The Environmental Resources and Energy Committee of the All China Lawyers Association (ACLA) held its annual conference in Xi'an, Shaanxi province from October 17th to October 18th. The conference's mission was to improve Chinese lawyers' professional knowledge and skills, as well as to promote their roles in environmental compliance and litigation cases. Jonathan Cannon, professor of environmental law at the University of Virginia, was invited by NRDC to deliver a presentation on environmental law under the U.S. legal system and the role of American environmental lawyers in environmental protection. Experts from the National Development Research Center of the State Council, the Supreme People's Court Environmental Tribunals, and other universities and law firms also shared their insight and experience with participants at the conference, which included over 100 lawyers.