China sends vice premier to COP29 climate summit in Baku

China's vice premier, Ding Xuexiang, will travel to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to attend the COP29 climate summit next week, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

The meeting will focus on the issue of climate finance, with nearly 200 countries aiming to thrash out details of a new global fund to help developing countries tackle global warming.

Ding will be a special representative of President Xi Jinping at the leaders' summit at COP29, which begins on Tuesday, Mao Ning, the spokesperson, told a briefing.

She did not say if Xi would attend, but leaders from several major economies have already confirmed they will not go to Baku next week, including U.S. President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Xi is set to speak at the APEC summit in Peru starting from Nov. 15, and will also attend a meeting of the Group of 20 nations in Brazil on Nov. 18, Mao said.

The United States, among others, has called on China to contribute to the new global fund, but Beijing says widening the "donor base" would violate the Paris agreement principle that only richer countries should be obligated to provide finance.

"Developed countries should earnestly meet their responsibilities to provide strong financial support for developing countries to cope with climate change," Mao said.

China is also urging countries at COP29 to refrain from protectionist measures that make it more expensive to cut emissions, it said in a climate action plan this week.