China, simultaneously the largest emitter of greenhouse gases and the top investor in climate technologies, is an indispensable actor in meeting the goals of international climate law laid down in the Paris Agreement and interpreted in the recent International Court of Justice advisory opinion. China’s leadership has committed to peaking greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 and achieving net-zero by 2060. While finance is a key mechanism for achieving these goals, outside of China there remains limited understanding of Chinese climate finance.
This hybrid roundtable was co-convened on 11 July 2025 by Professor Megan Bowman, Professor of Law and Director of the Centre for Climate Law & Governance, and Professor Stephen Minas, Professor of Law at Peking University School of Transnational Law and a King’s alumnus. Discussions were held under the Chatham House Rule with the objective of sharing knowledge about the legal and regulatory dimensions of Chinese ‘green’ finance to enhance institutional understanding and collaboration. Participants discussed the internal regulation of climate finance in China, the ongoing evolution of Chinese state capital, including the growing role of tech and AI in the state-owned financial sector, and China’s climate finance engagement with transnational law and regulation, including with the EU and UK and through formats such as the BRICS group of nations and the Belt and Road Initiative.
The hybrid format enabled participation by leaders and key experts across four continents, with participants from legal academia and practice, the public sector, finance and business, and civil society, including institutions such as Bank of China, Chatham House, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Climate Bonds Initiative, Client Earth, the European Commission, Fangda Partners, the Institute of Finance and Sustainability, the National University of Singapore, the City of London, and the UK-China Green Finance Task Force.
Following the roundtable, Professor Bowman said: “A large gap exists between climate finance needs and actual finance flows. Although closing that gap will require action from all major economies and corporate actors, it is clear that China will have an increased role. This roundtable sought to map legal and financial channels and locate sites of forward-looking cooperation between China, the UK and Europe at this time of global hegemonic change”.