China on Tuesday rebutted charges by a British official who accused Beijing of "hijacking" the Copenhagen climate talks.

An article by British climate change minister Edward Miliband, published in the Guardian, had singled out Beijing as the culprit behind the talks' near collapse.

China rejected the accusation as politically motivated and baseless.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu told a press conference on Tuesday that the accusation was made by an individual British politician with a "political motive".

Jiang said the charges were aimed at "shirking the obligations of developed countries to their developing counterparts" and that the remark was an attempt to "instigate and divide the developing countries."

She said under joint efforts, the Copenhagen climate talks had produced results. She added China had made arduous efforts in promoting the cause of climate change, and safeguarding the interests of developing nations while contributing to the Copenhagen proceeding.

In his article, Miliband accused China of trying to hijack the UN climate summit in Copenhagen and "hold the world to ransom" to prevent a deal being reached. He wrote: "We cannot again allow negotiations on real points of substance to be hijacked in this way."

The Copenhagen climate talks ended on Dec 18. During the two-week summit, the rift between developed and developing nations was apparent, and negotiations were on the verge of collapsed.

When the Copenhagen Accord was finally produced, many deemed it dissapointing and weak, as it is not a legal binding document on emissions cut targets and other actions.

Links and Sources:
China's Foreign Ministry: Exerpts of the press conference (Chinese)

Ed Miliband's article in the Gurdian: The Road from Copenhagen