China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, defended on Tuesday the importance of Beijing and Washington “maintaining stable relations” and the need to “eliminate any interference” to cooperate in the fight against climate change.
Wang Yi met with US climate envoy John Kerry in Beijing on Tuesday to discuss cooperation on climate change and stabilize relations between the two countries.
“China is willing to strengthen dialogue, explore win-win cooperation and jointly address the issue of climate change,” Wang Yi said, according to a statement issued by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Both parties recognized the “enormous potential” for cooperation on climate change and the importance of having the understanding and support of their respective citizens, the same note read.
Wang Yi also said that Beijing hopes the United States will adopt a “rational, pragmatic and positive policy” toward China, while adhering to the “one China” principle on the Taiwan issue.
According to the statement released by Chinese diplomacy, Kerry assured that his country has always upheld the ‘One China’ principle and is willing to “strengthen cooperation” in a “spirit of mutual respect”.
The United States attaches “great importance” to stabilizing relations with China and hopes to “properly manage” the differences between the two countries and “address together” global challenges such as climate change.
Kerry’s visit to Beijing comes as the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies and top emitters of greenhouse gases, are resuming talks on climate change, interrupted by deteriorating relations between Washington and Beijing.
The US envoy’s trip also coincides with a period when several regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including China, are experiencing extreme temperatures, with heat levels reaching back-to-back records.
On Monday, John Kerry met for four hours with his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, according to state television CCTV.
Washington and Beijing “must take urgent action on several fronts, particularly on pollution from coal and methane use,” Kerry wrote on Twitter on Monday.
“The climate crisis requires the two largest economies in the world to work together to limit global warming,” he added.
The climate dialogue was interrupted by China almost a year ago, in protest of the trip to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi, then leader of the US House of Representatives.
Source: TSF
