hosted by the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government and the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. The China-U.S. Sister Cities Conference stands as a pivotal platform to facilitate local exchanges between China and the United States. The conference's overarching theme, "Building Green Cities and Sharing the Well-being of the People," attracted representatives from more than ten provinces and cities in China and nearly 20 mayors from 22 states in the United States, amassing a total of approximately 200 guests. EF China was invited to participate in a parallel session on the theme of "Climate Change and Environment Protection."

The "Climate Change and Environment Protection" session featured the participation of seven senators or mayors representing five U.S. states, as well as foreign affairs representatives from five Chinese provinces and cities. Han Wei, the Director of Projects at the President’s Office of EF China, said in her speech that cities are important carriers of carbon emissions, and the sustainable and low-carbon development of cities is the key to addressing climate change. Over the years, EF China has diligently expanded its efforts to encompass a diverse array of local provinces and cities in China, including Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Hainan, Qinghai, and others. These initiatives have offered vital support to these regions on navigating local green and low-carbon transitions during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, facilitating the exploration of novel urban frameworks and development models and championing comprehensive advancements in clean energy and electrification. EF China will continue to promote cooperation between Chinese and American provinces, states and cities. This collaborative framework is geared towards addressing the multifaceted ramifications of climate change, spearheading the development of renewable energy sources, fostering innovation in green technologies, and promoting their widespread applications.

During this conference, with the support of EF China, the United States Heartland China Association (USHCA) led a delegation of mayors to visit China. The group had six mayors hailing from U.S. states including Indiana, Missouri, Tennessee, and Minnesota, alongside experts, scholars, U.S. mission representatives, and delegates from the USHCA. The delegation was under the stewardship of Mayor James Brainard of Carmel, Indiana. Before coming to Suzhou, the mayoral delegation had already visited various Chinese cities, such as Wuhan and Nanjing. In these cities, they had the opportunity to tour green and low-carbon pilot demonstration projects, and discussed with local government officials and senior representatives on the topics of China-U.S. green cooperation, clean energy transformation, and climate action.

EF China organizes a visit for representatives from various U.S. states to new energy enterprises in Suzhou

In an effort to enhance the understanding of China's burgeoning new energy sector and stimulate exchanges between Chinese and American counterparts, EF China, with the support of the Suzhou Development and Reform Commission, organized representatives from the State Legislative Leaders Foundation and several U.S. legislators to carry out a field visit and a comprehensive discussion on new energy power system solutions on the morning of November 4. David Sokola, President Pro Tempore of the Delaware Senate; Jan Jones, Speaker Pro Tempore of the Georgia House of Representatives; and Laura Hall, Representative of the State of Alabama and President of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators visited the GoodWe Technologies Co., Ltd. (GoodWe). They exchanged information on the company's innovative research and production in the domain of new energy power equipment, encompassing solar and energy storage solutions. Subsequently, these state legislators went to Canadian Solar, to visit SolBank’s large-scale energy storage product line. The delegation delved into discussions revolving around the potential of energy storage solutions to facilitate efficient energy consumption and enhance global energy accessibility.

On the afternoon of November 4, a delegation of U.S. legislators and representatives from the mayoral delegation of the USHCA, accompanied by representatives from EF China, visited the Suzhou Xiangcheng Comprehensive Energy Station. In 2021, EF China entered into a memorandum of cooperation with Xiangcheng District to provide technical support for Suzhou High-speed Rail New City to be a pilot project for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality in urban and rural development. This initiative stands as one of the first of its kind within Jiangsu Province. Suzhou High-speed Rail New City has thoughtfully conceptualized the Comprehensive Energy Station, which serves as an efficient centralized energy supply system that integrates electricity, heat, gas, and water supply networks. It capitalizes on a diverse array of energy sources tailored to the local conditions, encompassing electricity, steam, gas, solar power, air energy, reclaimed water, and dual energy storage. The approach aims to comprehensively enhance energy utilization efficiency, streamline energy control, and foster a harmonious synergy between various energy resources. The U.S. delegations affirmed the innovative model of the Comprehensive Energy Station and actively engaged in discussions with the technical experts regarding local energy management practices and the array of future developmental opportunities.

EF China organizes seminars and talks to conduct in-depth exchanges on local practices

In order to better facilitate exchanges between Chinese and American provinces, states and cities in promoting local green and low-carbon development practices, EF China, in collaboration with Southeast University's Yangtze River Delta Carbon Neutrality and Strategic Development (Suzhou) Research Institute, organized a roundtable discussion with the theme "Suzhou's New Economic Development Drivers during the '15th Five-Year' Period" in Suzhou on the afternoon of November 4. This discussion convened a diverse group of participants, including representatives from various U.S. states, local government officials, and experts, to discuss the new opportunities and challenges facing Suzhou's future green and low-carbon development. The roundtable was presided over by Zhu Xiaoming, Director of the Yangtze River Delta Carbon Neutrality and Strategic Development Research Institute of Southeast University. Gu Haidong, member of the Standing Committee of the Suzhou Municipal Party Committee and the Executive Deputy Mayor, attended the meeting. Other attendees included mayors and legislators from Indiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Minnesota, and Mississippi, alongside experts, scholars, diplomatic agency representatives, and association representatives from China.

Deputy Mayor Gu Haidong underscored various statistical data of Suzhou, such as industrial output value and import-export trade volume, in recent years. He elaborated on Suzhou's numerous achievements over the past decade, under the guidance of the "dual carbon" objective, including the improvement of local water resource conditions and air quality, low-carbon optimization in the domain of transportation, and the cultivation of green, low-carbon practices in the construction sector. Deputy Mayor Gu expressed that the global response to climate change is a collective responsibility of humanity, as well as a pivotal area of cooperation between China and the United States. Simultaneously, achieving "carbon peaking" and "carbon neutrality" represents an inherent imperative and an inevitable mission of China's developmental process. As the two largest economies and the biggest carbon emitters, China and the United States should collaborate proactively to shoulder the shared responsibilities for global warming, ignore geopolitics and other influencing factors, and carry out exchanges and cooperation within the sphere of low-carbon endeavors. All of this is aimed at a shared goal: the concerted effort to construct a more sustainable and flourishing global habitat. Furthermore, Deputy Mayor Gu extended a warm welcome to the representatives from the United States, and invited them pay more visits to Suzhou.

Zou Ji, CEO and President of EF China, perceived this meeting as a significant opportunity for both the Chinese and American delegations to collaboratively delve into discussions on "carbon neutrality" initiatives. Over the years, EF China has been committed to serving as a bridge between China and the United States on climate change, clean energy transformation, and green and low-carbon development. Zou Ji was optimistic that representatives from both China and the United States would intensify people-to-people exchanges and visits. Through these interactions, both countries can mutually benefit from each other's valuable experience in the realm of green and low-carbon development, and strengthen the non-governmental connections between the two countries through collaboration in the low-carbon sector. This, in turn, would give rise to additional cooperation opportunities and enable a joint combat global climate warming.

James Brainard, Mayor of Carmel, Indiana, representing the United States, affirms the views articulated by the Chinese delegation in their speech, and emphasized the importance of collaboration and exchanges between localities in China and the United States in the low-carbon sector, even in light of the differing political foundations of the two countries. Mayor Brainard acknowledged China's significant accomplishments in the low-carbon domain and believed that China's practices could serve as valuable inspiration for other nations. He called on proactive efforts on both sides to seek opportunities for cooperation, bolster exchanges and discussions, especially in strengthening exchanges and education between Chinese and American youth.

During the open discussion session, the participants engaged in heated dialogues and deliberations concerning various aspects of collaboration, encompassing sustainable development, low-carbon environmental measures, urban economic progress, green investments, and the role of cities in advancing green and low-carbon initiatives. David Sokola, President Pro Tempore of the Delaware State Senate, underscored the monumental challenge that climate change presents to humanity as a whole. He encouraged the commercial application of science and technology to contribute to the collective welfare of humanity. Chokwe Lumumba, Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, hoped to draw upon Suzhou's experience on safeguarding historic structures during low-carbon construction endeavors. Kimberly Norton, Mayor of Rochester, Minnesota, commended Suzhou's distributed photovoltaic projects and expressed a strong interest in learning from the valuable experience.

On the afternoon of November 2, Zou Ji, President of EF China, led a delegation to meet with Jiangsu Development & Reform Commission, Nanjing Municipal Commission of Development & Reform, the Suzhou Municipal Development & Reform Commission, and the Yangtze River Delta Carbon Neutrality and Strategic Development Research Institute of Southeast University. The meeting provided a retrospective view of the collaborative efforts over the past two years since the signing of a cooperation memorandum between EF China and Suzhou and Nanjing. The work has been focused on exploring pathways to achieve the "dual carbon goals," fostering innovative models for low-carbon and high-quality economic development, and proposing solutions for energy conservation and emission reduction in various industries at the municipal level. Additionally, fruitful discussions were conducted regarding potential cooperation at the provincial level with Jiangsu Province in areas such as distributed renewable energy development, inter-provincial green electricity transmission, management of industrial chains and supply chains of transnational enterprises, and international exchanges.

On the afternoon of November 3, Zou Ji, President of EF China, along with the delegation, visited Yan Bo, Director General of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment, and Lai Xiaoming, Director of the Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange. In-depth discussions were conducted on various aspects of Shanghai's atmospheric prevention and control, environmental impact assessments, and carbon trading. Furthermore, both sides had pragmatic deliberations regarding the future collaborative mechanisms and directions of cooperation with EF China.