China Rejects Accusations That It Blocked Copenhagen Progress

Media reports in Britain accuse China and other developing nations of "hijacking" efforts to reach a deeper agreement at Copenhagen on how to fight global warming.

Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu turned the accusations around and pointed a finger at developed countries.

Jiang says developed countries did not perform well at the Copenhagen summit. She also accuses developed countries of not honoring their commitments, though she gives no specifics.

She says developed countries are not qualified to censure developing countries, and should instead "reflect on their own behavior."

Jiang said China made strong efforts to push the Copenhagen meeting along what it thinks is the "right track."

Jiang says China has taken its own voluntary measures to combat climate change, and says China's goals are not linked to the goals of any other country.

She says China sees the Copenhagen conference as "a new beginning to further create consensus." She also says China supports pressing ahead with international cooperation on the issue.

The talks in Copenhagen ended Saturday with a broad, non-binding accord that fell short of hopes for a robust global agreement on curbing greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide, are created in part by burning oil and coal for transportation and electricity. Climate scientists think they are contributing to rising global temperatures.

Beijing rejected efforts to bind developing nations to emissions cuts.

China and other big developing countries have accused the rich economies of failing to offer big enough cuts in their emissions. They also say wealthy nations did not offer enough money and technological help to poor countries to cope with climate change.