Chinese President Hu Jintao said in New York on Tuesday the international community should tackle global climate change through common development, calling for international joint work and pledging China's continued efforts on this issue.

Chinese President Hu Jintao addresses the opening ceremony of the United Nations Climate Change Summit at the UN headquarters in New York Sept. 22, 2009. [Shen Hong/Xinhua]

"Global climate change has a profound impact on the existence and development of mankind and is a major challenge facing all countries," the president said when addressing the UN climate change summit.

"Climate change is an environment issue, but also, and more importantly, a development issue," Hu said.

"We should and can only advance efforts to address climate change in the course of development and meet the challenge through common development," he said.

Four principles

The Chinese president outlined four principles needed for a successful concerted effort to deal with climate change worldwide.

Hu said that fulfilling respective responsibilities, achieving mutual benefit and a win-win outcome, promoting common development and ensuring financing and technology were of utmost importance in making these efforts work. 

The Chinese president, who travelled to the United States to attend a string of UN meetings and a forthcoming Group of 20 (G20) Summit, described fulfilling respective responsibilities as the core of the concerted efforts.

"The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities embodies the consensus of the international community," said Hu. "Adherence to this principle is critical to keeping international cooperation on climate change on the right track."

Hu called on both developed and developing countries to take active steps to deal with climate change issues.

"Developed countries should fulfil the task of emission reduction set in the Kyoto Protocol... and support developing countries in countering climate change," he added, urging developing countries to also work hard to adapt to climate change according to their national conditions and with the financial and technological support from developed countries.