China’s Xi Jinping Agrees to Take Part in Biden’s Climate Summit

Bloomberg

Published Apr 21, 2021 10:22

Updated Apr 21, 2021 10:45

(Bloomberg) -- Chinese leader Xi Jinping will participate in a climate summit organized by U.S. President Joe Biden, a sign that climate issues are one area the two countries are keen to cooperate on amid frosty ties.

Xi accepted Biden’s invitation and will attend the event via video link on Thursday, China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

Washington and Beijing are at odds over a range of issues, from allegations of forced labor in Xinjiang and China’s tightening political grip over Hong Kong to U.S. efforts to curb China’s role in supply chains. Xi used a speech Tuesday to the Boao Forum on Asia to challenge Washington’s global leadership, saying the world needed “justice, not hegemony.”

See: Xi Challenges U.S. Global Leadership, Warns Against Decoupling

Still, the two nations have shown they’re eager to work together to tackle climate change. A joint statement released after U.S. climate envoy John Kerry visited Shanghai last week said Washington and Beijing would support implementation of the Paris Agreement and promote a successful United Nations climate change conference in Glasgow this year.

Washington dropped out of the Paris climate accord under the Trump administration, and China has been critical of the move. During Kerry’s visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the U.S. is to blame for delaying the agreement’s progress.

The U.S. is preparing to host 40 world leaders at the summit on Thursday and Friday. The virtual conference will bring together 17 countries responsible for 80% of global emissions and gross domestic product, the White House said.

Biden will pledge to cut U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions by at least half by the end of the decade, the Washington Post has reported, citing two people briefed on the plan.

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