China demonstrated responsibility in coping with the climate issue, and willingness to enhance cooperation with the US on this task, by inviting US climate envoy John Kerry twice to China to discuss about climate change, said analysts. But the analysts also said that China will stick to its own pace in fighting climate change, and won’t bow to any external pressure to speed up its pace.
China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced on Tuesday that Kerry will be visiting China this week, under China’s invitation. The US Department of State announced that Kerry will travel to Tokyo, Tianjin from Tuesday to Friday. During his visit in Tianjin, Kerry will be discussing cooperation on climate change between China and the US, COP26, with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua in the Chinese city of Tianjin.
Kerry’s visit to Tianjin would mark the third trip to China by a senior Biden administration official, and Kerry’s second in five months.
“By inviting Kerry twice, China demonstrated its willingness of strengthening cooperation with the US on the climate change issue, and showcases its image as a responsible bellwether in tackling this global puzzle,” Li Haidong, professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.
Days before Kerry’s visit, the Wall Street Journal cited sources saying that the US special climate envoy will press Chinese leaders to declare a halt on financing international coal-fired projects.
Li said that the cooperation on climate change between China and the US must be based on mutual respect and benefit, “China has its own blueprint in phasing out coal consumption, and won’t bow to any external pressure of fastening such speed.”
He also noted that Kerry’s remarks may be made to cater for the anti-China sentiment within the White House, yet “he [Kerry] should not pressure China during the discussion, as the Biden administration is marred in a slew of fiascos on both domestic and external fronts, including the bungling of COVID-19 response and the Afghanistan issue, fruits of climate change cooperation with China may be an embellishment on his policy answer sheet.”
After Kerry visited China in April in discussing about climate issues, China and the US published a joint statement, in which both countries are “committed to working together” on the issue of climate change, and will cooperate on multilateral fronts including the Paris Agreement.
Xie said at a forum in Beijing in July that China has established a leading group and is formulating a timetable and road map for carbon peak and carbon neutralization.
China announced a clean and low-carbon energy transformation plan to honor its commitments to reach a peak in carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. The same process that would take the EU 60 year and the US 45 years, Xie said.
John Kerry photo:CFP
