Beijing, July 16 (Online Desk): US climate envoy John Kerry will travel to China on Sunday to meet with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to resume stalled talks between the world’s two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases. According to scientists, record summer temperatures have been observed over the past few weeks as a result of climate change. Kerry’s visit is in that context. And, this will be his third visit to China as US President Joe Biden’s climate envoy. News from AFP.
Bilateral climate talks then stalled, with Beijing angered by then-Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Because China considers the island of Taiwan as their territory. However, former Secretary of State Kerry has maintained relatively cordial and consistently improved relations between both Washington and Beijing, such as the Taiwan issue and advanced technology semiconductors. Kerry’s visit to Beijing follows two high-level visits by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the first of US officials to stabilize US-China relations.
Kerry traveled to China on Saturday, the US State Department said. Despite the tensions, Biden has identified the climate as an area for potential cooperation with Beijing. The United States and China are poised to resume climate talks, after notching the hottest global week on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization. According to US and European agencies, June was already the warmest month.
Referring to the UN climate summit in November, the US State Department said Kerry would aim to engage Chinese officials in Beijing on “increasing implementation and ambition” as they move towards a successful COP-28. Nearly 200 countries will gather in the United Arab Emirates for COP28 to discuss global warming and ways to mitigate its effects.
