On 22 June, Environment and Development Think Tank Symposium of China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) was held at Washington D.C.. Mr. Li Ganjie, Vice Minister of Environmental Protection and Secretary General of CCICED, as well as Ms. Jane Nishida, Acting Assistant Administrator for International and Tribal Affairs, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), attended the symposium and delivered a speech.

In his speech, Mr. Li Ganjie reviewed the environment and development process of China and the important effects and profound influence of CCICED in this process. He pointed out that China now is at a crucial stage of transformation and development. In the context of goals and tasks set for ecological civilization and needs for green development, think tanks are endowed with new expectations and faced with good development opportunities. 

American think tanks have a long history of development, accumulating rich experience in promoting government decision, public enlightenment, knowledge transmission and talents cultivation. This is valuable for Chinese think tanks and research institutions to learn from. China and America are the biggest developing country and the biggest developed country in the world respectively, so think tanks for environment and development of two countries have a lot of potential for future cooperation.

In the speech, Ms. Jane Nishida fully recognized the important role American think tanks play in guaranteeing the evidence-based nature of decision making and promoting relevant concept and actions, and promised to support deeper cooperation between think tanks for environment and development of two countries. She hoped that two sides can make concerted efforts to seek solutions for the common problems in environment and development in an innovative way. 

The international participants introduced the development experience of American think tanks, their role in US policy-making, key issues facing think tanks, and in particular their values and work approaches.

CCICED is a high level policy advisory body in the area of environment and development. Faced with new circumstances at the new stage, CCICED is striving to build itself into a new type of high-level think tank with special effects and influence.

This symposium marked the first exchange and communication between CCICED and American counterparts. Symposium participants had broad and in-depth exchanges on the experience in think tank development, the role of think tanks in government’s decision making and their influence on the public, opportunities and challenges faced by think tanks, future cooperation between Chinese and American think tanks for environment and development. As one of the events held on the margins of the seventh session of the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), this symposium received strong support from Chinese and American government. About 40 officials, experts and scholars from Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People’s Republic of China, United States Environmental Protection Agency, World Resources Institute, CCICED, Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning and Policy Research Center for Environment and Economy of MEP participated in this symposium.