China supports the proposal of establishing the Multilateral Technology Access Fund which could bring more technologies into the box of "public goods", Xie said in his speech.

Japan's proposal to calculate potential CO2 reductions on a sector-by-sector basis was widely questioned at the meeting, with opponents from both the developing and the developed worlds expressing concerns that such methods may derail the current UN-led negotiations to create a post-Kyoto global climate framework.

The meeting is the first in a series of ministerial meetings in the run-up to the Group of Eight summit slated for July in northern Japan's Hokkaido Prefecture.

While recognizing the meeting as a good forum to exchange ideas, Xie warned against transforming it into a new dialogue mechanism which could disturb UN-led negotiation process for Conventions and Protocols.

(Xinhua News Agency March 17, 2008)