China aims for breakthroughs in key concerns of Global South at COP28

China, as a nation that always stands firmly with other developing economies, will support the COP28 United Nations climate change conference to make breakthroughs in the key concerns of the Global South, Chinese officials said on Thursday.

They were speaking as the two-week annual UN gathering kicked off in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

"We always stand firmly with the Group of 77, the BASIC countries and like-minded developing nations," Xie Zhenhua, China's special envoy for climate change, told the first event in the China pavilion in Dubai.

The BASIC countries are Brazil, South Africa, India and China, while the G77, the largest multilateral coordination organization for developing countries, now has over 130 members.

Xie said China, along with those other countries, will strive to play a constructive role in encouraging COP28 to address the key concerns of developing countries and safeguard political trust among parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

He said he looks forward to seeing friends from around the world gather in the pavilion to share their best practices in promoting green, low-carbon transition and innovation.

Ecology and Environment Minister Huang Runqiu said he looks forward to seeing COP28 firmly safeguard multilateralism and carry out the first Global Stocktake in a proactive manner.

The Global Stocktake is a comprehensive assessment of the progress made in achieving the goals of the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement.

"The appeals of developing nations should be fully responded to," Huang said.

He said COP28 should urge developed states to exercise the flexibility needed for parties to reach multilateral solutions at the conference.

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment said the China pavilion will host more than 100 events on the sidelines of COP28.

The pavilion, featuring two meeting areas and one exhibition area, is on the first floor of the Chinese delegation's office.

Activities focusing on energy transition, digital development, green finance and China's policies and actions on climate change will be held on nine days with different themes, including Opening Day, Youth Day, Mitigation Day, and Technology and Finance Day.

Some sessions will focus on climate actions in Chinese cities including Shanghai and Shenzhen, while some others will be about industrial sectors such as construction and power generation, the ministry said.

Luo Jiayuan in Beijing contributed to this story.