Kerry invite shows China’s climate ambition
▶ Nation not attendant of US- centered cooperation circle: expert
By inviting US climate envoy John Kerry to Shanghai to discuss climate issues, China has demonstrated its ambition in global climate governance, and also sent a signal to the US that climate negotiations between the two countries are on equal terms, and that China is not and won't be the “attendant” of US- centered climate campaign, Chinese observers commented on Wednesday.
Both China and the US confirmed on Wednesday that Kerry would meet his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua in Shanghai from Wednesday to Saturday, ahead of US President Joe Biden's virtual summit with world leaders on climate change next week.
Kerry's visit to Shanghai at China's invitation, will allow the two sides to exchange views on climate change cooperation, the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and other issues, Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment said in an official statement on Wednesday.
By sending an olive branch to Washington on climate cooperation talks, Beijing has demonstrated its ambition to lead global climate change issues, and also sent a signal to the US that cooperation in this field will be based on equal terms, Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Wednesday, noting that “China is not an attendant of the US climate change campaign.”
Biden has invited 17 countries responsible for about 80 percent of global emissions to next week's summit, according to the White House, noting it would push those countries toward greater commitments to lowering emissions.
Chinese observers called Washington's move as “trying to form a US- centered climate cooperation circle” in order to shore up its leadership on global issues. However, China has now shouldered the responsibility of global climate governance, as the
US' frequent departure and then return to global cooperation on this issue has marred global cooperation and diminished other countries efforts, said Li.
Before his departure for Shanghai, Kerry said on Tuesday that his team is committed to finding ways to force China to be accountable for pledges it makes in continuing negotiations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.
Last week, during a diplomatic trip to India, Kerry told reporters he was “hopeful [ but] not confident at this point” about Chinese cooperation.
As a matter of fact, the US is the saboteur of climate issues as its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement has dealt a heavy blow to global climate cooperation and governance on climate issues, said Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs in Beijing.
He noted on Wednesday that the opportunity for the two countries to cooperate has turned ripe, as China announced ambitious targets of becoming carbon neutral by 2060 while the US is working out a plan to decarbonize itself in 30 years.
Kerry is the first senior official from the Biden administration to visit China. The visit comes as the two countries are locked in clashes over trade, human rights and the Taiwan question, and is viewed by some observers as an icethawing signal.