China to put 2010 economic stress on climate change

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will step up construction of major projects related to energy conservation and environmental protection next year, the ruling Communist Party agreed on Friday.

The party's decision-making Politburo, at a meeting to set guidelines for economic policy in 2010, pledged to deal actively with climate change by implementing measures to cut carbon intensity, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The meeting came a day after China announced it was aiming to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide produced for each yuan of national income by 40 percent to 45 percent by 2020 compared with 2005 levels.

The 25-member Politburo, chaired by President Hu Jintao, the head of the Communist Party, also agreed to maintain the continuity and stability of macroeconomic policies next year, Xinhua said, without going into detail.

(Reporting by Alan Wheatley; Editing by Ken Wills)