The 11th China Europe Water Platform (CEWP) High-Level Dialogue Conference took place in Brussels, on the 2nd of February 2026, back-to-back with the 3rd EU-China High Level Dialogue on Water.
The Conference was organized by the Ministry of Environment and Energy of Portugal (European Co-Secretariat of CEWP) and the European Commission, in coordination with the Ministry of Water Resources of the People’s Republic of China (Chinese Co-Secretariat of CEWP). It was hosted by Commissioner Jessika Roswall and led by the Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, Mrs. Inês Domingos, and the Chinese Minister of Water Resources of China, Mr. Li Guoying.
This year’s Dialogue was focused on "Improving Water Resilience Through Strengthening Cooperation" and was an opportunity for an exchange of views among European Member States, European Commission and China on best practices to improve water resilience.
Commissioner Roswall presented the European Water Resilience Strategy and stressed the relevance of international cooperation on water. Secretary of State Inês Domingos stressed the relevance of CEWP as a strategic forum for water cooperation between Europe and China and referred to the impacts of climate change that are being felt in Portugal putting water resources management under pressure. Minister Li Guoying presented the main measures that are being taken in China, namely on flood prevention and management, water conservancy and ecological restauration of rivers. It was also mentioned the investment that is being made in water digitalization, and it was stressed the importance of continuing this political dialogue, as well as the reinforcement of research cooperation.
On behalf of EU Member States, Slovakia, Croatia, Finland, Malta, Sweden and France also took the floor to refer the importance of CEWP and to share some of the main lines of activity that are being developed at national and regional levels. Representatives from Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxemburg, Spain and The Netherlands were also present. This Dialogue was followed by the presentation of a Progress Report and the perspectives for future work within the Platform.
Two keynote speakers were invited to present on the nexus “Water and Climate Change” in each region, and there were two Thematic Exchanges sessions on “Basin Governance Under Climate Change and Twinning Cooperation” and on “Innovative Diversified Water Financing”.
The final part of the Conference was dedicated to a River Basin Twinning Ceremony, where two partnerships agreements - between the Haihe River Water Conservancy Commission (China) and the Seine Grands Lacs Organization (France) and between the Changjiang Water Resources Commission (China) and the General Directorate of Water Management of Hungary (Hungary) – were signed.
Please find here the agenda and PPTs presented in the meeting:
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- Agenda
- Progress Report: China-EU Water Cooperation, by Hao Zhao, Director-General, International Economic & Technical Cooperation and Exchange Centre, MWR (CEWP Chinese Secretariat) and Diana Carlos representative from the Portuguese Ministry of Environment and Energy (CEWP European Secretariat)
- Progress of EU-funded "EU-China Cooperation on Water Project" by Yinghao Li, Team Leader
- Restoration strategy for Portuguese rivers: nature-based solutions by Inês Andrade, Member of the Board, Portuguese Environment Agency
- Innovations in Resilient Water Networks by Dai Jiqun, President, Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, Ministry of Water Resources of China
- Haihe Basin Governance & Twinning Cooperation by Liu Jiangxia, Deputy Director, Water Resources Conservation Scientific Research Institute, Haihe River Water Conservancy Commission and Baptiste Blanchard, Seine Grands Lacs organization
- Management of the Songliao River Basin Under Global Climate Change and China-Italy Cooperation on Basin Twinning by Yin Xiongrui, Deputy Director, Basin Planning and Policy Research Centre, Songliao Water Resources Commission and
- Po River Basin District Authority presentation by Mrs. Patrizia Marani from the Italian Po River Basin
- Thoughts and Measures for the Yangtze River Basin Governance Under Climate Change & Twinning Cooperation by Xu Zhaoming, General Planner, Changjiang Water Resources Commission and Mr. Lábdy Jeno, General Directorate of Water Management of Hungary
- China-Spain Cooperation in Water by Jucar River Basin (Spain) and Hebei Province representatives
- OECD: Innovative Water Financing Mechanisms by Sophie Tremolet, Water Team Leader OECD
- Zhejiang’s practice in Realizing the Value of Water Ecological products by Xu Jiangnan, Division Chief, Zhejiang Provincial Department of Water Resources