As foreign and environmental ministers head into the final stretch to agree on a global climate deal in Paris, some activist groups are urging China to play a more constructive role, saying Beijing could be a game changer in the second, final week of talks. Negotiators adopted a 48-page text on Saturday after the first week of discussions, which ended with clashes over whether more affluent developing countries should give financial aid to less developed ones, and whether to set a lower threshold for a temperature rise, as some island nations have proposed. At the talks, known as COP21, more than 190 nations are tasked with adopting a framework to limit carbon emissions to ensure global temperatures do not rise more than 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels, by 2100. Anything higher is expected to trigger extreme storms and flooding, longer heatwaves, and faster melting of glaciers and the polar ice caps – raising sea levels and plunging millions into poverty. READ MORE: Paris climate talks: Loquacious leaders make for a long day at climate summit In the coming days, ministers and negotiators are expected to engage in intense talks to eliminate the 939 differences remaining in the text. “There is still hope for an ambitious deal to be reached, but there is also risk that countries will race to the bottom, which the French presidency has to prevent,” said Li Shuo, Greenpeace China’s climate and energy campaigner. China’s chief negotiator, Su Wei, said the text “is only a basis for negotiation, there are several disagreements that we need to talk to each other about”. In the first week, countries were divided on a number of issues such as whether wealthy developing countries should become potential donors to the Green Climate Fund, supplementing developed nations’ obligatory input of financing for more vulnerable countries. Some developing countries are fine with the proposal. Vietnam, for example, announced on Saturday it would contribute US$1 million. Negotiators from India, however, argued such an arrangement would blur the existing separation between developing and developed countries enshrined in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. China has been praised for its goal to have carbon emissions peak by 2030. It has also offered to contribute US$3.1 billion to help other developing nations. But Beijing still has the potential “to block any issues”, according to Jennifer Morgan, global director of the climate programme at the World Resources Institute. China could be a real game changer in the upcoming talks Jennifer Morgan, World Resources Institute “China could be a real game changer in the upcoming talks. During the first week, China has aligned itself with Saudi Arabia on some issues,” Morgan said. “We really hope that China could join the ‘high ambition’ coalition, and support the vulnerable island countries and least developed African countries.” Saudi Arabia was seen as the biggest blocker in the first week, rejecting calls by small island nations that the rise should be limited to 1.5 degrees. China – the world’s biggest carbon emitter – and the United States prefer a target below 2 degrees, which would allow some room for future growth in carbon emissions. Beijing is also reluctant to put such wording as “decarbonisation” or “zero emissions” into the article on countries’ long-term goals for tackling climate change. Saudi Arabia has also been accused of blocking the idea that the commitments countries have put on the table – covering emission cuts between 2020 and 2030 – should be reviewed before then and may be raised. Observers say China does not support reviewing national contributions ahead of 2020, as any increases and the resulting effects on its five-year plan would unsettle government officials. “As on other diplomatic issues, China hates to be told by outsiders what to do or what not to do. It’s pretty clear that the country feels more comfortable doing things at its own pace,” an observer said. China might also be uncomfortable about procedures to verify its domestic actions in the interests of transparency.