China climate cooperation not a ‘favour’ to US, says Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan

Name: US, China put aside differences for pledge to work together on climate change
Uploaded: 2021-04-30T18:53:26.000Z
Duration: 1 min 57 s
Description: US, China put aside differences for pledge to work together on climate change

Sullivan says it is unclear if Beijing will fully follow through on its commitments to reduce emissions

He says China is ‘taking note’ of high projected US growth, reinvigorated US alliances, and Biden’s ambitious infrastructure and research investment plans

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US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan speaks at a press conference in Washington. Photo: TNS

Reuters

Published: 2:53am, 1 May 2021Updated: 12:07pm, 19 May 2021

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Friday the United States does not consider China’s cooperation on climate change a favour, and that it was unclear if Beijing would fully follow through on its commitments to reduce emissions.

Climate change is one of the few issues that both China and the United States, the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters, have said they could work on together to solve, even as broader ties have sunk to their lowest level in decades.

US President Joe Biden invited world leaders to a virtual climate summit last week where Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his country’s aim to bring its emissions to a peak before 2030 and to become carbon-neutral by 2060.

But US officials have said cooperation with Beijing on climate would not water down US efforts to hold China accountable on other issues, including what it says are economic and human rights abuses.

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US, China put aside differences for pledge to work together on climate change

“We are not in the business of trading cooperation with China on climate change as a favour that Beijing is doing for the United States,” Sullivan said during an Aspen Security Forum webinar.