Chinese Ambassador to the United States Zhou Wenzhong on Thursday called on developed countries to help developing nations address climate change, one of the biggest challenges the international community is facing.

Meeting the challenge of climate change is the "common but differentiated responsibility" of all countries, the ambassador told a forum at Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think-tank.

The developed countries, while developing and applying advanced technology at home, have the obligation to promote international cooperation, including honoring their commitments of providing funds and transferring technologies to developing countries such as China, Zhou said.

He said that, with access to funds and environment-friendly technology that they need, developing countries will be able to improve their capabilities to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

The ambassador also said China and the United States have many shared interests and extensive areas for cooperation on energy and climate change.

Strengthening the cooperation between the two countries on energy and climate change will enable China to response to those issues more effectively, while at the same time offering enormous business opportunities and considerable returns to American investors, he said.

"China is ready to maintain the close cooperation with the United States," Zhou said, adding China will continue to be "an active and responsible participant and contributor" to international cooperation on clean energy and climate change.

More than 200 officials and scholars attended the forum, including famous U.S. China expert Kenneth Lieberthal and U.S. energy expert David Sandalow, who outlined nine recommendations for China-U.S. cooperation on climate change.

(Xinhua News Agency February 6, 2009)