Referring to global warming, Negroponte said as President George W. Bush had said earlier this month that a new international climate control regime to replace the Kyoto protocol expiring in 2012 would not work without India or China.

"We've got to come up -- the international community has got to come up with a new plan. And if we give a pass, again, to China and India, these major rapidly growing economies - if we don't get them on, whatever measures we take are going to be totally cancelled and overshadowed."

While US commitment to it should certainly not be dependent on their commitment, "the question is whether we also make them internationally legally binding", he said.

"And I think to take that second step, I think we would insist that other countries, including these major emitting nations like China and India, do so as well."