Ban has made climate change a priority for UN programmes this year.

Government leaders are due to meet in Copenhagen Dec 7-18 to try to reach a new agreement that would replace the Kyoto Protocol and regulate carbon emissions, which cause global warming. The current protocol expires in 2012.

'Without China, there can be no success this year on a new global climate framework,' Ban said Friday.

'But with China, there is an enormous potential for the world to seal a deal in Copenhagen,' he said.

Ban arrived in China late Thursday for a four-day visit. He also planned to hold talks with Premier Wen Jiabao and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi before travelling Saturday to the north-western city of Xian, an ancient Chinese capital now best known for its terracotta warriors.

He plans to visit Mongolia Sunday, where he is to meet Mongolian leaders and address the challenges of climate change and adaptation in land-locked nations.

Ban was scheduled to spend time with traditional Mongolian herder communities to learn about the impact of climate change on their lives, UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe said in New York this week.