The China-Europe Water Platform Annual Thematic Seminar took place, on the 3rd of February in Brussels, as a major event of the 11th High-Level Dialogue Conference.
This Seminar was organized by the Ministry of Environment and Energy of Portugal (European Co-Secretariat of CEWP), in coordination with the Ministry of Water Resources of the People’s Republic of China (Chinese Co-Secretariat of CEWP) and counted with the support of the European Commission.
As you can see by the agenda, this seminar was designed around 3 different Themes: “Resilience and Flood Management”, “River and Lake Management and Ecological Restoration” and “Water-Saving Industry and Technology Development”.
The Seminar convened EU and China water experts, policymakers, and businesses to foster dialogue and cooperation on critical water management issues. Chaired by Mr. Hao Zhao, Director-General of the International Economic & Technical Cooperation and Exchange Center of China’s Ministry of Water Resources, and Ms. Dagmar Behrendt Kaljarikova, International Relations Officer for Water at the Directorate General for Environment, European Commission, it brought together representatives from the European Commission and the EU Delegation to China, EU Member States Ministries and embassies, China national and regional water authorities, as well as leading water organisations and companies.
The main goals of the Seminar were to strengthen China-EU collaboration in resilience and flood management, advance river and lake restoration, and accelerate water-saving industry development.
With this aim and following the successful approach used in the past similar events, presentations from one european expert and one Chinese expert were made, giving the opportunity for discussing and presenting the different perspectives of the same issue.
Key outcomes included the recognition of digitalisation and artificial intelligence as essential tools for improving water supply resilience and flood management, with successful case studies from both regions. The Seminar highlighted the relevance of restoration targets for ecological restoration and showcased China’s ambitious target to scale its water-saving industry by 2027, supported by new regulations and financial incentives. European strategies emphasised diversification of water sources, resource recovery, and energy-efficient technologies.
The event concluded that ongoing collaboration, knowledge exchange, and innovation are vital for addressing climate challenges and ensuring sustainable water management across both regions.
Please find here all the PPTs presented in the meeting:
- Thematic Exchange 1: Control and Flood Management
- Water Supply Resilience: João Feliciano CEO of AGS-Water Solutions (AGS-Administração e Gestão de Sistemas de Salubridade, SA)
- Three Dimensions of Flood Management: Control, Utilization and Eco oriented Re-creation: Wu Zebin, Deputy Director-General, Research Center on Flood and Drought Disaster Reduction Engineering Technology / Department of Flood and Drought Disaster Prevention, MWR
- Flood resilience & Sponge city development: Professor Frans van de Ven – EU/Dutch-China RESUREXION
- Resilience and Flood Management: Three Flood Safeguard Measures: Hu Weizhong, Vice President of CISPDR Corporation
- Thematic Exchange 2: River and Lake Management and Ecological Restoration
- River ecological restoration practices in Europe: From legal frameworks to implementation: Professor Ana Mendes, Principal Researcher, University of Évora
- China's Practices in River Protection and Governance – Rivers of Happiness: Wang Jianhua, Vice President, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR)
- Groundwater recharge techniques & practices: Mr. Aki Artimo, CEO of Turku Region Water Ltd
- Practice of Sino-Danish Collaboration on Deep Groundwater Recharge: Chen Fei, Deputy Director, General Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Planning and Design, MWR
- Digital Twins in Water and Lake Management: Dr. Noora Veijalainen, Leading hydrologist, Finnish Environment Institute (Syke)
- Digital Twin System for Water Resources Management: Fu Jing, Director-General, Information Center of MWR of China
- Method and Practice of Multi-Objective Integrated Scheduling Supported by Digital Twin Taihu: Feng Dawei, Deputy Director, Taihu Basin Authority, MWR, China
- Thematic Exchange 3: Water-Saving Industry and Technology Development
- Accelerate the Establishment of a Water Conservation Industry Development System: Liu Yongpan, Deputy Director-General, National Water Conservation Office of China
- Water Conservation, Utilization and Protection Technologies in Europe: Hans Goossens, CEO at De Watergroep and President of Water Europe
- China Energy Conservation's Exploration and Sharing in Water Industry: Peng Yunqing, Chairman of the Board, General Water of China Co., Ltd., CECEP
- The equipment for conservation, utilization and protection of Water Resources in Europe and its market expansion: Felix Meyer-Horn, CEO at Aerzener Maschinenfabrik GmbH, Leader of the Water Europe Expert Group on Resource Recovery
The event was funded by the European Commission, through the “EU-China Cooperation on Water Project”.