On November 11, 2025, under the guidance of the Department of Solid Wastes and Chemicals and the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), the Technical Coordination Group Meeting for the Implementation of the Stockholm Convention in China and Global Inception Workshop of the GEF funded Shifting to Zero Waste Against Pollution (SWAP) Initiative Project was held in Tianjin. The meeting was hosted by the Environmental Convention Implementation Technical Center/Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center of MEE (hereinafter referred to as FECO) and co-organized by the Tianjin Ecology and Environment Bureau. The meeting shared China’s latest progress and experience in controlling persistent organic pollutants (POPs), explored enhanced synergistic governance of convention implementation and new pollutants, and jointly planned for a green and sustainable future. It also launched the Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded Shifting to Zero Waste Against Pollution (SWAP) Initiative Project, jointly implemented by FECO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Ms. Ding Qiong, Deputy Director General and Director General-level official of the Department of Solid Wastes and Chemicals of MEE, along with Ms. Mu Ying, Deputy Director General-level official of the Department of Energy Conservation and Comprehensive Utilization of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ms. Li Xia, Deputy Director General of FECO and Ms. Zhang Tao, Secretary of Party Leadership Group of Tianjin Ecology and Environment Bureau attended the meeting and delivered remarks. Representatives from GEF, UNDP, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and participating countries of the SWAP Project were also present and delivered speeches. FECO presented an overview of China’s progress and outlook in convention implementation, while the head from the Tianjin Ecology and Environment Bureau delivered a report sharing key provincial experience.
DDG Ding Qiong stated that China has consistently prioritized the management of new pollutants like POPs, making continuous new progress in advancing POPs management through strengthening of implementation mechanisms, ongoing refinement of legal frameworks and standards, sustained efforts to prevent and control environmental risks from POPs, deepening green development in relevant industries, and active participation in global governance of POPs. Moving forward, China will implement various objectives and tasks with high quality, striving during the 15th Five-Year Plan period to propel China’s POPs control to a new level.
DDG Mu Ying emphasized that China's industrial sector has gained a profound understanding of the intrinsic connection between green industrial transition and global environmental governance. It will continue to advance the reduction and substitution of harmful substances such as POPs, strengthen green technological innovation, and promote a shift in new pollutant management models toward the approach of combining precise identification, profound elimination and risk control.
DDG Li Xia stated that China has been actively implementing measures to manage POPs and fulfill its obligations under the Stockholm Convention. FECO will anchor its efforts on POPs governance to promote green industrial upgrading, continue to maintain robust cooperation with international organizations and bilateral partners to establish a knowledge hub for convention implementation. FECO will also drive green and sustainable financing for convention implementation, continuing to contribute Chinese wisdom and solutions to environmental convention implementation.
Secretary Zhang Tao stressed that Tianjin has actively advanced pilot demonstrations by improving its convention implementation mechanisms and enhancing its capabilities, thereby continuously elevating the environmental management standards for solid wastes and chemicals. The city has efficiently completed green transition projects such as the phase-out and substitution of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) and decabromodiphenyl ether (Deca-BDE) for convention implementation, contributing Tianjin's wisdom and strength to building a Beautiful China and a Healthy China.
Representatives from relevant international organizations have highly commended China’s progress in fulfilling its obligations. Mr. Anil Sookdeo, GEF Coordinator for Chemicals and Waste, stated that what stands out in China’s work is not only the scale of action, but the habit of learning fast, securing progress, and then taking them to scale. Ms. Beate Trankmann, UNDP Resident Representative in China, commenced that the long-standing partnership between FECO and UNDP has played a crucial role in advancing the Convention implementation and strengthening global knowledge exchange. Mr. Smail Alhilali, Director of UNIDO’s Circular Economy and Green Industry Division, noted that over the years, China has built strong regulatory systems, enhanced monitoring capacities, and promoted the elimination and safe disposal of POPs, achieving remarkable progress towards a cleaner, healthier, and safer future.
Over 120 representatives attended the meeting, including members from the National Coordination Group for Implementing the Stockholm Convention in China, environmental authorities from key provinces, relevant international organizations, and government environmental departments from Norway, Germany, Sweden, Turkey, Uruguay, Sierra Leone, Tunisia, among others. Also present were representatives from universities, research institutes, industry associations, and major enterprises.
