Mr. Zhao Yingmin, President of the BRI International Green Development Coalition (BRIGC), met with Professor James Thornton, Founder of ClientEarth, Professor at the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, University of Oxford, and Member of the BRIGC Governing Board, on July 3, 2025 in Beijing. The two sides exchanged views on matters of mutual interest.

Zhao Yingmin extended a warm welcome to Prof. Thornton and congratulated him on being honored among the Financial Times "Top 20 Global Law Firm Leaders." He expressed appreciation for Prof. Thornton’s long-standing support for BRIGC as a Board Member, and for the ClientEarth active participation as a key partner and founding member of BRIGC. President Zhao introduced BRIGC's operational framework, which centers on the BRI Green Innovation Conference, supported by the Green Investment and Finance Partnership (GIFP), the Green Low-Carbon Expert Network (GLEN), and the BRI Environmental Big Data Platform. He also showcased the main functions of the Big Data Service Platform. He expressed hope that Prof. Thornton would continue to contribute in his role as the Board Member, and support the engagement of ClientEarth and the Oxford Smith School in BRIGC's work, and deepen cooperation in areas such as research and policy dialogue to jointly build a green BRI.

Prof. Thornton congratulated President Zhao on his appointment as BRIGC President, expressing confidence that BRIGC would flourish under his leadership. He highly appraised the significant role of BRIGC in facilitating green development cooperation between China and Belt and Road partner countries, and commended the achievements of the collaboration between BRIGC and ClientEarth. Prof. Thornton presented suggestions for further cooperation between ClientEarth, the Oxford Smith School, and BRIGC. He stated his willingness to actively promote in-depth cooperation and exchanges among all parties in line with President Zhao's suggestions.

The Secretary-General of BRIGC and the Director for China of ClientEarth also attended the meeting.