John Kerry, the US representative for climate change, will travel to China on Sunday to meet with Xie Zhenhua and resume stalled negotiations between the two largest producers of greenhouse gases in the world.
Kerry’s third visit to China as President Joe Biden’s climate envoy comes after many weeks of summer heat records, which scientists warn are being exacerbated by climate change.
Last year, bilateral climate negotiations came to a halt after Nancy Pelosi, the US House of Representatives’ speaker at the time, visited Taiwan, which is self-governing, angering Beijing, which regards the island as part of its territory.
Although Washington and Beijing are at odds over Taiwan and a number of other complex problems, such as advanced semiconductors, Kerry, a former secretary of state, has maintained generally amicable relations with China.
His travel to Beijing also follows two other prominent US official visits to China, one by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and the other by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, all of which were intended to normalize relations between the US and China.
The US State Department stated that Kerry was due to leave for China on Saturday.
Despite the challenges elsewhere, the Biden administration has seen climate as a viable area for cooperation with Beijing.
The resumption of US-China climate negotiations will occur right after the world’s hottest week ever, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
US and European organizations have reported that June was already the hottest month ever recorded.
The State Department stated that Kerry’s goal during his stay in Beijing will be to interact with Chinese leaders “with respect to increasing implementation and ambition and promoting a successful COP28,” a reference to the UN climate meetings in November.
For COP28, nearly 200 nations will assemble in the United Arab Emirates to discuss strategies for reducing global warming and its effects.
