Beijing, April 15, (dpa/GNA) – John Kerry, special envoy for climate of the US government, arrived in China on Thursday for talks with his counterpart Xie Zhenhua.
Kerry is the highest-ranking officer of US President Joe Biden’s new administration to visit China.
During talks on Thursday and Friday, the climate envoy is to prepare an online climate summit that had been called by Biden for April 22 and 23.
It is expected that Chinese President Xi Jinping will also be present at the talks, though this has not been confirmed.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry meanwhile said Xi would participate in online talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and German government leaders on Friday.
The United States and China are the world’s largest economies – and are also among the most prolific emitters of carbon dioxide. Their participation to fight climate change is therefore crucial. Despite tensions between the two countries, observers believe cooperation on fighting global warming is possible.
During the summit, Biden wants to emphasize the urgency for implementing stronger measures to fight global warming and their economic importance.
Before the summit, the United States are also to announce an ambitious climate goal for the year 2030 as contribution to the Paris climate agreement.
Xi Jinping has previously said that China would become carbon neutral before 2060, with carbon emissions reaching their peak before 2030.
GNA