It is one of the most contentious questions at COP29: Which countries should contribute to the new financial target, the NCQG? High-income and heavily polluting emerging economies – such as China – are unwilling to take on payment obligations. Developing countries are not demanding China’s participation, even though the country is a major lender for many of them, particularly in Africa. This issue is rarely discussed at the climate conference. And there are good reasons for that.