On June 25, 2026, the "ASEAN-China Dialogue on Green and Sustainable Development under CAFTA 3.0", a major event of the ASEAN-China Environmental Cooperation Week 2026, was held in Danzhou City, Hainan Province. The event was co-hosted by the China-ASEAN Environmental Cooperation Center / Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center / Technology Center for Environmental Convention Implementation of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China (FECO) and the Department of Ecology and Environment of Hainan Province, and co-organized by the WWF Beijing Office. It received joint support from the ASEAN Secretariat and the Danzhou Municipal People’s Government. Representatives from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China and its affiliated institutions, local ecology and environment departments, the ASEAN Secretariat, environmental and climate departments of ASEAN member countries, UN agencies, international organizations, research institutes, and industry enterprises attended the event.

Ms. LIU Shijun, Programme Director of UNDP China, and Mr. ZHANG Fuming, Director of Foreign Trade Division, Department of Commerce of Hainan Province, delivered leading remarks. Mr. WANG Xingli, Deputy Director of the Department of Ecology and Environment of Hainan Province, moderated the meeting. The meeting featured two major topics for thematic speeches: "ASEAN-China Cooperation on Green Finance and Sustainable Investment" and "ASEAN-China Cooperation on Green Value Chains and Sustainable Transition".

Ms. LIU Shijun pointed out that achieving economic growth while addressing climate change is a developmental task that China and ASEAN countries must advance synergistically. By strengthening green and low-carbon cooperation, ASEAN and China are making positive contributions to global and regional governance. Faced with common development opportunities and climate challenges, both sides should align closely with the trend of systemic regional green transition. Seizing the opportunity of the deep advancement of the CAFTA 3.0 upgrade, both sides should focus on deepening cross-regional cooperation in key areas such as green industries, advanced manufacturing, clean energy, green finance, and climate governance capacity building, so as to share development dividends and walk hand in hand toward a more prosperous, inclusive, and zero-carbon future.

Mr. ZHANG Fuming stated that Hainan is fully pushing for a greener trade structure, newer trade formats, and deeper regional cooperation, striving to build a high-level, international, and regional green trade highland. Standing at the new starting point of island-wide independent customs operation, Hainan will closely align with the national "dual carbon" strategy. Relying on the overlapping advantages of the free trade port's policies, legislation, and strategic location, Hainan will actively promote the international alignment and mutual recognition of ASEAN-China green and low-carbon product technologies and standards. Hainan also aims to upgrade supply chain formats such as bonded reparation and circular economy, leveraging the free trade port's opening-up opportunities to empower the green transition of cross-regional economic and trade cooperation.

During Topic 1, "ASEAN-China Cooperation on Green Finance and Sustainable Investment", Ms. DU Hongxia, Senior Manager of WWF Beijing Office; Ms. JIANG Yinglin, Senior Vice President of Sustainability Strategy, Bank of China Hong Kong; Mr. Carlos Serrano, Head of the Secretariat, The Alliance for Green Commercial Banks, International Finance Corporation; and the representative from FECO focused on topics such as bridging regional climate investment and financing gaps, promoting the alignment of cross-regional green and transition finance taxonomy standards, carrying out complementary practices combining mixed financing with China's characteristic Eco-environment-oriented Development (EOD) model, and strengthening South-South knowledge transfer and green capacity extension. They shared innovative tools and cooperation prospects for finance supporting regional low-carbon transition and sustainable investment, and exchanged views on practical pathways to precisely connect capital with cross-regional green industries by deepening cooperation among regional financial institutions.

During Topic 2, "ASEAN-China Cooperation on Green Value Chains and Sustainable Transition", Mr. Sitthideth Nonthaxay, Director of Environmental Quality Analysis Center, Biotechnology and Ecology Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of Lao PDR; Mr. Phuriputr Huvanandana, Professional-Level Environmentalist, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Thailand; Mr. CHEN Zuohong, Principal Staff Member, Division of Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection, Hainan Provincial Development and Reform Commission; Ms. Izzana Salleh, Secretary General, Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC); and the representative from FECO focused on topics such as developing full-supply-chain geospatial traceability and international mutual recognition of carbon footprint accounting standards, promoting the transfer of renewable energy technologies, empowering low-carbon and green logistics through Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and China's cold chain industry transformation blueprint, and supporting vulnerable groups such as ASEAN smallholders with green finance tools. They shared typical cases and policy approaches for the green and low-carbon upgrade and sustainable transition of regional industries, and exchanged views on practical measures to collaboratively construct more climate-resilient cross-border green industrial chains and high-value-added circular supply chains.

The representatives unanimously agreed that at the new starting point of the high-quality implementation of the CAFTA 3.0 upgrade, ASEAN and China should leverage their respective ecological and resource advantages to further deepen the comprehensive alignment of economic and trade rules within the region. By improving green and low-carbon standards, enriching green transition financial products, and eliminating green trade barriers, both sides can jointly build traceable and more resilient cross-border green supply chains and value chains. Both sides can also work together to cultivate a cross-regional system of new quality productive forces, achieving a win-win pattern characterized by socially inclusive growth and the high-quality development of the regional green economy.

This meeting is one of the series of activities of the ASEAN-China Environmental Cooperation Week 2026. It aimed to promote exchanges on regional green finance, green supply chains, and value chains, share standard rules, investment and financing tools, and best practices, facilitate green trade liberalization and industrial chain collaborative carbon reduction, and boost the high-quality development of the regional green economy. This event contributes cooperative achievements to the 35th anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN-China dialogue relations and the 5th anniversary of the ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.