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US-China tensions will remain even if Joe Biden rejoins Paris climate deal, observers say
- Two sides may cooperate on climate change if Democratic candidate wins presidential race, but will still have plenty of other problems to resolve, experts say
- America’s China policy is unlikely to change significantly even with Biden in the White House, they say
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Joe Biden says he will immediately rejoin the Paris climate pact if he is elected US president, but Chinese observers say that even if he does and Washington and Beijing work together on the issue, they will still have plenty more challenges to overcome.
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Biden made the pledge on Twitter on Wednesday, the day the US formally left the accord reached in the French capital in 2015.
“Today, the Trump Administration officially left the Paris Climate Agreement. And in exactly 77 days, a Biden Administration will rejoin it,” he said.
The deal, which was adopted by almost 200 countries, aims to keep global warming under 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels this century, while pursuing ways to reduce it to 1.5 degrees.
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The US signed up to the deal in 2016, but President Donald Trump withdrew from it the following year, saying it placed an unfair burden on American workers, businesses and taxpayers.
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