The Chinese government expressed quiet satisfaction at the outcome of the Copenhagen talks despite European accusations that it had systematically wrecked the negotiating process.China's foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, described the outcome as "significant and positive".Among the achievements, he said, was the setting of binding emissions cuts for rich nations and voluntary mitigation actions by developing nations, such as China."It is not a destination, but a new beginning," he said in a statement that asserted China's right to continue its economic growth without the limits of legally binding emissions cuts.Xinhua, the state-controlled news agency, also emphasised what was maintained rather than what was achieved."The Copenhagen accord protected the principal of 'common but differentiated responsibility' under the climate convention and the Kyoto protocol."It outlines the requirement for developed countries to set compulsory emission reduction targets and for developing nations to take voluntary mitigation actions," said the agency.This underscores China's primary goal in the conference: to block any proposal that threatened its capacity to expand. Negotiators played the conference like a football team intent on a 0-0 draw. Their strategy was defensive, their tactics were tough and their tackling of opponents occasionally brutal.At the opening of the high-level segment, China's chief negotiator Su Wei interrupted the Danish chair, the most public of a series of moves aimed at undermining the authority of the host.With the support of other emerging economies ‑ India, Brazil and South America ‑ they shot down all attempts to make emissions cuts legally binding or to set long-term goals for reducing greenhouse gases.This left little to boast about. After the unusually assertive public diplomacy of the early stages of the conference, China retreated into silent mode during the endgame.Unlike other leaders who were present at Copenhagen, prime minister ...

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