Foreign and Military Affairs
Premier Wen at Copenhagen conference
(Xinhua News Agency/People's Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-25 17:14
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On 27-28 November, representatives of the BASIC countries, i.e. China, India, Brazil and South Africa, and Sudan as the chair of the Group of 77 held consultations in Beijing. Premier Wen met with the participating environment ministers or their representatives.
On 11 December, Premier Wen made a visit to the China Meteorological Administration and convened a discussion with experts on climate change. During the meeting, he called for resolute and strong measures to meet the government's target for controlling greenhouse gas emissions.
Premier Wen had also followed closely developments at the Copenhagen conference after its opening. Soon after his plane took off from Beijing, he asked the press corps to come to the front cabin and shared his thoughts very frankly.
It was apparent that Premier Wen had already carefully thought about the complicated situation awaiting him. He said, "I am confident that with so many leaders converging on Copenhagen, the conference will be a fruitful one. But whatever may happen in Copenhagen, China will not change its action plan. Our voluntary mitigation target is non-negotiable and our determination to meet it will not waver," he said to us.
After this mid-air briefing, Premier Wen called a meeting of the accompanying ministers to analyze the position of various parties. Then, alone in his cabin, the premier looked out at the sea of clouds outside the plane, staring intensely, deep in thought. It was not a light-hearted mission, he knew. So many things needed to be considered before the conference could be brought to a fruitful conclusion.
At 16:45 local time, Premier Wen's plane touched down at Copenhagen airport. Snow was falling heavily and chill wind was howling: not all was quiet on this wintry evening in Copenhagen.
Everyone in the Chinese delegation was tired after a 10-hour flight that had crossed seven time zones and over 7,000 kilometers, but Premier Wen still decided to go straight to the Chinese embassy, where he would hear briefings on the latest developments and plan next steps. Over one hour had passed before he finally left the embassy and checked in at the Radisson Hotel.
"The most important thing is to build consensus quickly." - Confronted by a complicated situation, Premier Wen Jiabao worked with sincerity, resolve and confidence to mediate, communicate, coordinate, bridge differences and expand common ground.
At 6:00 on 17th, Premier Wen went to breakfast. He was briefed at the breakfast table. As the negotiations in Copenhagen involved 192 countries, the circumstances were changing every minute.
At 8:30, Premier Wen walked into the meeting room, brimming with energy and ready for a whole day of intense meetings. The first leader he met was Prime Minister Rasmussen of the host country Denmark. At the outset, Premier Wen commended Denmark for its hard work in the run-up to the conference and pledged China's full support to the host in bringing about a successful outcome. The Danish Prime Minister was somewhat relieved to hear these words. He talked about the deep rift among parties and the absence of a text that could serve as a basis for consultations. He was visibly worried about the negotiation process.
Premier Wen expressed full understanding of the pressure facing the host. He attributed various divisions to four focal issues, namely, a basic text, financial support, the long-term target and MRV (measureable, reportable and verifiable). He suggested that pragmatic efforts be made in accordance with the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" to build on the two draft texts presented by the chairs of the two Ad hoc Working Groups, lock up the consensus already achieved and leave the divisive elements to future deliberations. He said this might be the only viable way, and a resolution thus reached could represent an outcome of the conference.
Prime Minister Rasmussen thanked Premier Wen for his constructive proposal. He said if all other leaders could work as vigorously as the Chinese Premier, the conference would achieve success.
Premier Wen then met UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Ban was also gravely concerned about the stalled process and regarded a conference without any gains as unacceptable. Premier Wen pointed out that it was unrealistic for the nearly 200 countries to patch up their wide differences in less than two days. The Chinese people and people across the globe all looked forward to a successful conference. The most important thing at the moment was to build consensus quickly. The conference could opt for a political document that reflected the consensus of all parties aimed at affirming the political will, recognizing the existing achievements, and sending a message of confidence and hope to the world.
Premier Wen stressed that the drafting process and consultations must be open and transparent. The opinions of all parties must be duly solicited and the concerns of the developing countries in particular must be taken seriously. He expressed the hope that the United Nations would play an important role in this process. Ban nodded, absorbed in thought.
By now, Premier Wen had explained to both the host and the United Nations the overall considerations and operational recommendations of the Chinese government concerning the outcome of the conference. What happened later proved that Premier Wen’s suggestions were forward-looking and workable.
