China offers climate change programs

BEIJING - China will offer training programs on climate change to 1,000 officials and technicians from developing countries from 2012 to 2014, a Chinese official said here Thursday.

The move aims to help other developing countries combat climate change and enhance their capabilities for sustainable development, Xie Zhenhua, deputy director of China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said at the closing ceremony of a seminar on climate change and environmentally-friendly, low-carbon development.

China has also started a three-year program that offers low-carbon and energy-saving products to small island nations, African countries and the world's least-developed countries between 2011 and 2013, according to Xie.

Although China still faces many challenges such as economic development and poverty reduction, the country will continue to provide other developing countries with assistance and support in coping with climate change within its available resources, said Xie.

"China will further increase south-south cooperation," he said, noting that the NDRC has signed memoranda of understanding with its counterparts in Nigeria, Grenada and Ethiopia, and that relevant work has already started.

China will focus on cooperation on infrastructure construction and technical promotions for climate change adaptation, as well as the promotion and development of energy-saving and renewable energy products, he added.