President Hu Jintao urged developing countries yesterday to work
together to meet the challenges of globalization and to safeguard
their shared interests, and appealed to the developed nations to
take the lead in cutting carbon emissions.
Speaking at a multilateral meeting of leaders of China, India,
Brazil, Mexico and South Africa in Berlin, Hu said developing
countries are still in a disadvantageous position in the course of
world development. "Seeking development remains a long-term goal"
for them.
The leaders of the five developing nations have been invited by
German Chancellor Angela Merkel to attend the dialogue meeting with
their counterparts from the world's "rich club" - the US, the UK,
Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia - at the G8 summit
in Germany's Baltic resort of Heiligendamm. Germany assumes the
presidency of the annual summit this year.
Hu told the leaders of the four countries: "We have the
responsibility to cooperate with each other to jointly cope with
the risks of globalization, uphold (our) common interests, create
favorable conditions for our development and promote coordinated
global development."
The five countries' population adds up to 42 percent of the
world's total, and their importance in the global economy has been
increasing by the day.
Climate change is high on the G8 summit agenda, with Merkel
hoping it would pave the way for an extension of the UN-sponsored
Kyoto Protocol on global warming by agreeing on concrete steps to
cut greenhouse gas emission. But the US and some developing
countries are opposed to mandatory caps.
"Considering their historical responsibility and current
capability, developed countries should take the lead in reducing
carbon emission and help developing countries ease and adapt to
climate change," Hu said.
Today he is scheduled to attend a series of bilateral meetings
with leaders of G8 countries, including the presidents of the US,
France and Russia, George W. Bush, Nicolas Sarkozy and Vladimir
Putin, as well as Angela Merkel and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe.
(China Daily June 8, 2007)
