Kerry Says Climate Change Cooperation Could Boost US, China Relations - Voice of America - VOA News
Kerry Says Climate Change Cooperation Could Boost US, China Relations
U.S. climate envoy John Kerry told China’s top diplomat Wang Yi on Tuesday that he hopes addressing the threat of climate change can be a path of cooperation between the two countries.
"We are very hopeful that this can be the beginning, not just of a conversation between you and me and us on the climate track, but that we can begin to change the broader relationship," Kerry told Wang during a visit to Beijing.
The United States and China are the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters.
Wang said China believes the two countries can “find a proper solution to any problem” through renewed dialogue.
Kerry also met Tuesday with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who said the U.S. and China should strengthen coordination to address the “daunting challenge” of climate change.
Tuesday’s talks followed a meeting Monday between Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua.
Kerry is the latest U.S. official to travel to Beijing in recent months amid a push to improve relations, following the trips of Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate diplomacy
Talks are well underway in preparation for the next major international meeting on climate change, 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), scheduled to begin Nov. 30 in the United Arab Emirates.
Much like last year’s COP27, finances — specifically, aid to developing nations — will be at the center of conference deliberations.
The conference faces an even greater sense of urgency brought on by the Sept. 8, 2023, release of the first global stocktake, which calls for accelerated action to meet the goals set in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement (COP21).
Climate diplomacy: COP 27 | Climate diplomacy: COP 28 | Climate diplomacy: COP 29