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US climate envoy John Kerry and China’s Xie Zhenhua hold talks as rival powers seek to contain tensions
- Beijing seeking ‘substantial dialogue’, chief climate negotiator Xie Zhenhua tells John Kerry in opening remarks during meeting at Beijing hotel
- Kerry tweets after the talks that the ‘climate crisis demands that the world’s two largest economies work together’
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American climate envoy John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua held talks which lasted for several hours on Monday, as the rival powers push to reopen channels of communication amid heightened tensions.
The meeting at the Beijing Hotel came as the two sides tried to get relations back on track following an alleged Chinese spy balloon incident in January.
China’s state broadcaster CCTV said a morning session had lasted over four hours and Kerry tweeted in the evening that the talks had just finished for the day.
“I’ve just finished the first day of conversations in Beijing as the entire world is living the reality of daily record-breaking heat,” he wrote.
“The climate crisis demands that the world’s two largest economies work together to limit the Earth’s warming. We must take urgent action on a number of fronts, especially the challenges of coal and methane pollution.”
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Neither side had issued an official statement by Monday night, Hong Kong time.
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