On October 11, the opening ceremony of the London 2018 Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference was held in London. More than 1,000 representatives from over 80 countries, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, business communities, and academic institutions attended the conference. British Prime Minister Theresa May sent a video message of congratulation to the conference. HRH The Duke of Cambridge, the Rt Hon. Jeremy Hunt MP, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the Rt Hon. Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Yoweri Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda, Mokgweetsi Masisi, President of the Republic of Botswana, Ali Bongo Ondimba, President of Gabon, Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia and Dr. Ha Cong Tuan, Permanent Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam attended the event. Charge d'Affaires a.i. Zhu Qin of the Chinese Embassy was present, and Peng Youdong, Vice Administrator of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration of China attended and addressed the conference.

The guests said in their speeches that illegal wildlife trade (IWT) not only threatens the survival of species, but also endangers the sustainable development of mankind. All countries in the world should strengthen legislation and law enforcement, engage in closer international collaboration, mobilize all forces in an all-round combat against IWT and promote the sustainable development of mankind and nature. In his speech, HRH The Duke of Cambridge, spoke highly of China's achievements in wildlife conservation and the Chinese government’s ban on ivory trade.

Vice Administrator Peng Youdong said that the Chinese government attaches great importance to and has made great efforts in combating IWT. China’s total ban on the commercial processing and sales of ivory and ivory products in China from December 31, 2017 was a positive contribution to curbing IWT around the world. China is willing to work with the international community to continue to fulfill their political commitments and obligations under international conventions, establish a mechanism for public participation, and strengthen international cooperation to jointly combat IWT, so as to make their due contribution in protecting the global ecological security, building a beautiful planet earth, and safeguarding the rights and interests of future generations.

The participants highly commended China's important contribution to protecting elephants and other wild animals, and looked forward to strengthening cooperation with China to jointly crack down on IWT and facilitate global wildlife conservation.