PARIS, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Climate change has been a major challenge facing the world, while tackling climate change is a priority of global sustainable development and one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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Meanwhile, climate change and the protection of bio-diversity have become an indispensable key topic of the heads of state and the China-France high-level strategic dialogue.

Under the framework of the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership, the two countries have established a partnership for tackling climate change and achieved important results in their cooperation.

In November 2007, China and France signed a joint statement on responding to climate change. In November 2015, leaders of the two countries issued a joint statement on climate change in Beijing. At the Paris Climate Conference held in December of the same year, China and France worked together with the international community to reach the Paris Agreement on tackling climate change. China has always been a firm supporter and participant of the agreement.

Heymi Bahar, senior analyst of Renewable Energy Markets and Policy at the International Energy Agency, told Xinhua that China's carbon-neutrality target is very important to global management on climate change.

Former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said in a recent interview with Xinhua that China and France have undertaken fruitful cooperation under the Paris Agreement and China is an indispensable partner in the field of addressing climate change and protecting bio-diversity.

The EU and China have both committed to achieving net-zero carbon dioxide emissions, thus creating common ground for much deeper cooperation, Laurence Tubiana, France's former top negotiator for climate change, said recently on the Project Syndicate website.

This cooperation does not necessarily have to be limited to the national level and partnerships between cities, regions, provinces and industries have shown great potential, said Tubiana.

In January 2018, the leaders of the two countries jointly decided to launch the China-France Year of the Environment. In October of the same year, the China-France Oceanography Satellite (CFOSat) was launched.

Former French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said in a speech delivered at China's Tsinghua University in June 2018 that the China-France Year of the Environment reflects common will, common interests, and common concern.

According to the Chinese Embassy in France, the 7th International Union for Conservation of Nature World Conservation Congress and the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity will be held respectively in Marseilles, France and Kunming, China next year, which will be another great opportunity for the two countries to cooperate on climate change and biodiversity conservation.