BEIJING (AFP) - China played an "important and constructive" role at UN climate change talks in Copenhagen, Premier Wen Jiabao said Monday, after Britain blamed Beijing for helping to "hijack" the marathon negotiations.

China, the world's top carbon polluter, has been criticised following the talks in the Danish capital, as the final statement does not include firm targets for emissions cuts and is not legally binding.

China "played an important and constructive role in pushing the Copenhagen talks to yield the current results", Wen said in an interview with Xinhua news agency.

At the talks in Copenhagen which concluded last week, China "expressed its fullest sincerity and made its utmost effort", Wen said, according to excerpts of the interview posted on the foreign ministry website.

The Copenhagen Accord set "long-term goals" for the global community in addressing climate change, Wen said.

"This is the result of the efforts from all sides and has wide approval. This result did not come easy and should be cherished."

Britain's climate change minister Ed Miliband said China had led a group of countries that "hijacked" the negotiations which had at times presented "a farcical picture to the public".

Miliband blamed Beijing for the fact that the agreement finally put together by a select group of leaders -- including Wen -- set no target for greenhouse gas emissions cuts and is not legally binding.

"We did not get an agreement on 50 percent reductions in global emissions by 2050 or on 80 percent reductions by developed countries," Miliband wrote in The Guardian newspaper.

"Both were vetoed by China, despite the support of a coalition of developed and the vast majority of developing countries," he said.

But Wen defended Beijing's position, saying China was "willing to work with all sides, using the Copenhagen meeting as a new starting point for the complete fulfillment of commitments".

"China is willing to push forward continued progress on international cooperation on climate change and make the necessary contributions on mankind's efforts to address climate change," the Chinese premier said.