John Kerry in Beijing: Climate Change, “Threat to Humanity”

Global warming is a “threat to humanity” that demands a new kind of cooperation between China and the United States despite their differences, US climate envoy John Kerry pleaded in Beijing on Tuesday.

John Kerry arrived in China on Sunday and met with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi on Tuesday as the world’s two biggest polluters try to restart dialogue after months of diplomatic cooldown. The two shook hands and exchanged a few words before beginning a meeting at the Palace of the People, a majestic building that dominates Tiananmen Square.

“You are our old friend,” Wang Yi told John Kerry, who enjoys a good and unbroken relationship with China. The former secretary of state will make his third visit to Beijing since taking office as US ambassador in 2021. “As you know, climate is a global problem, not a bilateral problem. It is a threat to humanity,” John Kerry told his interlocutor.

John Kerry, whose trip to Beijing ends Wednesday, called for “urgent action” on climate between China and the United States, the planet’s two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases. “We (the Americans) hope that this meeting will mark the beginning of cooperation (on climate) and the ability to resolve our differences,” John Kerry stressed.

“Common Challenge”

“Climate change cooperation between China and the United States is progressing, so we need the joint support of the two peoples,” Wang Yi said. However, he cautioned that “we need a healthy, stable and lasting relationship between China and the United States.” On Monday, John Kerry spoke with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua for four hours, according to state television CCTV.

Washington and Beijing “must take urgent action on multiple fronts, particularly coal and methane pollution,” the US ambassador later said on Twitter. “The climate crisis demands that the world’s two largest economies work together to curb global warming,” he added.

The climate talks were interrupted nearly a year ago: China blocked then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

Diplomatic warming

Even if Washington wants to show its resolve in this area, the atmosphere now seems to be one of resuming trade. John Kerry will call on China to “not hide behind the claim of being a developing country” to reduce its commitment to combating climate change, CNN’s Jake Sullivan, the US president’s national security adviser, announced Sunday. “Every country, including China, has a responsibility to reduce its emissions,” hammered Jack Sullivan.

Visits to China by senior US officials to warm diplomatic ties have multiplied in recent months: US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken went there in June, followed by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in early July.

Mr. Kerry’s visit to the country comes at a time when the impact of climate change is being felt particularly across the planet, with heatwaves in many parts of the world, including China. The mid-July temperature record was broken in the semi-desert region of Xinjiang (west), which recorded 52.2 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

(AFP)Show comments