China and the United States are in a better position to handle climate change, which should allow them to cooperate in efforts to ease global warming, said Jonathan Pershing, the US deputy special envoy for climate change at the latest talks on Monday in Cancun, Mexico.

"We both have the capacity to combat climate change….if we could do more on the issue, I believe we'll make certain progress at this conference," Pershing said.

China's top climate change negotiator, Su Wei, stressed that China hoped a package of decisions could be clinched at the conference, but added that rich nations should take the lead in the mitigation process.

"It is their historic and moral responsibility and legal obligation," Su said. "But developing countries, including China, also must do their part to mitigate the influence of climate change to reach an outcome at the summit."

Pershing said he is confident in making progress at this UN climate conference and beyond, despite procedural difficulties that vary among countries.

Held from Nov. 29 to Dec. 10, the COP16/CMP6 UN Climate Change Conference gathers leaders or their representatives from 180 countries to work toward greater international cooperation against climate change.