Media Note Office of the Spokesman Beijing, China January 16, 2003
Joint Statement of the U.S. - China Working Group on Climate ChangeFollowing is the text of a joint statement issued by the United States and China upon the conclusion of the U.S.-China Working Group on Climate Change in Beijing, China, January 16, 2003.
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"The United States and the People’s Republic of China agreed today to cooperate on a broad range of climate change science and technology activities at the third meeting of the U.S. – China Working Group held in Beijing, China, on January 14 – 16, 2003. The meeting of the working group was conducted under the agreement reached by President George W. Bush and President Jiang Zemin in February 2002 to undertake consultations to explore common ground and areas for cooperation on climate change.
Both sides recognized the importance of sustainable development in addressing the issue of climate change. They also agreed that economic growth will play a key role in this regard.
The respective delegations were led by Dr. Harlan Watson, Senior Climate Negotiator and Special Representative of the Department of State for the U.S. side, and by Mr. Gao Feng, Head of Delegation, Deputy Director-General, Department of Treaty and Law for the Chinese side.
The 14 member U.S. delegation included representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Energy and its Energy Information Administration and Pacific Northwest and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories, U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The 27 member Chinese delegation included representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State Development and Planning Commission and its Energy Research Institute, Ministry of Science and Technology, State Environmental Protection Administration and its Center for Policy Studies, China Meteorological Administration and its National Climate Center, Tsinghua University, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Administrative Center for China’s Agenda 21.
The United States and China identified 10 areas for cooperative research and analysis: non-CO2 gases, economic/environmental modeling, integrated assessment of potential consequences of climate change, adaptation strategies, hydrogen and fuel cell technology, carbon capture and sequestration, observation/measurement, institutional partnerships, energy/environment project follow-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), and existing clean energy protocols/annexes.
The two sides further agreed to continue policy exchange and to review results of joint project cooperation. The fourth meeting of the U.S. – China Working Group on Climate Change will take place in the United States in May 2003."
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Released on January 21, 2003
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