Amid flurry of China-US talks, climate meetings to seek areas of ‘practical cooperation’

Climate envoys John Podesta and Liu Zhenmin are expected to discuss global emissions and climate-related funding for less wealthy nations

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US climate envoy John Podesta (left) and his Chinese counterpart Liu Zhenmin will discuss “practical cooperation” during Podesta’s three-day trip to China this week. Photo: Reuters/Xinhua

Published: 7:47pm, 3 Sep 2024

US climate envoy John Podesta will start a three-day visit to China on Wednesday as the world’s top two greenhouse gas emitters look to bridge gaps on key issues ahead of a United Nations summit in November.

Podesta will co-chair meetings with his Chinese counterpart, Liu Zhenmin, in their latest round of talks on climate change.

The two sides would “conduct in-depth exchanges of views on practical cooperation”, their domestic climate actions, and the multilateral process on climate change, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment said on Tuesday.

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It is expected the two sides will discuss issues such as reducing global emissions and increasing funding for impoverished countries, according to China Environment News, the ministry’s news website.

Podesta’s visit comes amid a string of recent US-China diplomatic events and follows US national security adviser Jake Sullivan’s meeting with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi last week.

Sullivan and Wang “underscored the importance of concrete steps to tackle the climate crisis and welcomed further discussions” during Podesta’s “upcoming travel to China”, according to White House comments on the meeting.

Despite tensions between China and the US escalating across various issues – including trade, technology, human rights and geopolitics – climate issues have consistently been considered important for tempering bilateral ties.