[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the climate change summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden on the 22nd and 23rd. Attention is focused on whether close cooperation can be achieved amid rising tensions between the U.S. and China.
On the 12th, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP), citing a source familiar with the matter, reported this and added, "Before the virtual meeting, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry is expected to visit China and meet with Chinese climate envoy Xie Zhenhua in Shanghai."
Kerry's visit to China is part of his Asia tour, which began on the 5th and includes stops in India and Bangladesh. It is also the first visit to China by a senior official since the Biden administration took office.
After President Biden appointed former Secretary of State Kerry as climate envoy in January, China reappointed Xie Zhenhua as climate envoy for the first time in three years.
Climate change is a shared concern for both countries. The U.S. has set a plan to reduce carbon emissions by more than 50% from 2005 levels by 2030. President Xi declared that China will turn its carbon emissions downward before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
Since the Anchorage U.S.-China high-level talks ended in a heated exchange less than a month ago, attention is on whether the two countries can find points of cooperation on climate change at this face-to-face meeting. After the talks, China announced that the two countries agreed to form a climate change working group, while the U.S. claimed no such agreement was made. The Washington Post explained, "This shows the Biden administration's effort to avoid being drawn into a Chinese-style tactic of formalizing a consultative body that may not produce results."
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