Kerry says climate cooperation could affect Sino-US relations

This was stated by the US Special Envoy for Climate Change, John Kerry, to the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party’s Foreign Affairs Committee and a member of its Politburo, Wang Yi, during a meeting in the capital.

For his part, the senior Asian diplomat emphasized the need for a healthy, stable and sustainable relationship between China and the United States that would have a positive impact on the rest of the world.

Wang called Kerry an “old friend” and noted that they had previously “worked together to solve a series of problems between the two sides.”

Earlier, the US official had a lengthy meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua, with whom he discussed the challenges of coal and methane pollution, among other issues.

Kerry stressed that the two largest economies in the world had the opportunity to confront this phenomenon jointly and constructively.

Among the objectives of this visit, which culminates tomorrow, is the promotion of a successful COP28 conference, referring to the United Nations conference on climate change scheduled to be held in the United Arab Emirates in November and December of this year.

In fact, the event will be the first official assessment of countries’ progress toward the Paris Agreement’s target of limiting climate change to 1.5°C (34.7°F) of warming.

Kerry arrived in Beijing at a time when heat waves – linked to climate change – are showing record numbers in the world, especially in China, the United States and Europe.

Additionally, the special envoy is the third senior Joe Biden administration official to reach the Asian giant in less than two months, following visits by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Experts interpret these exchanges as an attempt by both sides to ease the deterioration of bilateral relations, which have come to a head over disagreements over issues such as Taiwan, human rights and economic warfare.

lam / idm