BEIJING: US climate envoy John Kerry arrived in China on Sunday, state media reported, to restart stalled talks between the world's two biggest emitters of planet-warming gases.
Starting on Monday, "China and the United States will have an in-depth exchange of views" on climate issues, state broadcaster CCTV said on Kerry's arrival in Beijing.
Kerry's trip to China, where he will meet with his counterpart Xie Zhenhua, follows weeks of record-setting summer heat that scientists say is being exacerbated by climate change.
Kerry, a former secretary of state, has enjoyed comparatively cordial and consistent relations with China despite Washington and Beijing locking horns over Taiwan and a number of other thorny issues, including advanced semiconductors.
His trip to Beijing is his third as President Joe Biden's climate emissary and also comes after two other high-profile visits by US officials -- first Secretary of State Antony Blinken, then Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen -- aimed at stabilising US-China ties.
The Biden administration has identified climate as an area for potential cooperation with Beijing, despite the tensions elsewhere.
The restart of US-China climate talks will come on the heels of the hottest week on record globally, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
June was already the hottest ever logged, according to US and European agencies.
Kerry will aim to use his time in Beijing to engage with Chinese officials "with respect to increasing implementation and ambition and promoting a successful COP28", the State Department said, referring to the UN climate talks in November.
Nearly 200 nations will gather in the United Arab Emirates for COP28 to thrash out ways to mitigate global warming and its impacts.
President Xi Jinping has also said that the country will reduce its use of coal from 2026.
But in April, China approved a major surge in coal power -- a move Greenpeace said prioritised energy supply over the emissions reduction pledge -- fuelling concerns that Beijing will struggle to meet its ambitious targets.
During his visit, Kerry is also expected to bring up international climate finance efforts, following calls by Yellen during her Beijing trip for China to play a larger role.
Kerry's trip will be closely watched in Washington after Republican lawmakers characterised it as him flying a carbon-spewing private jet halfway across the world to discuss climate with a political adversary. — AFP
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