U.S. climate envoy John Kerry (left) gestures as he speaks next to China’s climate envoy Xie Zhenhua (right) at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, May 24, 2022.
Fabrice Coverini | AFP | Getty Images
BEIJING – The President’s climate envoy John Kerry will visit Beijing from July 16-19, according to announcements from the United States and China.
“In meeting with (People’s Republic of China) officials, Secretary Kerry aimed to engage China on its response to the climate crisis, including increased implementation and ambition, and a successful COP28,” the State Department said in a statement. statement.
Kerry’s trip will mark the third time in a month that senior U.S. officials have traveled to China for talks.
While the meetings have yet to lead to concrete action, they mark the resumption of face-to-face communication interrupted by the pandemic and geopolitical tensions.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrapped up a four-day trip to Beijing on Sunday. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited Beijing in late June, months after he was scheduled to visit in February.
Blinken delayed the initial plan after news emerged that a Chinese spy balloon had flown over U.S. airspace. Beijing claimed it was a weather balloon that went off course.
While Blinken’s trip to China led to a general consensus on the need for more flights between the two countries, the secretary of state said he failed to restore communication between the militaries.
“It is clearly in the interests of both countries to avoid any kind of miscalculation“Especially the military aspect. So that’s something we’re going to keep looking at,” Blinken said in an interview with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Tuesday, according to a State Department transcript.
Blinken added that he and Yellen had “lengthy discussions” about areas where the U.S. and China had “deep differences” and areas for cooperation. “This is going to continue,” he said.
cooperation field
The US and China say they can cooperate on climate and macroeconomics. Climate talks were suspended after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August. Her trip has angered Beijing, which considers the democratically self-governing island part of its territory.
The two countries resumed communication on the climate issue after U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in person last November.
China’s climate envoy Xie Zhenhua attended a virtual meeting of the U.S.-led Major Economies Energy and Climate Forum in April, according to White House sources. Kerry said in a release that Xie also attended the US-led Conference of the Parties (COP 27) in Egypt in November.
The United States and China did not specify which Chinese officials Kerry will meet with on his upcoming trip to Beijing.
The parties will “exchange views on the following issues” Cooperation on Climate Change,” China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment said in a statement.
rising global temperature
The national average temperature in June was 0.7 degrees Celsius (33 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than a year earlier, and Second hottest this month This dates back to 1961, according to the China Meteorological Administration.
Beijing has seen daily maximum temperatures near 37.8 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) or higher over the past few weeks.Heavy rainfall or warning of flash floods.
Meanwhile, wildfires raged in Canada amid record heat and drought, bringing smog to New York and other U.S. cities.
Kerry served as secretary of state during the Obama administration and will become the president’s special envoy for climate when Biden takes office in 2021.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of MSNBC and CNBC.
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