Time.news – China and the United States will cooperate so that the international community sets more ambitious objectives for the containment of the global warming before the Glasgow international conference of next November. This is what we read in a joint note following the meeting in Shanghai between the United States envoy for climate, John Kerry, and its Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua.
“The United States and China have pledged to cooperate with each other and with other countries to tackle the climate crisis,” the note read. The two nations, the statement continues, “will continue to discuss concrete actions in 2020 to reduce emissions with the aim of maintaining the temperature within the limits established by the Paris agreements”.
China and the US, the note continues, “intend to develop” their respective long-term strategies to achieve carbon neutrality before the start of the Scottish summit and, in the short term, intend to strengthen “investments and international financing” to countries in development for the energy transition and renewable energies. Joint commitment also for the gradual elimination of hydrofluorocarbons, polluting gases used in the refrigeration industry.
A virtual summit waiting for Glasgow
The visit of the former secretary of state, which began on Wednesday, is there first mission to China by a member of the Biden administration and aims to prepare the virtual climate summit that next week will see the president of the United States confront the Chinese president between Thursday and Friday, Xi Jinping, and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
The joint note states that both countries “look forward to” the summit on Thursday but the presence of Xi has not yet been officially confirmed. “We hope he participates,” Kerry told reporters in Seoul, where he landed today after spending four days in China.
Biden’s bet
Biden has made the fight against global warming a priority of his administration, with a clear change of course from his predecessor Donald Trump, who had abandoned the Paris agreements of 2015, to which the US has now joined again. The president of the United States hopes that the confrontation with Xi and Putin will prepare the ground for a more resolute commitment of the international community at the next UN climate conference to be held in Glasgow from 1 to 12 November.
The meeting between Kerry and Xie is also relevant in light of the strong tensions between Washington and Beijing emerged at the diplomatic summit held in Alaska on March 18. From the persecution of the Uyghur community in Xinjang to the repression of the democratic uprisings in Hong Kong, there are many points of friction between the two superpowers.
Biden, however, is convinced that on some fronts, such as the climate, it is possible to collaborate with China despite the fact that diplomatic relations remain conflicting in other sectors. The president of the United States has invited over 40 heads of state to the virtual summit next week.
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