JINAN - China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) have adopted a new joint action plan on environmental cooperation for the 2026-2030 period, an official said on Sunday.

The plan outlines a series of cooperative activities focused on eight priority areas, laying a solid foundation for trilateral environmental collaboration over the next five years, said China's Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu at the 26th Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting among China, Japan and the ROK held in Yantai, East China's Shandong province.

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The environmental authorities of the three countries have strengthened practical cooperation to jointly address regional and global environmental challenges, Huang said, noting that they have implemented three phases of such plans, achieving substantial results in air pollution control, sandstorm prevention, and chemical environmental management.

Huang added that enhancing environmental cooperation, advancing regional green development and improving people's environmental well-being align with the shared interests of the three countries and that China is willing to work with the other two countries to elevate trilateral environmental collaboration to a higher level.

The annual environment ministers' meeting has been hosted by the three countries in rotation since 1999.