SEOUL, South Korea \u2014 The United States and China, the world\u2019s two biggest carbon polluters, agreed to cooperate to curb climate change with urgency, just days before President Joe Biden hosts a virtual summit of world leaders to discuss the issue.<\/p>\n
The agreement was reached by U.S. special envoy for climate John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua during two days of talks in Shanghai last week, according to a joint statement.<\/p>\n
The two countries \u201care committed to cooperating with each other and with other countries to tackle the climate crisis, which must be addressed with the seriousness and urgency that it demands,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n
China and the United States are the world\u2019s top carbon polluters, pumping out nearly half of the fossil fuel fumes that are warming the planet\u2019s atmosphere. Their cooperation is key to a success of global efforts to curb climate change, but frayed ties over human rights, trade and China\u2019s territorial claims to Taiwan and the South China Sea have been threatening to undermine such efforts.<\/p>\n
Kerry\u2019s Shanghai trip marked the highest-level travel to China by a U.S. official since Biden took office in January. From Shaghai, the former secretary of state flew to South Korea for talks.<\/p>\n
Biden has invited 40 world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, to the April 22-23 summit. The U.S. and other countries are expected to announce more ambitious national targets for cutting carbon emissions ahead of or at the meeting, along with pledging financial help for climate efforts by less wealthy nations.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear how much Kerry\u2019s China visit would promote U.S.-China cooperation on climate issues.<\/p>\n
When Kerry was still in Shanghai, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng signaled Friday that China is unlikely to make any new pledges at next week\u2019s summit.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a big country with 1.4 billion people, these goals are not easily delivered,\u201d Le said during an interview with The Associated Press in Beijing. \u201cSome countries are asking China to achieve the goals earlier. I am afraid this is not very realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n
On whether Xi would join the summit, Le said \u201cthe Chinese side is actively studying the matter.\u201d The joint statement said the two countries \u201clook forward to\u201d next week\u2019s summit but didn\u2019t say whether Xi would attend.<\/p>\n
During a video meeting with German and French leaders Friday, Xi said that climate change \u201cshould not become a geopolitical chip, a target for attacking other countries or an excuse for trade barriers,\u201d though he called for closer cooperation on the issue, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.<\/p>\n
Biden, who has said that fighting global warming is among his highest priorities, had the United States rejoin the Paris climate accord in the first hours of his presidency, undoing the U.S. withdrawal ordered by predecessor Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
Major emitters of greenhouse gases are preparing for the next U.N. climate summit taking place in Glasgow, U.K., in November. The summit aims to relaunch global efforts to keep rising global temperatures to below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) as agreed in the Paris accord.<\/p>\n
According to the U.S.-China statement, the two countries would enhance \u201ctheir respective actions and cooperating in multilateral processes, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
It said both countries also intend to develop their respective long-term strategies before the Glasgow conference and take \u201cappropriate actions to maximize international investment and finance in support of the transition from carbon-intensive fossil fuel based energy to green, low-carbon and renewable energy in developing countries.\u201d<\/p>\n
Xi announced last year that China would be carbon-neutral by 2060 and aims to reach a peak in its emissions by 2030. In March, China\u2019s Communist Party pledged to reduce carbon emissions per unit of economic output by 18% over the next five years, in line with its goal for the previous five-year period. But environmentalists say China needs to do more.<\/p>\n
Biden has pledged the U.S. will switch to an emissions-free power sector within 14 years, and have an entirely emissions-free economy by 2050. Kerry is also pushing other nations to commit to carbon neutrality by then.<\/p>\n
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Associated Press writer Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed to this report.<\/p>\n