7th Meeting of the Sino-German Working Group on Energy

On October 19th 2018, the 7th Meeting of the Sino-German Working Group on Energy was successfully held in Suzhou. Representatives from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and the National Energy Administration of the P.R. China (NEA) reviewed and discussed the recent progress of cooperation within the Sino-German Energy Partnership and decided on focal topics in the field of energy for the upcoming term.

Participants of the 7th Meeting of the Sino-German Working Group on Energy, ©NEA
Participants of the 7th Meeting of the Sino-German Working Group on Energy, ©NEA

The Sino-German Working Group on Energy is an important cooperation mechanism between Germany and China in the energy sector. The working group meets once a year to review previous achievements and progresses and to identify areas and activities for future cooperation between BMWi and NEA. During this year’s meeting, the German and Chinese delegations decided to extend cooperation in the following areas: electricity spot markets, renewable energy subsidy tendering schemes, flexibilization of the electricity sector, sustainable heating and energy storage. By signing a renewed version of the working group’s guidelines, both sides expressed their commitment to further deepen the bilateral cooperation on energy.

In his concluding remarks, Mr. Thorsten Herdan, Director General (DG) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) thanked NEA for their hospitality and fruitful discussions and announced the “Sino-German Energy Day” which is planned in China for 2019. Subsequently, Mr. An Fengquan, Deputy Director General (DDG) of the National Energy Administration of the P.R. China (NEA) closed the meeting by thanking all participants for the fruitful discussions and expressing his wish to further extend both sides’ successful cooperation and to quickly succeed with implementing the agreed activities.

The 7th Meeting of the Sino-German Working Group on Energy was held in parallel to the International Forum on Energy Transitions (IFET) in Suzhou on October 19th 2018. Chaired by Mr. Thorsten Herdan, Director General (DG) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and Mr. An Fengquan, Deputy Director General (DDG) of the National Energy Administration of the P.R. China (NEA), more than 30 representatives from both sides’ government agencies, think tanks and research institutions participated in the meeting. The German side was represented by members of BMWi, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the German Think Tank Agora Energiewende, Deutsche Energie Agentur GmbH (DENA) and the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy. The Chinese side was represented by NEA (multiple departments), the Electric Power Planning & Engineering Institute (EPPEI), NDRC’s Energy Research Institute (ERI), the China National Renewable Energy Centre and Huaneng Group.

The next energy working group meeting between BMWi and NEA is scheduled for 2019 in Germany.

Mr. Thorsten Herdan, Director General of BMWi in Discussion with Mr. An Fengquan, Deputy Director General of NEA, ©NEA

Mr. Thorsten Herdan, Director General of BMWi in Discussion with Mr. An Fengquan, Deputy Director General of NEA, ©NEA

Mr. Thorsten Herdan, Director General of BMWi in Discussion with Mr. An Fengquan, Deputy Director General of NEA, ©NEA

Signing the Renewed Working Group’s Guidelines, ©NEA

Signing the Renewed Working Group’s Guidelines, ©NEA

Signing the Renewed Working Group’s Guidelines, ©NEA

During the Working Group Meeting on Energy, ©NEA

During the Working Group Meeting on Energy, ©NEA

During the Working Group Meeting on Energy, ©NEA

Mr. Thorsten Herdan, Director General of BMWi at the Working Group Meeting on Energy, During the Working Group Meeting on Energy, ©NEA

Mr. Thorsten Herdan, Director General of BMWi at the Working Group Meeting on Energy, During the Working Group Meeting on Energy, ©NEA

Mr. Thorsten Herdan, Director General of BMWi at the Working Group Meeting on Energy, ©NEA

Mr. An Fengquan, Deputy Director General of NEA at the Working Group Meeting on Energy, ©NEA

Mr. An Fengquan, Deputy Director General of NEA at the Working Group Meeting on Energy, ©NEA

Mr. An Fengquan, Deputy Director General of NEA at the Working Group Meeting on Energy, ©NEA

Ms. Yin Yuxia, Director of Sino-German Energy Partnership at the Working Group Meeting on Energy, ©NEA

Ms. Yin Yuxia, Director of Sino-German Energy Partnership at the Working Group Meeting on Energy, ©NEA

Ms. Yin Yuxia, Director of Sino-German Energy Partnership at the Working Group Meeting on Energy, ©NEA