Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the 16th G20 Leaders' Summit via video link in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 31, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

BEIJING, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday called on the international community to take concrete actions to address climate change and energy issues.

Xi made the remarks while addressing the 16th G20 Leaders' Summit via video link in Beijing.

Climate change and energy issues are today's prominent global challenges, which concern the common interests of the international community and the future of the Earth, Xi said.

The willingness and motivation of the international community to work together to cope with challenges continued to rise, and the key is to take concrete actions, he said.

He called on the world to adopt comprehensive and balanced policies, and balance environmental protection and economic development, as well as addressing climate change and safeguarding people's livelihood. Major economies should strengthen cooperation in this area, he added.

Xi urged for fully and effectively implementing the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, upholding the role of the UN as the main channel, following the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, abiding by international law, and being action-oriented.

He also highlighted the importance of taking stronger actions and enhancing cooperation.

The Chinese president also called on developed countries to increase their support for developing countries, saying that the G20 members should take the lead in the promotion and application of advanced technologies, and developed countries should earnestly fulfill their commitments to developing countries in providing funds to help them cope with climate change.

In the past 15 years, the cut of China's carbon emission intensity has greatly exceeded the climate action goals of 2020, Xi said.

He stressed that China would successively release implementation plans and supporting measures for major areas and industries to achieve carbon peaking, and establish the "1+N" policy framework for carbon peak and carbon neutrality.

China would continue to promote the transformation and upgrading of energy and industrial structures, promote the research, development and application of green and low-carbon technologies, support qualified localities, industries, and enterprises to take the lead in reaching the peak, and make positive contributions to the global efforts on addressing climate change and promoting the energy transformation, Xi said.

At present, the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered multiple crises, Xi said, adding that the development achievements made by the international community over the years have been seriously eroded and developing countries are facing unprecedented challenges and tests.

The COVID-19 pandemic has once again shown that all countries, with high stakes in each other's future and converging interests, form a community with a shared future for mankind, Xi said, noting that promoting sustainable development in developing countries will benefit the people of the countries concerned, and also affect the future and destiny of the whole mankind and the Earth.

China recently has launched the Global Development Initiative and called on the international community to accelerate the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and promote a stronger, greener and healthier global development, Xi said, adding that the G20 should build consensus and step up actions in this regard.

Xi stressed giving priority to development and acting on the people-centered philosophy. He urged all parties to take improving people's well-being and achieving all-around human development as the starting point and the ultimate goal, place development cooperation in a more prominent position in global macro-policy coordination and the G20 agenda, and strive to address problems including poverty and imbalanced development.

He called on the G20 to stick to being action-oriented and promote practical cooperation. All sides should increase input in development, attach importance to the needs of developing countries, and strengthen cooperation in critical areas including poverty reduction, food security, industrialization and connectivity, said Xi.

He added that China successfully hosted the International Conference on Food Loss and Waste in September this year, and stands ready to contribute more Chinese wisdom and solutions through the G20 platform.

The G20 should pursue mutual benefit and build partnerships, Xi said, adding that all sides should support the United Nations in playing a coordinating role, deepening global partnership for development, and building a global community of shared future for development. Developed countries should earnestly honor their development assistance commitments and provide more resources to developing countries.

The Global Development Initiative proposed by China will further synergize with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and jointly advance global development, Xi said.

BEIJING, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- China, a major contributor to tackling climate change and an active participant in climate talks, has been a source of strong impetus for global climate governance.

"China has contributed to the conclusion and quick implementation of the Paris Agreement; with its own vision and action it has charted the course for a new form of global climate governance," stated a white paper released Wednesday, elaborating on China's policies, actions and progress in mitigating climate change.

Deeming climate change "a task of great urgency" that needs to be addressed, the document said China has contributed to global unity on climate governance through its leaders' climate diplomacy.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has on many occasions highlighted China's view on global climate governance and expressed China's firm support for the Paris Agreement, facilitating major progress at the global level.

In 2015, Xi delivered a keynote speech at the Paris Conference on Climate Change, making a historic contribution to the conclusion of the Paris Agreement on global climate action after 2020.

In September 2016, he deposited in person the legal instrument of China's ratification of the Paris Agreement. This came as a vigorous push for the quick implementation of the agreement, showing China's ambition and resolution in tackling climate change.

Xi announced that China will scale up its nationally determined contributions at the general debate of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2020, demonstrating China's resolve in applying its new development philosophy and its clear attitude to make further contributions to global efforts against climate change.

At the Climate Ambition Summit in December 2020, President Xi announced China's further commitments for 2030.

China will lower its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by over 65 percent from the 2005 level, increase the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 25 percent, increase the forest stock volume by 6 billion cubic meters from the 2005 level, and bring its total installed capacity of wind and solar power to over 1.2 billion kilowatts.

The country will step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy, and will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad, announced Xi at the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021, manifesting China's sense of responsibility as a major country.

Earlier this month, Xi emphasized efforts to achieve China's carbon peak and neutrality targets when addressing the leaders' summit of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

China will continue to readjust its industrial structure and energy mix, vigorously develop renewable energy, and make faster progress in planning and developing large wind-power and photovoltaic bases in sandy and rocky areas, and deserts, he noted.

The 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), scheduled from Oct. 31 to Nov. 12 in Glasgow, Scotland, is the first of its kind since the Paris Agreement came into force.

China looks forward to working with all parties to make progress at COP26 and promote full implementation of the Paris Agreement goals, said Ye Min, vice minister of ecology and environment. 

BEIJING, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on teachers to provide good guidance to students, as he greeted teachers across the country ahead of China's Teachers' Day that falls on Friday this year.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in a reply letter to representatives of model teaching units named after late geophysicist Huang Danian, a professor at Jilin University. Huang helped China make advances in deep-earth exploration.

A good teacher should be one who has both profound knowledge to share and moral integrity to lead, said Xi, urging model teachers, along with all their colleagues in colleges and universities across China, to continue to cultivate their virtue, focus on teaching and keep on innovating.

Xi said teachers shall provide good guidance to students and nurture them into capable young people who have good and all-round moral, intellectual, physical and aesthetical grounding and are well-prepared to join the socialist cause.

Following Xi's important instruction on learning from Huang's exemplary deeds, the Ministry of Education in 2017 started to identify and honor model teaching units. The first 201 such units were selected from 200 colleges and universities.