China will accelerate all-round green transformation of its economic and social development during the period of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for national socioeconomic development, Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang said on Tuesday. Ding, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the chairman of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED), made the statement in addressing the 2026 annual general meeting of the CCICED in Beijing.
Noting that China's tremendous achievements in ecological conservation have won international recognition, Ding said that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China will set bolder green and low-carbon development goals, adopt more robust measures, and establish a more rigorous institutional system.
He called for joint efforts to take practical actions to promote green and low-carbon development and contribute to global climate governance and biodiversity conservation.
He emphasized the importance of fostering green productivity through scientific and technological innovation, and improving global environmental and climate governance through openness and cooperation to ensure the fruits of green development can better benefit people of all countries.
Ding spoke highly of the contributions made by the members and experts of the Phase VII of the CCICED, adding that China has approved the establishment of the Phase VIII of the CCICED.
China will as always strongly support the development of the CCICED, hoping all members and experts will continue to contribute their wisdom and strength to building a beautiful China and to global sustainable development, Ding said.
Founded in 1992, the CCICED is a high-level policy advisory body and two-way exchange platform in the field of environment and development. This year's annual general meeting is themed "Pragmatic and Innovative Cooperation, Advancing Together for Green Development." It brought together more than 400 Chinese and foreign members of the CCICED, and experts and observers from home and abroad.
China to accelerate green transformation during 2026-2030: vice premier
Thousands of evacuees are sheltering in temporary facilities in Bangkok, unable to return home after heavy rain battered the Thai capital over the weekend, leaving widespread flooding across the city.
In Lat Krabang, on the eastern edge of Bangkok, much of the area remains submerged, with floodwaters reaching neck height in some places. The sprawling district includes housing estates, canal-side communities, factories and major roads. It sits a short distance from the Suvarnabhumi Airport.
While some main roads are beginning to reopen, conditions change dramatically in the smaller communities. Among the hardest hit is a housing estate of around 30,000 residents, where people say they have been without electricity, running water, food and drinking water for nearly four days.
"There are no words for it. Everything is just terrible. Just imagine, there are no working toilets, the children can't shower, and there is no food or drinking water. Everything is just piling up. It is an unbearable situation," said Lhin Ong-orn, a resident.
Many residents have moved to a university campus that would normally be filled with students. Its classrooms and other facilities have been repurposed as a refuge for families with nowhere else to go. The campus has become a displacement center sheltering around 2,000 people, one of more than 200 temporary shelters set up across the capital since the flooding began.
Those brought in include elderly residents, people with limited mobility, and others with injuries or health problems. Many have been evacuated from neighborhoods that remain completely cut off, where basic services have been disrupted and essential supplies remain difficult to deliver.
"The water level kept fluctuating, and my father is ill, requiring an oxygen machine around the clock. After the power was cut off on the evening of September 26, the oxygen machine couldn't work. We decided we had to get out, so I contacted rescue foundations to help evacuate my family," said Kittiphong Singhsae, a resident.
Thailand's nationwide flooding since Sept 16 has left eight people dead, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said Monday.
Twenty-eight provinces, including Bangkok, are still affected, mainly in Thailand's central, northern, eastern and northeastern regions. Between Sept 16 and 28, flooding swept through 42 provinces, affecting 1.8 million people, according to the department.
Thousands left without food, power amid severe floods in Bangkok
