SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry held a virtual meeting with the U.S. climate envoy on Wednesday, describing the two countries’ collaboration on environmental policy an “oasis” amid a desert of bilateral relations.
According to an official government summary, Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi addressed U.S. climate envoy John Kerry via video link while Kerry was in Tianjin as part of a longer trip to Asia.
In his remarks, Wang said that U.S.-China relations have been declining in recent years because of U.S. “misjudgments,” and warned that cooperation on climate policy cannot be separated from the broader environment of bilateral ties.
He added that the United States hopes to transform cooperation on climate issues into an oasis of U.S.-China relations, but if the oasis is surrounded by desert, it will sooner or later be abandoned.
“We have shown our sincerity. Everyone who met with you will have to spend two weeks in quarantine, but we’re willing to pay that price, to discuss cooperation with the U.S. on affairs of mutual concerns,” Wang said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
In Tianjin, Kerry is holding face-to-face with Xie Zhenhua, China’s special climate envoy, for the second round of talks about the U.S.-China response to the climate crisis.
Kerry made a visit to China in April. His arrival in the country this week follows an earlier stop in Japan, where he met with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and other officials to discuss cooperation on carbon emissions and cutting support for fossil fuels.
(Reporting by Josh Horwitz. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
