"China is a doer" on climate issues and always puts its words into action in sharp contrast to the "lip service by some Western countries", the country's top envoy to the United Nations said on Tuesday.
Zhang Jun, permanent representative of China to the UN, made the comments to reporters in a briefing on China's Vice-President Han Zheng's attendance at the General Debate of the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly and high-level events.
"We keep our promises, honor our commitments, prioritize ecological conservation, and pursue a green and low-carbon path to development," Zhang said. "We have completely stopped the building of new coal-fired power projects abroad, actively supported fellow developing countries in pursuing green and low-carbon energy development, and helped build more green energy projects.
"China has made concrete contributions to addressing climate change, in sharp contrast to the lip service by some Western countries," he said.
"Developed countries try to evade or even overturn the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and put forward unrealistically high requirements for developing countries," said Zhang.
"Some Western countries, despite their high-profile stance, have only empty 'ambitions' but no actions, promises but no implementation," the envoy said. "They have even backtracked on issues such as cutting fossil fuels and promoting clean energy. These behaviors are impeding international climate actions and costing the world a precious window of opportunity.
Capacity-building support
"In response to this, China made it clear at the UNGA General Debate that we should fully and effectively implement the Paris Agreement, and that developed countries should do more to reduce emissions and provide developing countries with financing, technology and capacity-building support," said Zhang.
Regarding China-US relations, Zhang said at the briefing that China and the United States bear special responsibilities for world peace, stability and development.
China's policy toward the US has consistently prioritized stability and continuity. We have consistently viewed and managed China-US relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, said Zhang.
He said there are numerous areas where the two countries can collaborate, including but not limited to addressing climate change, combating terrorism and promoting political solutions on hot spot issues.
At the same time, Zhang said, "It's important to note that China firmly opposes the United States' use of issues related to Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong to interfere in China's internal affairs and challenge China's core interests."
"On these matters, China has no room for compromise. We will remain unwavering and resolutely protect China's sovereignty, security and development interests," he said.
On the reform of the UN and its direction, Zhang said the UN's problems are fundamentally the problems of member states. To reform the organization and promote the UN's progress, member states must first change their mindset, he said.
"If the UN is to be reformed and improved, it must move forward in the right direction toward building a community with a shared future for humankind by upholding common security, promoting common development, and building a common future," he said.
