Government and Policy

Premier Wen's 60 hours in Copenhagen

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-26 09:34

Unexplained delay

On the second morning of his stay in Copenhagen, hours before the final summit segment of the UN climate change conference, Wen met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who had just arrived.

Both of the leaders held that no matter what happened, the two countries should keep in close touch and firmly defend the interests of developing countries.

At 9:45 am, Premier Wen arrived at the main venue of the conference, 15 minutes earlier than the scheduled opening.

However, neither the host Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen nor the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was present even at 10 am.

People were guessing what was the matter, but no one came to explain the reason for the delay.

Premier Wen made a prompt decision to propose a meeting of the BASIC countries. The leaders just sat around a tea table in the hall and began exchanging views.

It was until 11:30 that Rasmussen announced the opening of the summit.

Premier Wen was the first to deliver a speech, titled Build Consensus and Strengthen Cooperation to Advance the Historical Process of Combating Climate Change.

In the speech with 2,000-odd Chinese characters, Wen made it clear that what China thought, did and would do to cope with climate change.

At the end of his speech, Wen made a serious promise.

"It is with a sense of responsibility to the Chinese people and the whole mankind that the Chinese government has set the target for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. This is a voluntary action China has taken in the light of its national circumstances. We have not attached any condition to the target, nor have we linked it to the target of any other country," Wen said.

"We will honor our word with real action. Whatever outcome this conference may produce, we will be fully committed to achieving and even exceeding the target."

Premier Wen's speech won long-time applause at the conference venue. Some foreign leaders congratulated Wen on his speech with handshaking.

Last minute effort

After US President Barack Obama's speech, Premier Wen held talks with him in a meeting room just behind the summit venue.

The two leaders agreed that the participating countries of the conference should achieve a political resolution as soon as possible and continue cooperation on climate change.

As soon as the talks ended, Wen asked members of the Chinese delegation to inform the Group of 77 and other BASIC countries of the Sino-American talks, aiming to speed up negotiations between developing and developed countries.

Developing and developed countries discussed the final document, but failed to make any progress as a result of divergence of views.

Some countries were drafting announcement of the conference's possible failure, and certain foreign leaders even made irresponsible criticism against China.

At the Bella Center, the venue of the conference, journalists started to pack luggage. People around the world were wondering how the conference would end.

It was Premier Wen who played a key role in the last-minute attempt to exchange ideas and reach consensus.

Wen believed that it was impossible to reach a legally binding agreement at that time, while no country was willing to be responsible for the failure if the conference yielded no result in the end.

"As long as there is hope of one percent, we should not give up and must instead make 100 percent of the effort," he told the Chinese delegation.

Wen decided to meet other leaders of the BASIC countries again and make a final attempt.