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Hu made the comments Friday at a Communist Party Central Committee meeting where officials had gathered to study the effects of climate change, Xinhua, the state-run Chinese news agency, reported. At the meeting, Hu ordered all levels of the party bureaucracy to put the issue of emissions reductions "deep into the people's hearts", while at the same time calling to maintain China's status as a developing nation under the United Nations' Kyoto Protocol. That status allows the country to avoid implementing emission caps until after 2012.

"How we cope with climate change is related to the country's economic development and people's practical benefits. It's in line with the country's basic interests", Hu said.

China's main motivation in fighting climate change may be the toll it has paid from floods, which this year have added to its burden in coping with the devastating May earthquake in Sichuan province. In his comments to party leaders, Hu talked about enhancing China's abilities to monitor, forecast and withstand extreme natural disasters as a result of abnormal weather.

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