Premier Wen defends China's role at Copenhagen meeting

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao defended the country's position at the Copenhagen climate-change summit held in the Danish capital last year, saying China was not notified of the meeting.

Wen made the remarks at a press conference on the final day of the annual legislative session, the National People's Congress (NPC), or Chinese parliament, Sunday morning at the Great Hall of the People.

The Premier refuted the accusations that he has rebuffed the talks among the world's top leaders during the summit.

"On Dec. 17, the day before the Copenhagen Summit was held, the Danish Queen held a banquet in honour of all the world leaders. I learned from a European country's leader that a small-scale meeting by a few countries was held that night. China was among the attendees but received no official notification."

Wen said that he immediately took measures when heard of the news. He consulted the secretariat of the summit, asked Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi to call U.S. Secretary of State Clinton for details, and sent Vice-Foreign Minister He Yafei to attend that meeting on behalf of the Chinese delegation and register China's strong opposition.

"Why was China not notified of the meeting? No one has offered us any official explanations in this regard so far. During the 60 hours of the conference, I held numerous meetings with world leaders, including two meetings with U.S. President Obama, and I delivered speeches. I barely rested," Wen added.

It is perfectly obvious that China has made tremendous efforts in pushing forward the development of the Copenhagen Summit. When disputes emerged, China worked with other countries who tried to leave the summit and brought them back to the summit. Through cooperation and diplomatic means, China made the Copenhagen Accord possible. The accord was hard-won and achieved results that reflected the interests of all nations.

"I don't see why some Western countries always point fingers at China. The issue of climate affects the immediate interests of all of mankind and concerns global justice. We support the notion of 'common but different responsibilities' and are willing to speed up the progress of dealing with climate change hand-in-hand with all countries," Wen noted.

By People's Daily Online