Premier Wen says China Tackling Climate Change

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Thursday the world's fastest-growing major economy was tackling climate change and would work hand in hand with the rest of the world to fight it.

More than any other country, China faces tough demands in forthcoming negotiations on how thE world will cope with global warming and what will succeed the current Kyoto Protocol, which governs signatory states' greenhouse gas responsibilities.

China is coming under increasing international pressure about its carbon dioxide emissions, expected to overtake U.S. emissions by 2008. But its leaders have rejected caps on output for fear they will cramp growth.

"We take climate change seriously and have formulated the national programme on tackling climate change," Wen told a a news conference in Dalian in northeast China, host city of the World Economic Forum.

"We will work with other members of the international community to mitigate climate change."

President Hu Jintao, speaking in Sydney, earlier gave qualified support to Australia's initiative on climate change, as Asia-Pacific leaders appeared deadlocked over the "Sydney Declaration" on climate change and targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Hu told a news conference after meeting Australian Prime Minister John Howard that he prefers the U.N. framework for handling climate change proposals.

"We very much hope that this Sydney Declaration will give full expression to the position that the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change would remain the main channel for international efforts to tackle climate change," Hu said.

The declaration should also reflect U.N. principles of "common but differentiated responsibilities" toward lowering harmful greenhouse gas emissions, he added.

A major meeting of top officials from around the world under the U.N. framework is set for Indonesia's Bali in December. Governments hope environment ministers will launch a two-year series of talks to find a replacement for the Kyoto agreement.