China is Capable of Leading Global Climate Governance
719
Union, the United States, and France before releasing a series of documents such as
the China–US Joint Statement on Climate Change, the China-EU Joint Statement
on Climate Change, and the Joint Statement by the Heads of China and France—
statements that laid the foundation for the conclusion of the Paris Agreement. At the
Paris Climate Conference, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that whether
an international agreement is successful or not lies in its ability to solve current
contradictions and prepare for the future. As such, he put forward four expectations
for the Paris Agreement: conducive to achieving the objectives of the Convention
and leading green development; conducive to rallying global efforts and encouraging
extensive participation; conducive to increasing investments and prompting action;
conducive to taking the national conditions of all countries into account, while being
pragmatic and effective. The four expectations laid the tone for the negotiations
of all parties in terms of adhering to the principles of the Framework Convention,
determining the institutional arrangements, pointing out the direction of green and
low-carbon development, and providing financial and technical support. They also
voiced on behalf of the majority of developing countries, which were finally realized
in the Paris Agreement. The UN Climate Conference took place in Bonn, Germany, in
November 2017, and it reached a deadlock. At the time, China adopted a “bridging”
approach, that is, when big differences arose in the negotiations, it would take the
lead to extract the most opposing views and try to find the “greatest common divisor”
(consensus)—an approach that fully demonstrated China’s political influence and
Chinese wisdom recognized by all parties. China’s contributions to the international
climate negotiation at the institutional level have been widely recognized by the
international community, a fact that has in turn enhanced China’s voice in global
climate governance.
In addition to the UN climate negotiation mechanism, China has proposed the
integration of green development into all aspects of the Belt and Road Initiative to
seek a regional cooperation development model based on sustainable development.
For example, at the 2014 APEC High-level Roundtable on Green Development,
China initiated a global green supply chain and value chain cooperation initiative
to promote industrial upgrading and a transition to green development; at the 2016
G20 Hangzhou Summit, China made, for the first time, the green finance initiative an
important topic of the summit; at the 2017 BRICS summit, China proposed to create
a green technology cooperation and exchange platform and promoted partnership for
sustainable urban development, thus achieving important results. China will appear
on more international stages, and work with others to come up with practical and
effective institutional plans.
3. The spiritual level: supply of conceptual public goods
Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, China has successively proposed
green development, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the idea of a community with
a shared future for mankind, all of which have been recognized by the international
community in terms of theory and content, and therefore reflect China’s innovative
thinking increasingly recognized by the world. Moreover, the 19th National Congress
719
Union, the United States, and France before releasing a series of documents such as
the China–US Joint Statement on Climate Change, the China-EU Joint Statement
on Climate Change, and the Joint Statement by the Heads of China and France—
statements that laid the foundation for the conclusion of the Paris Agreement. At the
Paris Climate Conference, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that whether
an international agreement is successful or not lies in its ability to solve current
contradictions and prepare for the future. As such, he put forward four expectations
for the Paris Agreement: conducive to achieving the objectives of the Convention
and leading green development; conducive to rallying global efforts and encouraging
extensive participation; conducive to increasing investments and prompting action;
conducive to taking the national conditions of all countries into account, while being
pragmatic and effective. The four expectations laid the tone for the negotiations
of all parties in terms of adhering to the principles of the Framework Convention,
determining the institutional arrangements, pointing out the direction of green and
low-carbon development, and providing financial and technical support. They also
voiced on behalf of the majority of developing countries, which were finally realized
in the Paris Agreement. The UN Climate Conference took place in Bonn, Germany, in
November 2017, and it reached a deadlock. At the time, China adopted a “bridging”
approach, that is, when big differences arose in the negotiations, it would take the
lead to extract the most opposing views and try to find the “greatest common divisor”
(consensus)—an approach that fully demonstrated China’s political influence and
Chinese wisdom recognized by all parties. China’s contributions to the international
climate negotiation at the institutional level have been widely recognized by the
international community, a fact that has in turn enhanced China’s voice in global
climate governance.
In addition to the UN climate negotiation mechanism, China has proposed the
integration of green development into all aspects of the Belt and Road Initiative to
seek a regional cooperation development model based on sustainable development.
For example, at the 2014 APEC High-level Roundtable on Green Development,
China initiated a global green supply chain and value chain cooperation initiative
to promote industrial upgrading and a transition to green development; at the 2016
G20 Hangzhou Summit, China made, for the first time, the green finance initiative an
important topic of the summit; at the 2017 BRICS summit, China proposed to create
a green technology cooperation and exchange platform and promoted partnership for
sustainable urban development, thus achieving important results. China will appear
on more international stages, and work with others to come up with practical and
effective institutional plans.
3. The spiritual level: supply of conceptual public goods
Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, China has successively proposed
green development, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the idea of a community with
a shared future for mankind, all of which have been recognized by the international
community in terms of theory and content, and therefore reflect China’s innovative
thinking increasingly recognized by the world. Moreover, the 19th National Congress