Foreign media: China and the United States will hold talks on climate change

China's special envoy for climate change, Liu Zhenmin, will lead a delegation to the United States from May 7 to 16 to discuss environmental issues with Podesta, senior adviser to the US president on international climate policy, as reported by Agence France-Presse on May 7.

The U.S. State Department said in a statement that Liu Zhenmin and Podesta will hold a "bilateral working group meeting on strengthening climate action in the 2020s" in Washington.

This will be the first official meeting between the two newly appointed climate envoys of China and the United States, and the first formal face-to-face meeting between Washington and Beijing on climate issues since the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai late last year. The agreement reached at COP28 called for a gradual weaning away from fossil fuels, the main culprit of global warming.

Liu Zhenmin and Podesta's predecessors, Xie Zhenhua and Kerry, have forged very close relationships, allowing the world's two largest emitters of carbon dioxide to advance climate discussions.

Beijing noted that the two envoys will have an in-depth exchange of views on advancing China-US climate cooperation to achieve practical results.

The U.S. State Department said the exchanges will focus specifically on "energy transition, methane and non-CO2 greenhouse gases, circular economy and energy efficiency, low-carbon cities and states, and deforestation."

Bloomberg News also reported on May 7 that climate negotiators from the world's two largest emitters of greenhouse gases will meet in Washington this week to discuss curbing pollutants that cause global warming, improving energy efficiency and other issues.

Both Podesta and Liu Zhenmin have long-standing experience working on climate and environmental issues and have had talks since taking office earlier this year, but this will be the first time the two have formally met face-to-face.

Climate has been one of the few issues of cooperation between the two superpowers. Last year, the two countries developed a plan to work together on key climate issues, including tackling the greenhouse gas methane, the circular economy, energy efficiency, and the energy transition away from fossil fuels.

The U.S. State Department said in a press release that this week's talks of the bilateral working group "are aimed at accelerating concrete climate action."

Among the thorny issues facing Podesta and Liu include the debate over international climate finance and the growing scrutiny of China's dominance in producing clean technologies, such as electric vehicles and solar panels, that can help drive the energy transition. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that China's overcapacity and record exports of green technologies are distorting the global economy. Beijing countered that actions taken by the United States and the European Union to curb China's dominance could slow the fight against climate change.

According to a statement from China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment, in addition to talks with Podesta, Liu Zhenmin will also communicate with relevant parts of the United Nations, relevant local governments and think tanks in the United States.

According to a report on the Voice of America radio website on May 7, the U.S. State Department said on the 6th that it will receive China's special envoy for climate change Liu Zhenmin in Washington on May 8 and 9, and the two sides will hold the first formal talks since the new U.S. and Chinese climate envoys took office.

China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment said that the two sides will be guided by the consensus reached by the two heads of state, and have an in-depth exchange of views on the two sides such as the "Sunshine Country Statement on Strengthening Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis" and the practical results of China-US climate cooperation.

During his visit, Liu Zhenmin will also exchange views with relevant UN parties, as well as relevant local governments and think tanks in the United States, on issues such as addressing climate change.

Liu Zhenmin previously said in an interview with Bloomberg that both China and the United States want to promote the global process of tackling climate change, and "we must cooperate as much as possible." "Countries also need to respect each other on all issues," he added. ”

In recent years, the U.S. and China have been at odds over trade, technology, human rights, and geopolitics, and climate has long been seen as an area where the two countries can find common ground.