China's ambassador to the UK has urged British businesses to collaborate with China to tackle the environmental crisis threatening the world.

Zheng Zeguang said the Belt and Road Initiative offered a framework for UK companies to work together with third countries and Chinese counterparts to produce sustainable development opportunities.

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"I look forward to new contribution emanating from such cooperation to ecological conservation around the world," the ambassador said in a statement on the embassy website.

Earlier in the week, Zheng had delivered a similar message to entrepreneurs and business leaders at a virtual meeting including Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne.

China is currently hosting the United Nations-backed COP15 discussions on tackling the world's biodiversity crisis. 

Zheng set out in a series of YouTube messages some of the measures his country is taking as part of its contribution. These include pledges to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.