China reaffirms stance on climate change talk

China on Tuesday reiterated that the Kyoto Protocol is an important and legally-binding multi-lateral agreement and must be adhered to in the upcoming climate talks in South Africa's Durban. Xie Zhenhua, head of the Chinese delegation at the Durban meeting, said China would stick to the stance of developing nations in pursuing the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. The protocol reflects "common but differentiated responsibilities," and the commitment to the protocol is the foundation of political trust. Xie made the remarks upon the release of a government white paper at a press conference in Beijing. Xie also said that after the Copenhagen Conference, many nations, especially developing ones, had made various domestic policies and measures to control emissions. Developing nations accounted for 57 percent of global emission reductions after the conference of 2009, he said, compared to 43 percent for the developed nations. "We hope nations of the world translate their political willingness into concrete actions," he said. Also on Tuesday, the Chinese government issued a white paper on its policies and actions for addressing climate change, highlighting a range of major policy measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change and its remarkable results during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010) period. The white paper, titled China's Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change, was released by the State Council Information Office. The white paper introduced China's policies and actions for addressing climate change, and the positive results achieved during that period, as well as China's overall arrangements to address climate change and its related negotiating position. In 2006, China set forth the compulsive goal of reducing its per-unit GDP energy consumption in 2010 by 20 percent from that of 2005. In 2007, China became the first developing country to formulate and implement a national program to address climate change. Two years later, China put forward the goal of action to reduce the per-unit GDP greenhouse gas emission in 2020 by 40 percent to 45 percent as compared to that of 2005.