Climate change mechanism set up

The two sides will hold talks regularly to strengthen collaboration and deepen understanding, according to a joint statement issued after China's climate change envoy Xie Zhenhua held talks with Connie Hedegaard, the EU commissioner for climate action, on Thursday.

The two sides will also set up a hotline, the statement said.

"China and the EU appreciate each other's efforts to combat climate change, and would like to restate support for the Copenhagen Accord and promote the political consensus reached in the accord," it said.

The two sides pledge to work closely under the auspices of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol to achieve positive results and meaningful progress at the climate summit in Cancun, Mexico, it said.

China already has a similar mechanism in place for dialogue with the United States.

"The latest mechanism signals that China and the EU, both major participants at the Cancun summit, are making joint moves on addressing climate change," said Zhang Haibin, a professor on climate change at Peking University.

Zhang said the dialogue will help China and the EU get rid of "misperceptions" after last year's Copenhagen summit.

Hedegaard is accompanying European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who is in China to attend the opening ceremony of the World Expo in Shanghai on Friday.

Before leaving for Shanghai, Barroso is scheduled to inaugurate the Europe-China Clean Energy Center at Tsinghua University in the morning, and address students on issues including climate change; Kazinform cites China Daily.

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