Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said on Thursday that any
international climate change action plan should bear in mind the
interests of developing countries.
China's position is based on its rapid economic growth, massive
population and its position as a manufacturing hub for richer
nations, said Qin at a press conference in Beijing.
A Dutch government research body revealed on Tuesday that
China's carbon dioxide emissions -- the main greenhouse gas
responsible for global warming – had surpassed that of the US by
eight percent in 2006, making China the world's leader in CO2
emissions.?
However, Qin pointed out that in terms of yearly per-capita
emissions of greenhouse gas, China stood at 3.66 tons, less than a
third of the Netherlands' 11.4 tons.
"The key reason for current climate changes is the high
per-capita emissions in industrialized nations," said the
spokesman.
As a developing country, China was not forced to abide by the
Kyoto Protocol, under which most industrialized countries pledged
to reduce gas emissions by an average of 5.2 percent between 2008
to 2012, lowering them to below the levels seen in 1990, said
Qin.
In closing, Qin urged the international community to adopt a
"cool-minded" and "rational" approach towards climate change.
Six-Party Talks
Also on Thursday, Qin announced that Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi will visit the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea (DPRK) early next month to fuel hopes of a swift
resumption to the six-party talks on denuclearizing the Korean
Peninsula.
Yang will visit Pyongyang from July 2-4 as part of a
three-nation trip that will also take him to Mongolia and
Indonesia. During his stay in the DPRK, Yang will exchange views
with North Korean officials on developing traditional friendly
cooperation between the two countries, as well as other
international issues of common concern and the Korean Peninsular
nuclear issue".
Yang's trip will come on the heels of a rare visit to the DPRK
by US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, who arrived in
Pyongyang Thursday.
He was set to meet with DPRK counterpart to the six-party talks,
Vice-Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan, the US State Department
said.
Hill will then travel to the Republic of Korea (ROK) on Friday
and then on to Japan on Saturday.
Hill's visit was arranged swiftly after the release of US$25
million in DPRK funds previously frozen at a Macao-based bank - a
key financial dispute that had collapsed the last round of the
multilateral talks.
"We want to get the six-party process moving," Hill said at
Pyongyang's airport. "We hope that we can make up for some of the
time that we lost this spring and so I'm looking forward to good
discussions about that."
"We hope Hill's Pyongyang visit will help speed up the
resumption of efforts to denuclearize the peninsula and lead to the
normalization of US-DPRK relations," Qin said.
Observers say that sending a top US envoy to the DPRK prior
to?the shutting down of its reactor shows the Bush's
administration real desire to move ahead in this nuclear standoff
and bolster its foreign policy credentials amidst the Iraq
debacle.
In a telephone conversation with ROK Foreign Minister Song
Min-soon on Thursday, Yang said China urged all parties to continue
honoring their commitments and thus lead to a favorable environment
from which to move forward.
The DPRK has already invited International Atomic Energy Agency
inspectors to visit the country for the first time since their
expulsion in December 2002.
Nanjing massacre denial
Commenting on a Japanese report issued by Diet lawmakers on June
19 denying the Nanjing massacre, Qin said these attempts to
conceal historical facts would bring nothing but international
condemnation. Qin stated that those who attempt such actions lack
the courage to square up to history.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre,
and China hopes Japan will handle all historical issues in a
responsible manner, Qin added.
US fears over Chinese militarism
Commenting on the remarks by a US congressman labeling the
Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) as a threat to US armed
forces, Qin said China's national defense policy is purely
defensive in nature and seeks to develop military capability in a
moderate and reasonable manner.
He said China's national defense capability is there only to
safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity and is at the
service of world peace.
China's defense budget for 2007 is expected to hit 350.92
billion yuan (US$44.94 billion), accounting for 7.5 percent of the
nation's budgeted fiscal expenditure.
Qin said the United States had repeatedly expressed its wishes
to strengthen exchanges between the two armed forces, a desired
shared by China.
"We hope such dialogues and exchanges will be expressed as
achievements in the remarks of the US side," said Qin.
?
Darfur Issue
Turning to Darfur, Qin announced that a Chinese delegation
headed by Vice-Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui would attend an
international conference on Darfur issue on June 25 in Paris, during which
Zhang would fully explain China's position on the affair.
"China supports all efforts that will bring peace to Darfur,
"Qin added.
The conference, to be hosted by France on June 25, will be a
ministerial meeting to discuss the crisis in the western Sudanese
region of Darfur, gathering all major players in the crisis.
France has extended invitations to the United Nations, the
African Union, the European Union and the United States, South
Africa, China as well as Sudan and other countries. However, the
Sudanese government announced on June 12 that it would not be
attending the conference.
(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency June 22, 2007)
