China needs to show flexibility if wants to play a lead role in fighting climate change

Beijing’s relationship with the EU could be a key test for how far it can accept a mixture of cooperation and confrontation in its international relations

China and the US have agreed to work together to tackle the problem, but their ongoing rivalry will continue to be a major factor

2-MIN READ2-MIN

World leaders pictured during the recent Earth Day summit on climate change. Photo: AP

Shi Jiangtao

A former diplomat, Shi Jiangtao has worked as a China reporter at the Post for more than a decade.

Published: 8:19pm, 27 Apr 2021Updated: 8:19pm, 27 Apr 2021

This month has seen the return of climate change to the global top table with the world’s three biggest carbon emitters – China, the United States and European Union – all engaged in intense diplomatic efforts ahead of Joe Biden’s Earth Day summit last week.

The US President’s special envoy John Kerry travelled to five Asian countries this month in a bid to prod China and other major polluters, including India and South Korea, into making fresh commitments.

Following Washington’s return to the Paris accord in February, this shuttle diplomacy is another sign that Biden is delivering on his promises to reassert American leadership.

Most of the headlines focused on a rare joint statement between Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua, which emphasised their willingness to cooperate on climate issues.

Although China fell short of setting ambitious new targets, the statement itself and the fact that the word “cooperation” was mentioned seven times in variant forms were widely hailed as a breakthrough.

Climate negotiators certainly deserve credit as it is probably the first written agreement between the rival powers in months since the phase one trade deal in late 2019.