Launched in 2018 during President Macron’s visit to China, the France-China Track 2 Dialogues are jointly organised by the France China Foundation and the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs. Held annually, alternating between Paris and Beijing, these informal diplomatic exchanges provide a space for relatively open discussions on bilateral relations. The France China Climate Initiative coordinates the dialogue, which includes since 2021 sessions dedicated to climate issues.

France-China Track 2 analytical reports are available on demand.

The building sector is critical to achieving carbon neutrality: it accounts for 37% of global energy related emissions, 34% of global energy demand and 50% of materials consumption.

France and China share the ambition of decarbonizing their building sectors in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement. The specific characteristics of their building stocks, together with differences in technical approaches and public policies, have led them to follow distinct decarbonization pathways and develop complementary expertise. As both countries converge towards a whole-life cycle approach to building decarbonization, there is a window of opportunity to turn these different experiences into practical complementarities and new avenues for cooperation.

Building on its research report on China’s experience in this field, published in September 2025, the France-China Dialogue on Building Decarbonization launched by the France China Climate Initiative aims at facilitating regular exchanges among French and Chinese experts, policymakers and industries stakeholders working on building decarbonization.

This dialogue aims to:

• • • Build a community of French and Chinese experts and policymakers committed to building decarbonization, fostering trust and mutual understanding, and providing a platform to inform and shape bilateral cooperation in this field.
    • Strengthen French expertise on China’s building decarbonization policies and practices, while fostering connections with other European organizations and Paris-based international institutions, such as the IEA.
    • Exchange knowledge and perspectives on building decarbonization policies and pathways, drawing on the respective experiences of France and China.
    • Facilitate the development of France-China projects that translate shared learning into action.

The collective dynamics underpinning climate change mitigation can be compared to a prisoner’s dilemma situation. Because action to mitigate climate change has a political and economic cost, the perception of what other countries do, in particular the US, Europe and China, is likely to impact how governments and populations dose their efforts. This perception is highly influenced by the media.

To explore these dynamics, the France China Climate Initiative conducted a research on Crossed Perceptions of Climate Action in France and China. Drawing on a selection of French and Chinese media publications over a period of more than a year, the study examines how French media cover China’s climate action, and how Chinese media cover France’s and Europe’s.

The research report highlights three ways in which media coverage could help strengthen global climate action and EU-China understanding:

• • • Broaden coverage of climate policies and their impact. Greater access to information on China’s climate policies beyond renewables and green technologies, as well as on the EU’s progress in reducing emissions, would provide a more accurate picture of each side’s efforts and challenges.
    • Highlight mutual recognition and shared interests. Giving greater visibility to the recognition both sides express in international forums and high-level discussions could help depoliticize climate change and address the trust deficit in EU-China relations.
    • Put people at the heart of climate stories. More human-centered reporting could engage readers, strengthen public interest in climate change and remind audiences that global warming knows no borders.

The study’s findings were published by Institut Montaigne, in French and in English, and in the France China Foundation’s publication Nouveaux Regards.

They were also presented at international conferences in Brussels (European Guanxi Youth Conference, October 2024) and Shanghai (4th Franco-Chinese Forum on Carbon Neutrality, December 2024).