The European External Action Service (EEAS) will host an international expert roundtable conference on the topic of “Engaging China on Climate Change: Crossroads of 21st-century Foreign Policy” on 2 February 2011 in Brussels. Participants will include the EU institutions and its Member States, leading experts on China and climate change. The roundtable is co-organised with the European Commission (DGs CLIMA and ENER).

The aim of the roundtable is to foster the further integration of EU international climate policy and EU foreign policy by furthering our understanding of existing openings in the remit of other related EU policies (such as industrial policy, research, trade, development co-operation etc.) The roundtable will also contribute to increasing EU diplomats’ readiness to engage in relevant discussions with partners internationally and within the EU, beyond their own policy area and provide climate and other area specialists useful insight to the broader dynamics of EU-China relationship. The deliberations during the day will also provide a useful opportunity to harness the knowledge of the EU diplomatic community effectively in advancing the climate agenda with China.

The roundtable will also serve to pilot a novel approach for EU level discussions on a specific country for a specific foreign policy priority topic. In order to maximize the possibilities to incorporate ideas and conclusions from this roundtable to policy work a roundtable report will be produced which will be disseminated to the participants as well as shared and discussed with other political decision makers.