India, Nov. 20 -- Has China taken the mantle of climate leadership?

Goings on in Belem at the COP30 climate conference would suggest so - and not just because of the scale of China's pavilion.

Beijing is backing developing countries on the most contentious issue at COP30, article 9.1 which mandates that developed nations provide climate finance to assist developing country parties with their climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts, negotiators said.

"China is fighting for developing countries. There is no ambiguity that they are in the developing bloc as per United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change," said a developing country negotiator. "This may help get a balanced package out of Belem," he added.

To be sure, I...