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US-China relations
ChinaDiplomacy

US climate envoy John Kerry arrives in China as rival nations restart global warming talks

  • ‘In-depth’ talks with Chinese officials will start on Monday and cover cooperation in addressing climate change, state broadcaster CCTV says
  • John Kerry is third senior US official to visit China within weeks, after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken

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John Kerry says climate change should be viewed as a “critical stand-alone issue”, separate from other US-China disagreements. Photo: Reuters
Luna Sunin Beijing
US special climate envoy John Kerry arrived in China on Sunday, the latest in a series of high-profile White House officials to visit in a push to reopen channels of communication between the two countries.
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State broadcaster CCTV said Kerry’s “in-depth” talks with Chinese officials would start on Monday and cover cooperation in addressing climate change.

The US State Department said the two sides would address the climate crisis, including “increasing implementation and ambition and promoting a successful COP28”, referring to the next United Nations climate change conference, to be held in Dubai in December.

Kerry is the third senior official from the Biden administration to visit China in recent weeks, following trips by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He visited China twice in 2021.

02:49

‘China will not challenge or replace the US’, Xi tells Blinken at crucial meeting

‘China will not challenge or replace the US’, Xi tells Blinken at crucial meeting

Climate talks between the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters ground largely to halt last year in the fallout over then US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August.

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However, Chinese President Xi Jinping and US leader Joe Biden gave the green light for Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua to meet in November – on the sidelines of UN COP27 climate talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

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