The China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED), a high-level, non-governmental advisory body, was established by the State Council of China in 1992. Its purpose is "to further strengthen cooperation and exchange between China and the international community in the field of environment and development."

The inaugural meeting of the CCICED was held in Beijing from 21 to 23 April 1992 under the chairmanship of State Councillor Song Jian. The meeting adopted the terms of reference, rules of procedure and reviewed the financial report and budget. Five expert working groups were established: energy, pollution control, resources accounting and pricing, biodiversity, and science and technology. At the end of the session, council members met with Premier Li Peng.

The second meeting of the CCICED was convened in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province from 3 to 5 May 1993. At this meeting the CCICED made its first recommendations on energy, biodiversity, resources pricing, and other actions to realize sustainable development. At the end of the session, council members met with President Jiang Zemin.

The third meeting of the CCICED was held in Beijing from 20 to 22 September 1994. The council submitted to the Chinese government its second set of recommendations based on the reports of the six working groups and the subsequent discussions. The establishment of a Working Group on Trade and Environment (WGTE) was approved. At the end of the session, council members met with Mr. Li Ruihuan, chairman of the National People's Political Consultative Conference.

The fourth meeting of the CCICED was convened in Beijing from 18 to 19 September 1995. It was decided that the focus of the second phase would be further directed at more substantive and applicable research, and that the council should concentrate its energy on the major problems of China's environment and development, making more applicable policy recommendations and demonstrations that could be emulated on a wider scale. At the end of the session, members met with Premier Li Peng.

The fifth meeting of the CCICED took place in Shanghai from 23 to 25 September 1996. The outline for the working direction of the second phase of the council was submitted and approved at the meeting. At the end of the session, council members presented recommendations to Premier Li Peng.

The first meeting of the second phase of the CCICED was held in Beijing from 3 to 5 October 1997. The meeting approved the new terms of reference, rules of procedure, and new working group co-chairs for the second phase. It also bid fond farewell to retiring Chairman Song Jian. Eight expert working groups and one task force were established to cover energy, environmental economics, biodiversity, trade and environment, pollution control, cleaner industrial production, sustainable agriculture, transportation, and economic and environmental planning. At the end of the session, council members presented recommendations to Premier Li Peng.

The second meeting of the second phase of the CCICED was held in Beijing from 16 to 18 November 1998. This was the first meeting held under the chairmanship of Vice Premier Wen Jiabao (reflecting the higher priority given to the environment under the new government of Premier Zhu Rongji). Participants debated China's economic reforms and the CCICED's role, reviewed the reports by eight expert working groups, one task force and relevant ministries, governmental agencies and local authorities on progress made in China on environmental protection and economic development. Finally, members discussed their recommendations with the premier.

The third meeting of the second phase of the CCICED was held in Beijing from 19 to 21 October 1999. Wen Jiabao, Chairman of the CCICED, addressed the opening ceremony. A general debate session was focused on priority issues that China should pay high attention to in its formulation of the 10th five-year plan. The meeting heard reports from the CCICED secretary general, eight working groups, one task force, relevant ministries, government agencies and local authorities. Premier Zhu Rongji met with council members and working group co-chairs on the second day of the session.

The China Council has several unique features:

• Although it is appointed by China, the council is encouraged to be open, frank and critical of China's policies;

• It meets annually face-to-face with the premier or another senior leader;

• Its terms of reference include both environment and development, which are seen as opposite sides of the same coin;

• All members are high level (normally vice-minister or equivalent);

• All international experts are appointed in their personal capacities, not as spokesmen for their countries (although most Chinese members have ex officio capacity because their ministry or institution is directly involved in the work of the council);

• All units of the CCICED—the chairman's executive bureau, the council itself and the expert working groups—are run jointly by Chinese and foreigners. The council even has a joint Chinese-Canadian secretariat;

• Membership goes beyond government officials; it includes academics, non-governmental and multilateral agency representatives and businessmen (e.g., senior executives of Shell, Dow Chemical, Kobe Steel); and

• It is financed at a modest level by China, Canada and a few middle-sized donors.

Organization

The council, which meets annually, has some 50 Chinese and international members. The members from China are of ministerial or vice-ministerial rank, together with several eminent Chinese experts. The international members are of comparable rank or position. Members participate as experts in their personal capacities, at the invitation of the Chinese Government. They have been chosen for their expert knowledge and experience and come from different fields of expertise: environment, economics, science, technology, energy policy, agriculture, industry, business, finance and education. The Chinese members come from ministries, agencies and educational institutions directly concerned with the central issues of economic development and the environment.

The bureau consists of the chairman, Vice Premier Wen Jiabao, and four vice-chairs: Prof. Qu Geping, chairman of the Committee of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Conservation of the National People's Congress; Mr. Liu Jiang, vice chairman of the State Development and Planning Commission; Mr. Xie Zhenhua, administrator of the State Environmental Protection Administration, and Dr. Huguette Labelle, president of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). The bureau acts as the executive of the council.

Expert Working Groups have been established by the council, each jointly chaired and staffed by Chinese and international experts. The six WGs in phase I of the CCICED were on the following areas: energy strategies and technologies; monitoring, data analysis and pollution control; scientific research, technology development and training; resource accounting, environmental economics and pricing policies; protection of biodiversity; and trade and sustainable development. In phase II, some WGs were been retained, some have undergone reorganization and some new groups have been established. They are as follows:

• Energy strategy and technology, co-chaired by Prof. Ni Weidou and Prof. Thomas B. Johansson;

• Pollution control, co-chaired by Prof. Qu Geping and Dr. Toni Schneider;

• Environmental economics, co-chaired by Prof. Li Yining and Prof. Jeremy Warford;

• Protection of biodiversity, co-chaired by Prof. Wang Song and Dr. John MacKinnon;

• Trade and environment, co-chaired by Dr. Ye Ruqiu and Mr. David Runnalls;

• Sustainable agriculture, co-chaired by Prof. Sun Honglie and Dr. Bernie H. Sonntag;

• Cleaner industrial production, co-chaired by Prof. Qian Yi;

• Transportation, co-chaired by Mr. Wang Yangzhu and Dr. Rudolph Peterson; and

• Task force on environment and planning, co-chaired by Mr. Liu Jiang and Mr. Martin Lees

The working groups analyze important problems that China faces in environment and development, propose strategies based on international experience and China's needs, conduct demonstration projects and prepare preliminary recommendations for the council. The council then decides what recommendations to forward to the Chinese Government. Council members present these recommendations in person to a senior Chinese leader at the end of their deliberations.

Two council secretariats have been established to facilitate the council's work.

• The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) has been designated as the responsible Chinese organization for the CCICED. It has established the CCICED Secretariat Headquarters Office in Beijing. Professor Zhang Kunmin, former deputy administrator of the National Environmental Protection Agency (predecessor of SEPA) and currently adviser to the Minister of the State Environmental Protection Administration, is the secretary-general of the council.

• The Canadian secretariat has been formed at the David See-Chai Lam Centre for International Communications of Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. This secretariat, which is headed by Professor Earl Drake, former Canadian ambassador to China and currently adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University, manages contributions from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), British Department for International Development (DFID), Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and some other agencies; recommends international experts; publishes a quarterly newsletter; and works closely with the headquarters secretariat to support the CCICED.

For more information on the CCICED, please visit the CCICED Web site in Vancouver.