Chinese VP meets UN chief

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, as Chinese President Xi Jinping's special representative, met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Antalya Leaders' Summit at the 31st meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Conveying President Xi's cordial greetings to Guterres, Han said that China attaches great importance to climate change.

Last year, President Xi announced China's 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions, and made it clear that China will "strive to do better," showing China's firm resolve and utmost efforts to address climate change.

This year, China set targets for non-fossil energy sources to account for 50% of power generation and electricity to account for 35% of final energy consumption by 2030, Han noted.

China is committed to setting clear targets and ensuring their implementation, and stresses the need to be true in word and resolute in deed, which will continue to provide valuable stability and certainty for global climate governance, Han said.

China has worked with the United Nations to advance international cooperation on addressing climate change, firmly upholding and fully implementing the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, vigorously promoting South-South cooperation on climate change and actively supporting the UN-led Early Warnings for All initiative, he said.

The global response to climate change currently faces numerous challenges, Han said, noting that developing countries, in particular, are confronted with difficulties including funding shortages, technological shortcomings and inadequate capacity in implementing their nationally determined contributions, which require the international community to address together.

China looks forward to seeing the 31st meeting make new progress and reach new consensus under the leadership of Guterres, he added.

Guterres asked Han to convey his sincere greetings to President Xi.

Calling China an important pillar of multilateralism and a key supporter of the United Nations, Guterres said that China has walked the talk in addressing climate change, with its actions consistently going beyond its commitments.

As a global leader in renewable energy, China has made substantial contributions to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, he said.

The global response to climate change is currently at a difficult juncture, and the United Nations looks to China for strong contributions and support in advancing global climate action, he said.

Guterres expressed the hope that the United Nations and China would further strengthen coordination, working together to ensure that the 31st meeting sends a positive signal to the world and makes joint decisions and concerted efforts needed to effectively reverse the trend of rising global temperatures and better address the challenges of climate change.