John Kerry to visit Beijing as U.S.-China climate talks pick up again

BEIJING — John Kerry, particular presidential envoy for local weather, is about to go to Beijing from July 16 to 19, in line with bulletins from the U.S. and China.

“Throughout conferences with [People’s Republic of China] officers, Secretary Kerry goals to interact with the PRC on addressing the local weather disaster, together with with respect to rising implementation and ambition and selling a profitable COP28,” the U.S. State Division mentioned in a press release.

Kerry’s journey will mark the third time in a month {that a} high-level U.S. official has traveled to China for talks.

Though the conferences have but to yield particular motion, they mark a resumption of in-person communication that fell off as a result of pandemic and geopolitical tensions.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ended a four-day journey to Beijing on Sunday. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing in late June, months after he was initially scheduled to journey there in February.

Blinken postponed his preliminary plans after information of an alleged Chinese language spy balloon over U.S. airspace. Beijing claims it was a climate balloon that blew off target.

Whereas Blinken’s journey to China led to a basic settlement on the necessity to improve flights between the 2 nations, the secretary of State mentioned he did not reinstate military-to-military communication.

“It is clearly within the curiosity of each nations to keep away from any form of miscalculations, particularly army,” Blinken mentioned in an interview Tuesday with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, in line with a State Division transcript. “In order that’s one thing we’ll proceed to search for.”

Blinken added the “prolonged discussions” he and Yellen had coated the place the U.S. and China have “deep variations,” in addition to areas of cooperation. “That is going to proceed,” he mentioned.

The U.S. and China have famous they’ll cooperate on local weather and the macroeconomy. Local weather talks have been suspended after then-U.S. Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August. Her journey had angered Beijing, which considers the democratically self-ruled island a part of its territory.

After U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese language President Xi Jinping met in individual in November, the 2 nations resumed communication on local weather points.

Xie Zhenhua, China’s particular local weather envoy, in April attended a digital assembly of the U.S.-led Main Economies Discussion board on Vitality and Local weather, in line with a White Home readout. Xie additionally attended a U.S.-led occasion at COP 27 in Egypt in November, Kerry mentioned in a readout.

Concerning his upcoming journey to Beijing, the U.S. and China didn’t specify which Chinese language officers Kerry would meet.

The 2 sides are set to “trade views on cooperation for tackling local weather change,” China’s Ministry of Ecology and Setting mentioned in a press release.

The typical nationwide temperature in June was 0.7 levels Celsius (33 levels Fahrenheit) larger than a 12 months in the past — and the second-hottest for the month going again to 1961, in line with the China Meteorological Administration.

Every day temperature highs in Beijing have neared 37.8 levels Celsius (100 levels Fahrenheit) or extra for the previous few weeks. Completely different components of the nation have additionally seen heavy rainfall or warned of flash floods.

In the meantime, wildfires in Canada resulting from document warmth and drought have despatched smoky air over New York and different U.S. cities.

Kerry, secretary of State throughout the Obama administration, turned particular presidential envoy for local weather in 2021 when Biden was inaugurated.

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