China welcomes the latest document issued by the European Union (EU) on climate change, but insists that the EU should raise its emission cut target to 30 percent by 2020, a visiting Chinese official said on Monday.

Su Wei,chief negotiator of China for climate change talks in Copenhagen, told a press briefing here that China welcomed the communication the EU issued in earlier March,which elaborated the bloc's standpoints on climate change for the first time following the Copenhagen talks in December.

"China welcomed in general the EU's latest positions," which among others reaffirmed the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" undertaken by developing and developed countries in dealing with climate change, the Chinese official said.

In the communication issued on March 9, the EU expresses its willingness to continue to play a leading role in fighting against climate change and reaffirms its commitment to reduce its greenhouse gases emissions by 20 percent by 2020 and to increase this reduction to 30 percent if "the conditions are right."

However, Su told reporters that EU should and could raise its emission cut target to 30 percent by 2020 on the basis of 1990 if the bloc wanted to play a leading role in dealing with climate change.

The move would put more pressure on the United States to put forward ambitious goals, the chief negotiator said.

Su said he was visiting the EU headquarters with a Chinese delegation led by Xie Zhenhua, vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, to exchange views with his EU counterparts on climate change.

China and the EU shared many common goals and interests, the two sides should work together to boost international negotiations on climate change, he said.

World leaders are scheduled to meet later this year in the Mexican resort town of Cancun for another go at inking a legally- binding global accord on emission reductions after 2012.

Su said that China hoped the meeting in Cancun can achieve positive and meaningful results and make further progress on the basis of the Copenhagen talks.

(Xinhua News Agency March 23, 2010)