US climate envoy to visit China

US special climate envoy John Kerry will be the first official in President Joe Biden's administration to visit China on a mission to pursue an understanding with Beijing on global climate goals, despite the overall frostiness in US-China relations.

Kerry will visit Shanghai on 14-15 April to encourage Chinese government officials to step up their commitments to exceed the pledges outlined in the 2015 Paris climate accord, which he helped negotiate as former US president Barack Obama's secretary of state. Kerry's visit to China follows his trips earlier this month to the Middle East, India and Bangladesh, and he will visit South Korea next, all in advance of a virtual climate summit the White House is hosting on 22-23 April.

The climate summit is an opportunity for Biden to share the virtual podium with the leaders of countries with whom his administration has strained relations, including China's president Xi Jinping. Beijing has not confirmed whether Xi will participate.

Kerry's visit to China is a first for a senior Biden administration official. Relations between the two countries have gone from bad in the last year of former president Donald Trump's term to worse under Biden, as Washington has outlined a vision for outcompeting Beijing on advanced technologies, manufacturing and trade.

Before Biden's election, climate was seen as an area where the two countries could cooperate, so Kerry's visit could provide a clue on whether that is still true.

"We are approaching our relationship as one, not of conflict but of competition," the White House said today about the prospect of climate talks helping advance US-China relations.

Xi last year outlined a 2060 target for China to achieve carbon emissions neutrality and a 2030 deadline for reaching a peak in emissions. Biden's plans call for the US to reach net zero emissions by 2050, including a 2035 net zero emissions target for the US electricity grid.

By Haik Gugarats