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China

The People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as China) is located in the eastern hemisphere and the west coast of the Pacific, and in East Asia. As a country covering 9,596,961 square kilometers containing over 1.3 billion people, China is by far the largest country in the region in terms of both geography and population (CIA, 2011). With a human development index ranking of 89 out of 169, China’s ranking is average for the region, although inequality within the country gives rise to varying levels of development along regional and rural-urban lines (UNDP, 2010). As a result of its rapidly growing economy, China is in a unique position of being one of the major international contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions, but is also highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to its economy, society and natural environment.  China advocates joint and coordinated efforts of the international community to tackle climate change, and has made positive efforts in this regard. China has participated in the international talks on implementing the “Bali Road Map” and reinforcing the full, effective and sustained implementation of the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol. In its position paper on the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, China expresses its willingness to make the most sincere and greatest efforts to make the meeting a success. China’s climate is characterized by the distinct continental monsoon climate and the complex climate types, which provides complex and multiple natural background and different environments for various human activities. In the meantime, it also frequently gives rise to natural disasters, threatening social and economic activities. East China is one of the regions in the world with typical monsoon climate. The warm and humid airflow, which the summer monsoon brings from the sea, carries abundant rainfalls and provides a desirable natural environment. However, a concentrated rainfall also tends to cause disasters such as floods, storms and storm tides. Located deep in the hinterland, Northwest China lacks surface water owing to its inactive water circulation, and has a typical continental dry climate, which results in a fairly fragile natural and ecological environment. Because of its high elevation, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has a special plateau climate with annual average temperature below 0 degrees Celsius in most part. The seasonal change of temperature in China is quite prominent. In most regions, there are 4 distinct seasons, with cold winter and hot summer. According to the temperature indicator, the country is divided into 5 zones from south to north, i.e. tropical, subtropical, warm temperate, temperate and frigid zones. The seasonal changes of temperature in most regions of China are fiercer than that of other regions in the world with the same latitude (China’s Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change - The Progress Report 2009, November, 2009; China's Initial National Communication, 10 December 2004).