 Chinese officials argue that China has been contributing to global warming for only 30 years, while the developed countries have been doing so for 200 years.And since pollution-flagrant early stages of industrialization may have contributed to what China sees as a lack of balance of power particularly between the US and China, many Chinese officials see global warming mitigation as creating an economic burden that slows its economy and further exacerbates the unequal balance of power.Chinese officials point out that the highest "per capita" emissions have long been and still are in the developed countries, not in China, and that about 77% of the greenhouse gas emissions prior to 2000 were created by the already developed nations.