Obama, Xi tout close US-China cooperation at climate summit
Presidents also discuss cyber security and differences over China’s maritime ambitions
Developed countries should honour their commitment of mobilising $100 billion each year from 2020 and provide stronger financial support to developing countries afterwards.
The world’s two largest emitters of greenhouse gases — China and the United States — emphasised on Monday “their resolve to work together and with others to achieve an ambitious and successful Paris outcome”.
A joint statement issued after a meeting of President Barack Oabm and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Paris climate change conference, said: “The Presidents recognise that the Paris conference presents a crucial opportunity to enhance action to meet this fundamental climate change challenge.”
The two leaders “recalled and reaffirmed their November 2014 Joint Announcement on Climate Change, as well as their September 2015 Joint Presidential Statement on Climate Change, which contains a common vision for the Paris Climate Conference”.
The Chinese president called for rich nations to honour their commitment to provide $100 billion a year to developing countries to tackle climate change.
“Developed countries should honour their commitment of mobilising $100 billion each year from 2020 and provide stronger financial support to developing countries afterwards,” Xi said, according to an official translation of his remarks.
“It is also important that climate-friendly technologies be transferred to developing countries.” While China and the United States have pledged to work together to fight global warming, Xi made clear that poor nations should not have to sacrifice economic growth.
“Addressing climate change should not deny the legitimate
needs of developing countries to reduce poverty and improve
their people’s living standards,” Xi said.
Obama and Xi discussed other issues as well — cyber security and differences over China’s maritime ambitions.
In remarks before their meeting, Xi spoke of the need for the two countries to “be firmly committed to the right direction of building a new model of major country relations and … that we manage our differences and the sensitive issues in a constructive way”.
Referring to their differences, Obama said: “I think President Xi and I have developed a candid way of discussing these issues. And our teams have found ways to work through these tensions in a constructive fashion. And we hope to build on that today.”
XI JINPING, Chinese President