The US and China have been throwing their weight around at the Apec summit in Sydney over the contentious issues of the Iraq war and global warming.
Australia and the US want Apec to agree to non-binding goals for reducing carbon emissions but while that is not tough enough for countries like New Zealand it may be too tough for countries like China.
Governing a nation of 1.3 billion people which is fast becoming an economic superpower, Chinese president Hu Jintao is threatening to block John Howard's modest aims to combat climate change at Apec.
"I think it is very important that every country contributes to the goal of reducing emissions but China is a very large country and produces lots of thermal emissions, therefore it has to be part of the solution," says NZ Trade Minister Phil Goff.
China's large economy is also one New Zealand wants to sign a Free Trade Agreement with and the Trade Minister rejected the idea that the deal should include agreement on combating global warming.
"If we were to sign only with developed countries which have signed the Kyoto Protocol then you would rule out our three major trading partners," says Goff.
With the New Zealand government not able to agree on the present situation one gets a sense of just how difficult it is for 21 Apec economies to work through difficult issues such as how to increase global trade while reducing the threat of global warming.
