China warns US, says climate cooperation at stake amid worsening bilateral ties

China on September 1 warned the United States that the tensions in bilateral relations between both countries could stall the cooperation on climate change. Notably, the US and China are also the top two emitters of greenhouse gas. According to the state media Global Times report, China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi told visiting US climate envoy John Kerry that Washington should meet Beijing ‘halfway and take positive actions’ to rectify the bilateral ties. Wang conveyed his views on the climate crisis to Kerry through video conferencing. 

“We have shown our sincerity,” Wang was quoted by state broadcaster CCTV as saying. “Everyone who met with you will have to spend two weeks in quarantine, but we’re willing to pay that price, to discuss cooperation with the US on affairs of mutual concerns.”

“The past achievements indicated that the two countries should respect each other and seek common ground while shelving differences to reach win-win results,” he said.

Reportedly, Wang also said that the China-US climate change cooperation not only conforms to the interests of both nations but also benefits humankind. The Chinese state media stated that  Wang said, the US continues to hope and make climate cooperation an “oasis” of China-US relations but if the “oasis” is surrounded by “desert” then the “oasis” will sooner or later become desert. According to Wang, climate change cooperation can not be separated from China-US ties. 

Wang says ‘ball in US’ court’

Further weighing on the US-China relations, Wang said that the reason for the worsening of the ties is Washington’s ‘strategic misjudgement’ of Beijing. The report cited Wang as saying, ‘Whoever started the trouble should end it. Now the ball is in US’ court.’

“However, a major strategic miscalculation by the US has resulted in the sudden deterioration of bilateral relations in recent years,” Wang said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry official suggested that instead of viewing China as a threat and rival and suppressing it, the United States should attach great importance to Beijing-proposed “two lists” and “three bottom lines”. Wang told Kerry that the US should take ‘concrete steps in order to improve the ties and avoid the creation of more problems especially when the previous issues remain unsolved.

Meanwhile, Kerry, who is also a former US Secretary of state, said China “plays a super-critical role” in the effort to combat climate change, as per the brief clip shared on national television from the meeting. The US official said, “Given the science and what’s happening, we are all gonna be dealing with this for the rest of our lives” while adding that climate cooperation would also pave the way to address the challenges in improving US-Chian ties.

IMAGE: AP