China has committed its full support to the UN's Early Warnings for All Initiative which seeks to ensure that everyone is covered by warnings of potentially dangerous weather by the end of 2027.
At the Belt and Road Forum on Early Warnings for All, the World Meteorological Organization, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China and the China Meteorological Administration signed a cooperation agreement on supporting this UN initiative.
"Earlier Warning, smarter action, higher resilience for a safer world," was the slogan of the Beijing Statement on Early Warnings for All under Belt and Road Initiative issued on 12 April as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. It stresses the importance of early warnings and of deep, rapid and sustained efforts across the board to cope with climate change.
WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas met Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong, who stressed that China attaches great importance to international meteorological cooperation.
Liu said the Chinese government actively supports the UN's Early Warnings for All Initiative and stands ready to work with WMO.
"China is a very strong player in meteorology and we are very pleased that you are able to share your expertise with other countries. This kind of expertise is very much needed in less developed countries to promote climate adaptation capacity and resilience to high-impact weather events. Now we have the Early Warnings for All and that is a great opportunity to implement the Belt and Road initiative," said Prof. Taalas.
WMO and the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) are working together to strengthen regional meteorological cooperation and meteorological support for the Belt and Road Initiative. This includes work in disaster risk reduction, climate services, integrated observation, research and capacity development.
Along the Belt and Road regions, rainstorms, flooding, typhoons, heat waves and drought, low temperature and cold waves are frequent. All countries are faced with shared challenges in terms of meteorological disaster prevention and reduction, and response to climate change, and others.
Dr. CHEN Zhenlin, Administrator of the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) said the administration will continue to share experiences in early warnings, working with NMHSs of developing countries, and providing support for early warnings capacity-building in developing countries under the framework of South-South cooperation.
50th China Study Tour
Prof. Taalas was accompanied by Dr Wejian Zhang,WMO Assistant Secretary-General during the visit, which marked the 50th China Study Tour.
Since 1976, 50 China Study Tours have been organized jointly by the CMA and WMO for about 570 senior officials from NMHSs of developing countries, to share experience and exchange ideas on meteorological development. 30 participants from 21 WMO Members were invited to the 50th Study Tour.
The trip coincided with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the WMO Regional Training Centre Nanjing (RTC-Nanjing), which has increasingly become an important platform for exchanges and cooperation between meteorological departments of various countries. 11 participants among the 50th China Study Tour benefited from WMO/China long term scholarship or RTC-Nanjing's training programme and some of them are now serving as Director-General or other important positions in their NMHSs, which demonstrates the benefits of WMO Education and Training programme.
Prof. TAN Zhemin, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and President of Nanjing University, met with Prof. Taalas to exchange views on deepening cooperation and signed a initial
