Climate
12:12, 08-Nov-2017
COP23: China vows environment-economy balancing act
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China will not let economic pressures get in the way of its work to limit climate change, a senior Chinese environmental advocate vowed at the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23), the UN climate change conference taking place in Bonn, Germany.
"China is still a developing country. We have a lot of other social-economic tasks to do. But we will stick to our commitment to the Paris Agreement," Dr. Chai Qimin, chief of the International Cooperation Department at the National Center for Climate Change and International Cooperation, told CGTN at COP23.
With President Donald Trump pulling the US out of the historic Paris Agreement, China is well placed to lead on this issue and help other developing countries deal with their climate problems.
China’s balancing of industrial profits and environmental concerns is increasingly being recognized by the international community, including other stakeholders at COP23.
"China is changing from focusing on economic growth to a more balanced, inclusive mode of development," said Sze Ping Lo, CEO of the World Wildlife Fund’s China branch.
"[This has] particularly accelerated in the past two to three years," he added.