As I see it | John Kerry’s China trip has again exposed the limits of climate diplomacy
- Beijing apparently wasn’t convinced by the US climate envoy’s call for ‘a new definition of cooperation’
- After days of talks, Kerry acknowledged ‘it’s going to take a little bit more work to break the new ground’
As expected, there were no breakthroughs or a joint statement from the visit, which was largely overshadowed by debate over Kerry’s suggestion that climate issues remain “free standing” from the troubled bilateral ties.
Beijing essentially rejected Washington’s calls for China to make greater cuts to greenhouse gas emissions and other actions.
It was Kerry’s third trip to China since President Joe Biden took office, and it again exposed the limits of what climate diplomacy can achieve in the midst of an increasingly acrimonious feud.
At the end of the four-day visit, Kerry said although both sides “embraced the criticality of moving with urgency to deal with the climate crisis” he had failed to persuade his Chinese hosts to insulate climate change from other bilateral disagreements.
The former US secretary of state described as “extremely warm and productive” his talks with Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua, top diplomat Wang Yi, Premier Li Qiang and Vice-President Han Zheng. But Kerry said he realised “it’s going to take a little bit more work to break the new ground”.