US climate envoy John Kerry to travel to China next week - Reuters
US climate envoy John Kerry to travel to China next week | Reuters
US climate envoy John Kerry to travel to China next week
WASHINGTON, July 11 (Reuters) - U.S. climate envoy John Kerry on Monday will become the Biden administration's third senior official to visit China in recent weeks after trips by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
A U.S. official said on Tuesday that Kerry would visit from Monday to Thursday.
Washington has sought to repair ties with Beijing frayed over national security issues, including Taiwan; spying allegations; U.S. export bans on advanced technologies; China's state-led industrial policies; human rights issues; the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and trade tariffs.
Kerry said in May that China had invited him to visit "in the near term" for talks on averting a global climate crisis despite tensions between the world's two biggest economies and greenhouse gas emitters.
The two countries have previously cooperated on climate change with breakthroughs that led to the 2015 Paris climate accord.
Kerry last met his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua in January.
Yellen said over the weekend that her meetings with senior Chinese officials were "direct" and "productive," helping to stabilise the superpowers' often rocky relationship.
Last month, Blinken met President Xi Jinping in China but soon after his trip ended, U.S. President Joe Biden referred to Xi as a 'dictator,' risking a further deterioration of relations.
The visits have covered a range of topics but produced no clear breakthroughs.
China last year briefly suspended talks with the United States on climate, security and other matters in response to a visit to Taiwan by U.S. House of Representatives by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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