EU, China should join forces at COP22 in Marrakech: senior MEPs

he EU and China should join forces at COP22 in Marrakech, Morocco, in order to move forward the Paris agreement, the chair of the European Parliament's delegation for relations with China Jo Leinen said Friday.

"In Paris, China and the EU played a key role of honest brokers among different 'camps' during negotiations. That contributed to the final conclusion of the ground-breaking agreement," the member of European Parliament (MEP) stressed.

A delegation of 12 MEPs will take part in COP22 climate talks in Marrakesh next week, following the European Parliament's ratifying the Paris agreement last month. They thereby joined China, India, the United States and other global players in trying to limit the worldwide impact of climate change.

"In Marrakesh, we will have to work on the implementation of the Paris agreement. We shall also work to consolidate the trust between developed and developing countries," said Giovanni La Via, the MEPs delegation chair to COP22.

"China is expected to line up with the EU. These two global powers should assume their responsibility by forming a new coalition with the aim of fighting for a progressive global climate policy," Leinen noted.

Underlining the importance of EU-China's strategic partnership in environmental area in the future, Leinen said both sides should take advantage of this abundant opportunity for further renewable energy development and cooperation.

The COP22, held in Marrakech until Nov. 18, will focus on action items to implement the Paris Agreement, especially those related to adaptation, transparency, technology transfer, mitigation, capacity building and loss and damage mechanisms.

The Paris Agreement, adopted in December 2015 at COP21 in Paris, was ratified in October by 96 countries and the European Union and entered info force on Nov. 4. Endit