The 26th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change among China, India, Brazil, and South Africa was held in Durban, South Africa between May 19 and 20. Xie Zhenhua, China's Special Representative for Climate Change headed a delegation to the event, with members from the climate change and international cooperation departments of MEE and the Department of Treat and Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the meeting, the BASIC Ministers exchanged views, coordinated positions, and reached broad consensuses on the ongoing global process on climate governance, the outcomes of the UNFCCC COP24, and the major issues about the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

The Chinese delegation shared the important instructions made by President Xi Jinping on China's ecological and environmental protection and climate change response at the just concluded National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection, which exhibited China's responsible attitude towards addressing climate change and spearheading the global ecological civilization development. The meeting incorporated "building a community with a shared future for mankind, in terms of climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emissions development" into the BASIC joint statement, thanks to the vigorous efforts of the Chinese delegation. This is the first time the philosophy of "building a community with a shared future for mankind" has ever been reflected by a multilateral international document on response to climate change.

The following is the full text of the draft joint statement of the 26th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change.

Draft Joint Statement of the 26th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change

(This English version is for your reference only.In case any discrepancy exists between the Chinese and English context, the Chinese version shall prevail.)