On September 11, 2026, Energy and Environmental  Development Research Center (EED), the Department of Environmental Impact Assessment and Emission Management of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the Foreign Economic Cooperation Department of China International Engineering Consulting Corporation (CIECC) held the "Symposium on Promoting China's Services Global." Participants held in-depth discussions on the pain points of environmental compliance for overseas projects, industry bottlenecks, and pathways for government-enterprise collaboration. Attendees included Chao Zhexiong, Inspector of the Department of Environmental Impact Assessment and Emission Management of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and Zou Haofei, Director of the Foreign Economic Cooperation Department of CIECC.

Currently, China's overseas investment in infrastructure, energy, mining, and other sectors continues to grow, yet supporting environmental and social consulting services lag behind. Some enterprises prioritize engineering returns over environmental and social compliance, with non-standardized procedures. Meanwhile, Chinese consulting services lack international discourse power and find it difficult to break through overseas trust barriers. In response to these pain points, the three parties held thorough discussions and identified the key work directions for the next stage:

First, improving policy mechanisms to shift compliance management from "soft advocacy" to "solid constraints". This involves coordinating with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and major financial institutions to incorporate environmental compliance into the investment review of overseas projects, provide dedicated budget support, and support high-quality institutions in participating in overseas compliance projects, thereby shoring up institutional shortcomings.

Second, building a collaborative platform to shape China's service brand across the full lifecycle. This entails upgrading environmental consulting from the mere preparation of environmental impact assessment reports to a full-lifecycle risk management and control system covering project siting, design, construction, and operation and maintenance, deeply embedding it into the entire process of overseas engineering general contracting. Through upfront assessment and whole-process management, overseas compliance risks can be resolved at the source, professionally safeguarding the safe and steady implementation of projects while exporting China's green service standards.

Third, carrying out pilot demonstrations to enhance the recognition of China's consultancy overseas  services. This involves supporting specialized salons organized by relevant ministries, financial institutions, industry associations, and overseas enterprises, strengthening industry outreach through real-world case studies, and internalizing environmental compliance capacity as a key component of the quality of enterprises going global, thereby effectively improving the quality of Chinese enterprises' overseas projects.

The core value of this symposium lies in further strengthening tripartite cooperation among the authorities, national-level think tanks, and professional consulting firms, forming a new collaborative ecosystem featuring complementary strengths and closed-loop empowerment. Through the government setting rules, think tanks charting the direction, and professional institutions implementing on the ground, environmental consulting can truly serve as an important component of China's service consulting, improving the disadvantaged position of environmental protection in overseas projects and advancing the internationalization of Chinese standards, Chinese consulting, and Chinese services.