Chinese, French presidents reach deal on climate change
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| Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) holds a welcome ceremony for his French counterpart Francois Hollande prior to their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 2, 2015. [Li Xueren/Xinhua] |
Xi and Hollande also pledged stronger cooperation in countering climate change in areas such as low-carbon transportation, renewable energy, and carbon capture and storage technologies.
"China is committed to ensuring the success of the climate conference," Xi told Hollande in their talks on Monday afternoon.
Xi said China supported France as the host of the conference, voicing confidence that it would successfully play its role as a coordinator to facilitate a balanced and comprehensive result.
"I'm confident for the progress of the conference. Our statement has injected positive energy to the multilateral process of addressing climate change," Xi told a press briefing after the talks.
China has made multiple climate pledges. These include a decision to launch a national carbon cap-and-trade system in 2017 to help contain emissions, establishing a 20-billion-yuan (3.1-billion-U.S.-dollar) fund to help other developing countries combat and adapt to climate change, and cutting carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 60 percent to 65 percent from the 2005 level by 2030.
"The French president's China trip is part of his climate change diplomacy which aims to regain Europe's leading role in addressing climate change after the unprosperous Copenhagen conference," said Cui Hongjian, a specialist in China-Europe relations at the China Institute of International Studies.