Last week, China was trumpeting its arrival as one of the world’s great economic powers, as the International Monetary Fund elevated the renminbi to the ranks of leading currencies , alongside the dollar, euro, yen and British pound . This week, China is crying poverty. A crucial issue at the climate negotiations now taking place in Le Bourget, a northeast suburb of Paris, lies in who will foot the bill for $100 billion a year in long-promised assistance for developing countries, starting in 2020. Europe and the United States, still feeling the effects of the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, have been trying to pass the hat for contributions from increasingly affluent middle-income countries, particularly […]