Chinese premier meets U.S. climate envoy

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, July 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)

BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry in Beijing on Tuesday.

China and the United States are both important countries in the world, and enhanced cooperation between them will benefit not only each other but also the whole world, Li said.

The two sides should take concrete actions to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state at their meeting in Bali, Indonesia last year, properly manage differences and bring China-U.S. relations back to the track of sound and stable development at an early date, he said.

Noting that the global response to climate change is an arduous task, Li called for practicing multilateralism and adherence to the goals and principles set out in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement.

Li said all parties should shoulder their respective responsibilities and abide by the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities in addressing climate change.

Developed countries should take the lead in reducing emissions and fulfill their financial commitments as soon as possible while developing countries should make contributions within their capacity, the premier said.

Li also called for sharing scientific and technological achievements and promoting global green and low-carbon transformation, urging developed countries to give more technological support to developing countries.

He expressed the hope that China and the United States will continue to uphold the spirit of cooperation, respect each other's core concerns, seek common ground while shelving differences through full communication, and explore more pragmatic institutionalized cooperation to promote the multilateral climate governance process and full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Kerry said the United States hopes the U.S.-China relations will remain stable. The country is willing to strengthen cooperation with China to jointly address climate change and other pressing global challenges and push for the success of the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.