Green growth can be a focus of China-UK cooperation: Experts

China and the United Kingdom can learn from each other to accelerate their green endeavors, especially through the Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI, experts said at a three-day conference that concluded on Friday.

"There is a great amount we can learn from each other. I think hydrogen and the ability that China will bring us can deliver a hydrogen infrastructure across the UK at speed," said David Percival, chairman of the Manchester-China Forum, at a panel on business and economics during the Second Interdisciplinary Conference on Belt and Road Initiative.

Manchester, one of Britain's biggest economic hubs, has set the goal of becoming a zero-carbon city by 2038 at the latest, 12 years ahead of the UK government's target of 2050. The city is seeking cooperation with China on the matter of hydrogen.

"I think the greening of the BRI is really important, and it is going to be a massive business opportunity," Percival added.

Proposed in 2013, the BRI aims to improve inter-region cooperation and connectivity via land and maritime networks running through Asia, Europe and Africa, along and beyond the ancient Silk Road and maritime trade routes.

Since its initiation, the BRI has played a positive role in promoting economic and trade links, and has given rise to numerous forms of international cooperation, including in the area of green issues.

In March, China launched a key policy document on the further greening of the BRI.

The document reaffirms that no new coal power plants will be built in the implementation of the BRI, and emphasizes cooperation in key areas of green development, including infrastructure, power, transportation, industry, trade, finance, technology, and standards within the framework of the BRI and climate change.

Ollie Shiell, chief executive of the UK National Committee on China, said: "What we did with Manchester and (China's) Wuhan with the hydrogen energy cooperation forum driving forward the potential for zero carbon transition to city-to-city level, is an example of something which we thought about what's emotionally viable, but also of interest — economically, technically and for the common good."

In April, Wuhan, capital of China's Hubei province, and Manchester signed a memorandum of understanding on hydrogen energy industry exchange and cooperation at the China-UK Hydrogen Energy Cooperation Forum.

Hosted by the Lancaster University Belt and Road Initiative Research Consortium, Friday's BRI conference consisted of panels, online and offline, on business and economics, health and wellbeing, international relations, sustainability and technology, as well as culture and law.

Zheng Xiyuan, China's consul general in Manchester, emphasized China's efforts in the green development of BRI and said the conference provided a good platform for scholars from China and the UK to come together and share their views.

The conference functions as a platform for the dissemination of research results, and for sharing knowledge in China-related areas, according to Zeng Jinghan, director of the Lancaster University Confucius Institute.