Last week China presented concrete figures on its climate commitments. The emissions giant has thus put its cards on the table ahead of next week, when the world’s leaders will gather for the climate change conference in Copenhagen. The path to the summit in Copenhagen was one of the main topics for discussion when Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso met China’s Prime Minister Wen Jiabao for a summit in Nanjing on Monday.

“Meeting the threat of climate change is a challenge for the whole of mankind. Chinese leadership is necessary on these issues. The EU is ready to do its part, but we cannot solve the threat of climate change unless China takes its responsibility”, said Fredrik Reinfeldt at the press conference after the meeting.

“Takes the climate challenge seriously”

China’s Prime Minister Wen Jiabao stressed that the Chinese Government takes the challenge of climate change seriously. He said that the figures presented last week (for reducing carbon dioxide intensity in the economy by 40 to 50 per cent by the year 2020) represent the largest contribution by China in the global fight against climate change. At the same time, in his view China is still a developing country at a sensitive stage in its industrial development, and China’s emissions per capita are still well below the emissions from developed countries.
“The target we have now set will help China to continue to develop in a way that is sustainable, and to contribute to the fight against climate change. With globalisation, the countries of the world have become increasingly interdependent. Therefore, no country can be the sole winner”, said Wen Jiabao.
 
President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso commented on the Chinese targets, saying that the EU will now closely examine the figures presented by China. He also underlined that the threat of climate change can only be resolved through cooperation between the countries of the world.

Carbon dioxide storage

In connection with the summit, five Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) were also signed, on areas including carbon capture and storage (CCS).

Will fight protectionism

The other issues that were discussed at the summit included trade and economics. Mr Reinfeldt drew attention to the fact that the EU is China’s largest trade partner. The high level dialogue that the EU and China maintain on economy and free trade was highlighted at the meeting, as well as the importance of continued work against protectionism by both parties. In addition, Fredrik Reinfeldt welcomed the G20’s strong role in the international management of the economic and financial crisis.
 
Further development of economic relations between the EU and China was also discussed, and Wen Jiabao stressed the importance of the two parties continuing to work to combat the trade difficulties that still exist.
 
Human rights were touched upon during the press conference. Fredrik Reinfeldt mentioned the recurrent dialogue that the EU and China have on this issue, and the latest meeting, which was held in Beijing two weeks ago.
“Europe supports China in its work, but the situation is still a cause for concern”, he said.

Deeper relations in the future

The entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty tomorrow was also highlighted, as the EU will have a clearer voice on the international stage. Mr Reinfeldt emphasised that the Treaty will make the EU more effective and clear. José Manuel Barroso said that he hopes the Treaty can help the EU strengthen its relations with other parties around the world, and stated that deeper EU relations with China will be one of the priorities for the new European Commission. Wen Jiabao congratulated the EU on its appointment of a permanent President of the European Council.
“I hope that European integration continues to deepen and that it boosts relations between the EU and China.”