China hopes to work with France to help this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference come to a comprehensive, balanced and potent new agreement, State Councilor Yang Jiechi said in Beijing on Sept 15.

Yang made the remarks while attending the China-France Strategic Dialogue, which was attended by Chinese and French officials, including Jacques Audibert, diplomatic adviser to the French president.

China has prepared well for the Paris conference and as the largest developing country has shown a path to responsibility and cooperation that will set a global example, climate experts said.

China hopes to strengthen communication with France and work in accordance with the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities, fairness and respective capabilities to contribute to the climate change conference, which will be held in the French capital in November, Yang said.

France looks forward to working with China for a successful conference in Paris, Audibert said on Sept 15.

The conference aims to achieve a legally binding agreement that applies to all parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will contain the global temperature rise to within 2 C compared with before the Industrial Revolution.

A balanced agreement means embodying the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and it should balance mitigation and adaptation of global climate change, said Du Xiangwan, chair of the National Expert Committee on Climate Change.

A potent agreement, he added, means that it should contain quantified standards for participants to follow.

“This includes a specified amount of greenhouse gas emissions that should be cut and a specified amount of financial and technical assistance that the developed countries should offer to developing ones to cope with climate change”, he said.

“China has made great efforts at the bilateral level, which is a good preparation for the conference in Paris,” said Du, citing the fact that China signed a joint statement on climate change with the United States in November last year, and one with India and Brazil in May.

Wu Shunze, deputy head of the Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning, agreed.

“China is becoming more confident and active in communicating with the United States and Europe in dealing with climate change. It’s commendable for the largest developing country that while it is still developing at a fast pace, it shows that it’s taking on its responsibility,” he said.

“Such bilateral interactions between large countries will help set an example for the conference in Paris and achieve breakthroughs,” he added.

China and France will strengthen coordination in coping with climate change, both countries said in a joint statement issued in Paris in March last year during President Xi Jinping’s visit to France.

Among other goals, the two countries said that they would strive to push for the passage at the conference of a protocol that comes under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and applies to all its parties.