China is among the earliest countries who have established a permanent representative institution to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Over the years, China and UNEP have carried out a wide range of cooperation across the environmental fields, including environmental governance, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem protection, ozone layer protection, cleaner production, chemicals management, implementation of multilateral environmental agreements, environmental law enforcement, capacity-building, public awareness-raising, and environmental education and training. Meanwhile, the Chinese Government has dispatched official delegations to actively participate in the UNEP governing meetings, including the United Nations Environment Assembly, Open-Ended Committee of Permanent Representatives, and international environmental conventions negotiation process led by UNEP.

  To further deepen bilateral cooperation, UNEP established ChinaCountry Office inBeijing in September 2003 to coordinate and facilitate UNEP activities within China. In 2006, the former State Environmental Protection Administration and UNEP established an annual working meeting mechanism. In 2009, the former Ministry of Environmental Protection and UNEP signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which identified priority areas and modalities of cooperation. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment and UNEP renewed the Memorandum of Understanding in 2013, 2018, and 2023.

  In 2012, then Premier Wen Jiabao announced at the Rio+20 Summit the establishment of a China Trust Fundthrough a contribution to UNEP to support environmental management capacity-building activities in developing countries. The Trust Fund has a total amount of USD 12 million, which was implemented in two phases, with USD 6 million allocated to each phase. Based on China’s contribution, UNEP implemented a series of regional and international environmental projects, providing training for a large number of environmental officials, managers, and technical professionals from developing countries. These efforts have significantly strengthened environmental protection capacities in developing countries and made important contributions to the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

  The Chinese Government has actively participated in World Environment Day activities and has hosted the global celebrations on three occasions (Beijing in 1993, Shenzhen in 2002, and Hangzhou in 2019). The theme of the World Environment Day global celebrations held in Hangzhou in 2019 was “Beat Air Pollution”. President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to the event, and then Vice Premier Han Zheng attended the main event and delivered a keynote address. The event received high praise from UNEP.

  China’s active contributions to global environmental affairs have been highly recognized by UNEP. Former Chinese leader Li Peng was awarded the United Nations Environment Medal. Two former Ministers of the State Environmental Protection Administration, Qu Geping and Xie Zhenhua, received the UNEP Sasakawa International Environment Prize.Former Minister of Environmental Protection Zhou Shengxian was honored with UNEP’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Environmental Policy and Leadership. Since UNEP launched the Champions of the Earth Award in 2005, organizations and individuals from China have received the award a total of ten times, including one Policy Leadership Award, four Inspiration and Action Awards, three Entrepreneurial Vision Awards, one Science and Innovation Award, and one Lifetime Achievement Award.