Home » Opinion » Chinese Views
What happened in Copenhagen?
By Zhao Cheng and Tian Fan |
December 30, 2009, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
EDITOR'S note: This is the first of a two-part story by Xinhua news agency on Premier Wen Jiabao's 60 hours in Copenhagen at the Climate Summit.
CHINESE Premier Wen Jiabao left Beijing for the climate summit in Copenhagen, Denmark on December 16, when pessimism and disappointment were simmering among negotiator.
Premier Wen's schedule on December 17 was almost fully occupied by meetings with world leaders. During the meeting with Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Wen suggested that all parties should stick to the consensus they had reached while leaving differences for future negotiations.
In his talks with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who declared that a fruitless conference would be unacceptable, Wen proposed to formulate a political document that would reflect the consensus of different parties.
"It is unrealistic to hope to fill in the gaps between nearly 200 countries in less than two days. China and the people of the world all wish for the success of the meeting, and the current priority is to crystallize a consensus," Wen said.
He told the UN chief it was important to focus on the political aspiration to deliver confidence and hope to the world. Wen's talks with Ban were followed by the meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. They agreed that the two major developing countries must stand with other developing countries to safeguard their common interests.
The Chinese premier's meeting with representatives of island countries and underdeveloped nations lasted for over two hours, the longest during his stay in Copenhagen. Wen said although China had urged developed nations to fulfil their funding commitments, China would not vie for even a cent with other developing countries if such a fund were available.
In addition, Wen said China would continue to assist those countries to cope with climate change, Wen made the pledge to Maldives Mohammed Nasheed, Prime Minister of Grenada Tillman Thomas, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and Sudanese Presidential Assistant Nafie Ali Nafie.
Stop pointing fingers
Wen's whirlwind negotiations that afternoon involved British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
The three industrialized countries, though ambitious in leading international cooperation on climate change issues, lacked understanding of developing countries.
Wen urged all parties to stop pointing fingers at each other or bargaining at the critical moment of the talks. He said China's commitment on mitigation actions is "unconditional and non-negotiable."
On the transparency issue in self mitigation actions, Wen said China was willing to conduct talks and cooperation. He stressed that developing countries' major tasks in eradicating poverty and developing economy should not compromise the environment. But their development also required the developed world's understanding and support, both financially and in technology.
Mystery meeting
At a banquet hosted by Danish Queen Margrethe II on December 17, Premier Wen was told the United States would hold a small-scope meeting between several countries' leaders after the dinner.
During his talk with a foreign leader, Premier Wen learned that China was on the list of the meeting's participating countries while he himself was not invited and neither did the Chinese delegation receive a notice for the mysterious meeting.
Why was the Chinese delegation not informed? Premier Wen felt quite astonished and was vigilant after he confirmed the meeting with other foreign leaders. During the conference, similar situations occurred when some countries proposed a draft resolution through clandestine negotiations.
Premier Wen took the incident seriously. On behalf of the Chinese delegation, Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei went to the meeting and expressed dissatisfaction to the convocator's ulterior motive for not informing China.
He said the meeting should be transparent and no participants should impose their will on others.
Any scheme in darkness would probably lead to a fruitless summit.
CHINESE Premier Wen Jiabao left Beijing for the climate summit in Copenhagen, Denmark on December 16, when pessimism and disappointment were simmering among negotiator.
Premier Wen's schedule on December 17 was almost fully occupied by meetings with world leaders. During the meeting with Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Wen suggested that all parties should stick to the consensus they had reached while leaving differences for future negotiations.
In his talks with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who declared that a fruitless conference would be unacceptable, Wen proposed to formulate a political document that would reflect the consensus of different parties.
"It is unrealistic to hope to fill in the gaps between nearly 200 countries in less than two days. China and the people of the world all wish for the success of the meeting, and the current priority is to crystallize a consensus," Wen said.
He told the UN chief it was important to focus on the political aspiration to deliver confidence and hope to the world. Wen's talks with Ban were followed by the meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. They agreed that the two major developing countries must stand with other developing countries to safeguard their common interests.
The Chinese premier's meeting with representatives of island countries and underdeveloped nations lasted for over two hours, the longest during his stay in Copenhagen. Wen said although China had urged developed nations to fulfil their funding commitments, China would not vie for even a cent with other developing countries if such a fund were available.
In addition, Wen said China would continue to assist those countries to cope with climate change, Wen made the pledge to Maldives Mohammed Nasheed, Prime Minister of Grenada Tillman Thomas, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and Sudanese Presidential Assistant Nafie Ali Nafie.
Stop pointing fingers
Wen's whirlwind negotiations that afternoon involved British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
The three industrialized countries, though ambitious in leading international cooperation on climate change issues, lacked understanding of developing countries.
Wen urged all parties to stop pointing fingers at each other or bargaining at the critical moment of the talks. He said China's commitment on mitigation actions is "unconditional and non-negotiable."
On the transparency issue in self mitigation actions, Wen said China was willing to conduct talks and cooperation. He stressed that developing countries' major tasks in eradicating poverty and developing economy should not compromise the environment. But their development also required the developed world's understanding and support, both financially and in technology.
Mystery meeting
At a banquet hosted by Danish Queen Margrethe II on December 17, Premier Wen was told the United States would hold a small-scope meeting between several countries' leaders after the dinner.
During his talk with a foreign leader, Premier Wen learned that China was on the list of the meeting's participating countries while he himself was not invited and neither did the Chinese delegation receive a notice for the mysterious meeting.
Why was the Chinese delegation not informed? Premier Wen felt quite astonished and was vigilant after he confirmed the meeting with other foreign leaders. During the conference, similar situations occurred when some countries proposed a draft resolution through clandestine negotiations.
Premier Wen took the incident seriously. On behalf of the Chinese delegation, Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei went to the meeting and expressed dissatisfaction to the convocator's ulterior motive for not informing China.
He said the meeting should be transparent and no participants should impose their will on others.
Any scheme in darkness would probably lead to a fruitless summit.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
