President Hu Jintao will "elaborate on China's position and propositions on climate change" at the upcoming summit of industrialized nations which features a session on global warming.

Assistant Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai told a news briefing yesterday: "China's population is one-fifth of the global population, which means one out of five of the world's people affected by climate change will be in China.

"That is why the Chinese government takes this issue very seriously... We need to base our development on energy that is secure and sustainable."

Hu will attend an expanded summit of the Group of Eight (G8) in Germany from tomorrow to Friday. The meeting at the Baltic Sea resort of Heiligendamm will bring together leaders of the United States, Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, and Japan.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is pushing for countries to commit to concrete reductions in the emissions of greenhouse gases believed to cause global warming, and for a 2 C limit on further increases in average temperature.

Efforts to stop uranium enrichment by Iran, aid to Africa, currency exchange rates and global growth are also on the agenda.

Apart from China, the other developing countries attending the dialogue are India, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico.

It will be the fourth time Hu is attending the G8 outreach session since 2003. The earlier three were in France, Britain and Russia.

Coinciding with Hu's visit, the Chinese government yesterday released its position paper for the G8 meetings, outlining Beijing's policy on climate change, energy, IPR protection, investment liberalization and African development.

Cui reiterated China's long-time and traditional friendship with African countries.

"China and African countries have had a very friendly, brotherly partnership since the establishment of New China, since the 1950s, and that has continued up to now," he said.

"It can be said that this has been widely praised around the globe," he added. "In this world, there will always be people willing to criticise others. If they want to say something, then that's their business. Whether or not it's true, is another matter."

He said China also wants the United Nations to be more involved in preventing conflict.

"China maintains that the United Nations has a bigger role to play in conflict prevention and settlement and post-conflict reconstruction in Africa," the paper said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday praised China's "helpful" role in Sudan. "The Chinese government has been exerting its utmost efforts (on Darfur), as I understand, and appreciate," he said.

After Germany, Hu begins a three-day state visit to Sweden, the first by a Chinese head of state in 57 years since the two countries established diplomatic ties.

Agencies contributed to the story

(China Daily 06/05/2007 page1)