Spotlight: China vows constructive role in Paris climate talks

China vows to continue to play a constructive role in the Paris climate talks, said China's special representative on climate change Xie Zhenhua to media here at the COP21 on Thursday.

China backs a "comprehensive, balanced and strong" agreement on curbing climate change at the COP21, reiterated Xie.

He said China expects the Paris climate agreement to be legally binding.

However, facing divergences on this among different parties, China proposed some practical suggestions, which earned support from a lot of countries, added Xie.

China highly appreciated the INDCs ("Intended Nationally Determined Contribution") submitted to the UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change), which shows the determination to address climate change, said Xie.

Moreover, China proposed an introduction of regular review, or evaluation system, of INDCs, so as to get a clear view of the comprehensive development, which would also be a platform to share experiences and enhance cooperation for all the parties.

China also urged all the parties to accelerate the green and low-carbon transformation, said Xie.

It was agreed in the 2009 Copenhagen conference that poorer nations vulnerable to global warming impacts would receive 100 billion U.S. dollars per year by 2020 to give up fossil fuels and shore up defenses against climate-driven food scarcity, heat waves and storm damage.

China expected the developed countries to fulfill this commitment by 2020, and proposed that a roadmap and timeline on this should be introduced here in Paris.

China also pointed out that developed countries should increase their financial support from the annual 100 billion U.S. dollars in the post-2020 period, said Xie.

In particular, China, as a developing country, announced in September the establishment of the China South-South Climate Cooperation Fund, with an input of 20 billion yuan (about 3 billion U.S. dollars), to help other developing countries combat climate change.

"Developed countries have the obligations to provide financial support, but what China has done is voluntary," explained Xie.

Financial support is very critical, as many developing countries are eager for economic development, thus failure on this at this conference would disappoint a lot of developing counties, said Xie.

Xie also noted that China views Paris climate agreement to be under the Convention, in accordance with the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities," the principle of equitableness and the principle of respective capacity.

"The Paris climate agreement will be a milestone achievement on the road to implement the Convention, instead of establishing a new one, which is what China disagrees," emphasized Xie.

The ongoing Paris climate talks should reject the narrow-minded mentality of zero-sum game, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the opening ceremony of COP21, urging all countries, developed countries in particular, to assume more shared responsibilities for win-win outcomes.

"Despite the slow negotiation process and existing divergences, China will continue to play a constructive and positive role in Paris climate talks," stressed Xie. Endit