On January 8, speaking at Xi’an, Macron the French President, who visits China for the first time since taking office, said he would request cooperation with Chinese President Xi Jinping in response to climate change and proposed that China and France jointly launch the “Eco-transformation Year”. According to the Xinhua news Agency, President Xi met with French President Macron to visit China at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

The related reports are exciting. "Belt and Road" and cooperation on environment and climate are the focuses that Macron made during his visit to China for the world's attention. Macron is looking forward to establishing an alliance between China and France for "the future of the world," especially in the fields of environment and climate.

As the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, Macron's choice of Xi ' an as the first stop of China's visit shows his support for the "Belt and Road" initiative, while expanding the dimension of ecological cooperation. On climate cooperation, he proposed to work together with China to tackle global warming, and proposed a joint Sino-French “Eco-transformation Year” in 2018-2019.

In promoting the building of an eco-friendly and green “Belt and Road” , China’s social organizations shoulder an important historical mission. In November 2017, President Xi in his congratulatory letter to the forum of the first cooperation network of civil organizations along the Silk Road, emphasized the important role of social organizations in promoting green cooperation and building a civilized road.

CBCGDF will give praise to the achievements of the heads of China and France. Promoting the ecological environment protection, “Belt and Road”, are highly consistent with the work of CBCGDF. On the one hand, since the launch of the "One Belt and One Road” initiative, CBCGDF has been actively promoting eco-friendly and ecologically friendly "Ecological Belts and Roads" (EBRs) in the field of eco-environmental cooperation. As a non-governmental organization, adhere to the concept of ecological civilization in the process of building the "Belt and Road” initiative and contribute to strengthening international cooperation in ecological environment and promoting common people's livelihood. On the other hand, in the area of ecological environment and biodiversity conservation, CBCGDF has been promoting non-governmental communication and cooperation between the two countries.

The introduction of elk has also witnessed the history and friendship between Chinese and French people. At the beginning of the 20th century, the elk was extinct in China. It was re-introduced to China by Europe in 1985 and the "China Elk Foundation" was established, which is the predecessor of CBCGDF. Today, the Elk Reintroduction project is considered a classic case of biodiversity conservation in the world and the species has also become a part of the story of Sino-French friendship. In addition, more than a hundred years ago, Emile Licent, the French Catholic Jesuit priest came to China for archeology and established a museum of nature in Tianjin. The biodiversity conservation, the dissemination and exchange of science and culture between the two countries and the long-standing friendship are of great significance.

Since 2016, the Secretary-General of CBCGDF has met with the French drafter of the World Environmental Convention, the French ambassador to China, the French Development agency in Beijing, the Legal counsellor, the Cultural Education Counsellor, the technical officials and other officials from France to make in-depth communication on the environmental issues of the Sino-French environment and the efforts made in the field of eco-environmental protection. Last fall, the French Embassy held the fourth session of the "Sino-French environment Month" event. At the invitation of Mr. Anthony Manwaring, Legal Counsellor, CBCGDF actively participated in activities and exchanges related to the environment. As the partner of this event, CBCGDF also invited more than ten Chinese environmental law scholars, environmental lawyers, environmental protection society organizations and other participants.

This proposal by President Macron once again reinforces the prospect of official and civil cooperation between China and France on the "Ecological Belts and Roads". As President Xi said, the earth and its ecosystems are the common homeland of mankind. Through its own influence, non-governmental organizations can appeal to governments to improve the top-level design and institutional arrangements for green development and promote the formation of "Government guidance, business operations, business associations to promote" the new eco-environmental cooperation model. As a social organization in China, CBCGDF is looking forward to contributing to the harmonious coexistence of human and nature, to build a better home for humanity, and to promote the Silk Road as a green civilization.

(上图：1月8日，习主席在北京钓鱼台国宾馆会见来华进行国事访问的法国总统马克龙。图片来源/新华社)