A Conference on China-Africa cooperation in Environment Protection, co-sponsored by China's State Environmental Protection Administration, Chinese Follow-up Committee of FOCAC, and UNEP, was held in the headquarters of UNEP, Nairobi, Kenya on February 21st 2005.

Chinese vice premier of the State Council Zeng Peiyan and Dr.Toepfer, Deputy Secretary General of UN and Executive Director of UNEP, attended and addressed the Conference. Over 300 delegates, including ministers of environment from African countries, ambassadors to Kenya, representatives of the AU, members of AMCEN, high-level officials and delegates from other countries, participated in the Conference which was co-chaired by Wei Jianguo, Chinese vice minister of commerce, and co-chair of the Follow-up Committee of FOCAC, and Mr. Keita, Mali's minister of environment and vice chairman of the AMCEN.

As pointed out by vice premier Zeng Peiyan, this Conference, as one of the important follow-up actions within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, will advance the environmental cooperation between China and African countries through enhanced mutual understanding and communication based on policy dialogue and exchanges. He gave brief introduction on issues like fostering a conservation-conscious society in all aspects, cultivating and acting on a scientific concept of development, vigorously developing a circular economy, and properly handling relationship between economic development on the one hand and population, resources and the environment on the other for a comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development. Zeng also indicated that China and Africa share vast prospects and huge potential for cooperation on environmental protection. To strengthen China-Africa cooperation in this aspect will not only provide a sound opportunity for both sides to learn from and complement each other but also accumulate helpful experiences for closer cooperation on environmental protection among developing countries. He put forward initiatives to forcefully press head with technical cooperation on environmental protection, further step up personnel training, and expand the scope of exchanges on environmental protection between China and Africa. Zeng also expressed willingness to offer assistance to African countries in these fields.

Considered as an important progress for the realization of UN's Millionaire Goal of Development, China's initiatives were highly appreciated and warmly welcomed in Dr. Toepfer's address, and he also expressed hopes for China to play even greater role in the process of China-Africa environmental protection cooperation.

Minister of China's State Environmental Protection Administration Xie Zhenhua briefed to the conference on China's achievements in the field of environmental protection and made specific suggestions concerning the implementation of the proposals by premier Zeng.

African delegates considered the convening of the Conference as a new page of China-African Environmental Cooperation, which demonstrated the importance attached to the cooperation by the Chinese government. They sincerely hoped that China could support and assist African countries in human resources development and technical cooperation on environmental protection.

Before the Conference, vice premier Zeng met with representatives from AMCEN (ministers of environment from Namibia, Mali, and Central Africa), and AU. They exchanged views on China-Africa cooperation in environmental protection.