BEIJING, Sept 4 (Reuters) - China named a senior envoy on Tuesday to handle tough climate change negotiations it fears will cramp economic growth as the country faces pressure to slow rising greenhouse gas emissions.

Former ambassador to Tanzania Yu Qingtai will represent his country in complex negotiations over how the world will address global warming caused by carbon dioxide and other gases from farms, factories and vehicles.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said "special representative" Yu's experience in Africa, the United Nations and international talks would help him present the nation's case.

"He has rich experience in bilateral and multilateral work," Jiang told a regular news briefing. "The Chinese government takes seriously and actively participates in international efforts to respond to climate change."

More than any other country, China faces tough demands in forthcoming negotiations on how the world will cope with global warming and what will succeed the current Kyoto Protocol, which governs signatory states' greenhouse gas responsibilities.

At an Asia-Pacific summit this week in Sydney, Chinese President Hu Jintao will discuss climate change options with other leaders, including U.S. President George W. Bush.

Kyoto's first phase runs out in 2012 and governments want to launch talks at a U.N. gathering in Bali, Indonesia, in December to work out a replacement for the Protocol by 2009.

China is coming under increasing international pressure about its carbon dioxide emissions, expected to overtake U.S. emissions by 2008. But its leaders have rejected caps on output for fear they will cramp growth.

Beijing says developed countries responsible for most of the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere should do more to cut their pollution and transfer clean technology to poorer nations.

On Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced it had established a team of elite diplomats to navigate the negotiations. Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi would head the team, it said on its Web site (www.fmprc.gov.cn).

AlertNet news is provided by