Sino-German Environmental Partnership (SGEP) Phase III

State of implementation/results

• The project supports key work streams of the Sino‑German environmental dialogue between the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China (MEE) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) and their affiliated institutions. It also supports the EU-China circular economy cooperation with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
• The project coordinates the German contribution to the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED). Within this framework, a Scoping Study and a Special Policy Study (SPS) on Circular Economy co-led by Ms Ilka Hirt, Deputy Director General for International Policy at BMUKN and Prof HU Qing, Southern University of Science and Technology was supported by the project. The first-year SPS concluded with policy recommendations submitted to the State Council of China in 2025. The second-year SPS “Advancing High-Quality Development through Circular Economy with Smart Digitalization” launched in January 2026, aims to support the development of China’s circular economy regulations under the 15th Five-Year Plan period.
• A CCICED Training Tour was conducted in November 2025. The delegation engaged with EU and German stakeholders, gaining insights into biodiversity, climate action, just transition, and circular economy. A summary report with policy recommendations was submitted to MEE.
• In cooperation with the Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center of MEE (FECO), the project held three technical exchanges on chemicals management in 2025. Summary reports and recommendations were shared with FECO to support internal knowledge exchange and policy discussions.
• In 2026, the project facilitated delegation tours to China and Europe. Participants met government, research, and industry stakeholders to explore circular economy approaches focusing on eco‑design, Digital Product Passports and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). The visits contributed to the SPS research and policy recommendations, enabled mutual learning and provided concrete takeaways for Germany on policy design.
• In April and May 2026, six EU-China circular economy pilots were launched on EPR topics, including EPR in the recycling of wind turbine blades, closed-loop recycling of plastics from vehicle to vehicle, ecological modification of packaging and recycled PET for use in food packaging. Each pilot involves European or German companies and promotes exchange and mutual learning between the circular economy industries in China and Europe.
• In June 2026, the project hosted an EU-China policy workshop on “Transition to a Circular Economy - Circular Wind: Wind Turbine Decommissioning” in Beijing, bringing together about 60 policymakers, academia, and industry representatives, to jointly discuss the policy development, best practices and innovative solutions on wind turbine recycling.

Latest Update:
09/2026

Further links

• CCICED Special Policy Study Report - Digital-Green Dual Transformation and the Sustainable Development of Cities (2024)