Nicolas Chapuis, the EU Ambassador to China (second from right) and Megan Richards, director, Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission (first from right) attend the event. Photo: Yin Yeping/GT

The EU-China Energy Cooperation Platform launch event took place in Beijing on Wednesday, drawing the participation of several hundred people including government officials, diplomats, entrepreneurs, scholars and media. Nicolas Chapuis, the EU Ambassador to China, said that all together, the EU and China are responsible for one-third of the world's final energy consumption. The EU and China share common interests and specific goals for a major revolution of our time, which is the energy transition. "The platform mobilizes a wide range of energy players in China and the EU and it provides a huge opportunity to turn political statements into tangible action for the benefit of our citizens, economies and our planet," the ambassador said. Megan Richards, director, Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission, also gave a speech in which she used a metaphor of the Peking duck to describe the progress in the bilateral clean energy dialogue. "We are a bit like the Peking duck, you don't see its feet walking under the water, but you see it sailing along. That's where we are. We are consistent, we are moving along, and continuing in our strong commitment to progress. The launch of this platform is not just the first action that has been taken in this sector. We have been working with China for many years in clean energy transition and a lot of progress has been made. But we think that there is even more progress that can be made," Richards said. "The platform is a unique tool to turn all of the political objectives into tangible results. We can show leadership to the rest of the world that with our practical development we can really move forward and be an example to all the others." Panel discussions also took place at the event in which energy system reform, gas and clean market development, market finance in energy efficiency, and innovations were being discussed by the panelists.