"Construction starts may have been up last year, but I expect that to fall around 10% this year because of the central government's lowered target for public-housing starts and diminished investment from private-property developers, " said Johnson Hu, a CIMB-GK Securities analyst.

WSJ: China Construction Starts Slowed in 2011

China will "endeavor" to cut emissions of carbon dioxide -- the most prevalent of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change -- by "a notable margin" in coming years, Hu said, adding that China also will "vigorously develop renewable energy and nuclear energy" with the goal of increasing the share of non-fossil fuels in total energy consumption to 15 percent by 2020.

CNN: Obama warns recession makes climate change fight harder

Hu set off for downtown Beijing, working the phone and e-mailing from the back seat of a car, directing her staff to rent a satellite phone and get a crew to Sichuan.

NEWYORKER: The Forbidden Zone