SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – The United States and China, the two largest carbon pollutants in the world, have agreed to cooperate with other countries to curb climate change, just days before President Joe Biden hosts a virtual summit of world leaders to discuss the issue.
U.S. special envoy for climate John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua reached an agreement during two days of talks in Shanghai last week, the State Department said in a statement Saturday.
“The United States and China are committed to cooperating with each other and with other countries to address the climate crisis, which must be addressed with the seriousness and urgency it demands,” the joint statement said.
China and the United States are the world’s major carbon pollutants, pumping nearly half of the fossil fuel fumes that heat the planet’s atmosphere. Their cooperation is key to the success of global efforts to curb climate change, but unequal ties over China’s human rights, trade and land claims over Taiwan and the South China Sea have threatened to undermine these efforts.
Kerry’s trip to Shanghai was the highest-level trip to China by a U.S. official since Biden took office in January. From Shaghai, the former secretary of state flew to South Korea to talk.
Biden has invited 40 world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, to the April 22-23 summit. The United States and other countries are expected to announce more ambitious national targets to reduce carbon emissions before or during the meeting, along with promising financial aid for the climate efforts of less affluent nations.
It is unclear to what extent Kerry’s visit to China would promote US-China climate cooperation.
While Kerry was still in Shanghai, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng noted on Friday that China is unlikely to make any new commitments at next week’s summit.
“For a large country with 1.4 billion people, these goals cannot be easily achieved,” Le said during an interview with The Associated Press in Beijing. “Some countries are asking China to achieve the goals sooner. I’m afraid that’s not very realistic. “
As for whether Xi would join the summit, Le told him that “the Chinese side is actively studying the issue.”
During a video meeting with German and French leaders on Friday, Xi also said that climate change “should not become a geopolitical chip, a target for attacking other countries or an excuse for trade barriers,” though which called for closer cooperation on the issue, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
Biden, who has said fighting global warming is one of his top priorities if the United States rejoined the Paris climate deal in the early hours of his presidency, undoing the withdrawal of states United ordered by predecessor Donald Trump.
The main emitters of greenhouse gases are preparing for the next United Nations climate summit to be held in Glasgow, UK, in November. The summit aims to relaunch global efforts to keep global temperatures rising to below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), as agreed in the Paris agreement.
According to the US-China statement, the two countries would improve “their respective actions and cooperation in multilateral processes, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement.”
He said both countries “are firmly committed to working together and with other parties to strengthen the implementation of the Paris Agreement.”
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Associated Press writer Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed to this report.