Premier Wen: China's climate action not subject to international monitoring

COPENHAGEN, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Thursday that China is not obliged to subject its voluntary climate action to international monitoring.

Wen made the remarks when meeting with some world leaders on the sidelines of the ongoing UN climate change conference in the Danish capital, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei told reporters.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (front) arrives to attend the dinner hosted by  Denmark's Queen Margrethe II in Copenhagen, Denmark, Dec. 17, 2009. The  dinner was held to welcome the leaders attending the United Nations Climate  Change Conference. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

The Bali Action Plan has clear stipulations regarding whether a country's mitigation action should be subject to international scrutiny, He Yafei quoted Wen as saying.

"For developing countries, only those mitigation actions supported internationally will be subject to the MRV. The voluntary mitigation actions should not be subject to international MRV," Wen said, referring to the scheme requiring national mitigation action to be "measurable, reportable and verifiable."

Negotiators from more than 190 countries are running against time on Thursday to wrap up the 11-day talks, hoping to seal a deal to move forward the global fight against climate change before world leaders meet on Friday.