On 5 July, at the 'EU-China Smart City Forum', Günther H. Oettinger, EU Commissioner for Energy will deliver a keynote speech on ‘EU and China: together for better cities and for better lives’ making an explicit reference to the overall theme of the World Expo 2010. DG ENER will present its ‘Covenant of Mayors’ initiative. From their side, Chinese government will explain their achievements and projects for energy successful urban initiatives.
On 6 and 7 July, at ‘Building Bridges: China-EU Energy Cooperation Conference’, a high-level Opening Ceremony will be followed by a series of half-day conferences on renewable energies, smart grids and alternative fuels.
Following the event a European business delegation will visit hi-tech zones and techno-centers situated in the Shanghai region in order to establish contacts, which could lead to a longstanding relationship.

More: Preliminary agenda

China's endeavours in the energy field
Today, China is really improving its energy policy towards a cleaner one. The major impetus for China to be proactive in the energy field is to secure its energy needs. Some recent figures are striking:

• China invested 576.3 billion yuan in the power sector in 2008;
• In 2008, China added 90 million kW of power generation capacity, including 20.1 million kW of hydropower capacity, 65.75 million kW of coal-fired capacity and 4.66 million kW of wind power capacity;
• China has currently 11 nuclear power reactors (9GWe) in commercial operation and another 22 under construction. Four nuclear power reactors in China, whose construction is scheduled to begin in 2009 and 2010, will use the third-generation technology.
• Regarding RES, China achieved in 2008 (i.e. two years ahead of schedule) its 2010 objective of having 10% of electricity power capacity coming from renewable energy sources.