President Xi Jinping exchanged congratulatory messages with French President Emmanuel Macron on the opening of the China-France Year of the Environment on Monday.

A sound ecological balance can result in a prosperous civilization, while a degraded ecology can also mark a civilization on the wane, Xi said in his message.

The goal of co-hosting the China-France Year of the Environment is to strengthen dialogue and cooperation on environmental protection, climate change and biodiversity protection and jointly address global environmental challenges, noted Xi.

China would like to continue its concerted efforts with France and work with the rest of the world to protect the Earth, the only home of humans, and build a clean and beautiful world, he added.

Macron noted that tackling climate change and protecting the environment and biodiversity are among the major challenges facing mankind, and are also key parts of the two parties' comprehensive strategic partnership.

China is promoting ecological progress and proactively participating in multilateral climate governance processes, which have laid a solid foundation for France-China cooperation, Macron added.

He said France would like to make efforts with China to lead the world in the transition to green, low-carbon and sustainable development.

Li Ganjie, minister of ecology and environment, said at the opening ceremony of the year of the environment in Beijing on Monday that China and France have achieved fruitful results in their cooperation over global environment governance, climate change, air pollution control and construction of ecological cities.

China supported France in hosting the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris in 2015 and the two countries jointly promoted the Paris agreement, which was of huge historical significance, he added.

Li's French counterpart, Francois de Rugy, said the year shows not only the achievements of the two countries' cooperation but also is a starting point for more cooperation.

He also vowed support for China hosting the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2020.

Xi and Macron decided to launch the China-France Year of the Environment during Macron's state visit to China in January.