China: New climate fund to be 'market-based'

China will draw up management measures for the new South-South fund soon, Xie Zhenhua, head of the Chinese delegation to the United Nations climate change conference in Lima, Peru, said on Tuesday.

Xie said the South-South fund will be operated with a "market-based approach" to help developing countries build capacities in coping with climate change.

The Chinese government recognizes the existence of climate change and the impact of human activity, Xie said.

Xie said China has organized an expert team to study what policies should be put in place from now to 2050 to realize a low-carbon transition.

China has set a goal to cut its carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 40 to 45 percent by 2020, from the 2005 levels.

"We hope to achieve the higher goal, perhaps even better," said Xie.

Xie said parties in Lima should aim to achieve a "balanced, well-structured, coherent" draft text to lay a foundation for the Paris agreement to be signed next year.

Since 2011, China has spent 270 million yuan helping developing countries improve their capacity to cope with climate change and has trained more than 2,000 officials from some 120 countries.

"It's a mutual learning process," said Xie, who added that China also has learned from other countries' experiences.