US climate envoy John Kerry is set to travel to Beijing this weekend for climate talks with his Chinese counterparts, a Biden administration official told CNN.
The meeting comes as the US and China seek ways to work together on the climate crisis – a topic of top concern for both nations. It will mark the third visit by a US Cabinet official to the Chinese capital in a matter of weeks as Washington seeks to steer relations with Beijing back on course after months of inflamed tensions.
A meeting between Kerry and his counterpart in China, Xie Zhenhua, has been months in the making, Biden’s climate czar told CNN in May. Kerry and Xie’s work together has been a relative bright spot amid an otherwise bumpy US and China relationship.
“At some point, we’re going to travel over there and pick up where we left off,” Kerry said at the time.
The three issues top of mind for Kerry when he spoke to CNN in May for a potential meeting in China included the country implementing its plan to cut emissions of super-polluting methane, demonstrating it can move away from coal faster and working with the US on the issue of deforestation.
Last week saw the hottest global temperature ever recorded, according to data from two climate tracking agencies that covers multiple decades. And as the climate crisis intensifies, scientists are clear that record-breaking heat waves are set to become more frequent and more severe.
Kerry’s planned trip comes after US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrapped up meetings with China’s new economic leadership, including Premier Li Qiang and Pan Gongsheng, the newly appointed Communist Party chief of China’s central bank.
Yellen in her talks with the officials urged the country to support international funds intended to help developing countries confront the climate crisis, as Beijing grappled with one of the most severe heat waves on its record.
“Climate change is at the top of the list of global challenges, and the United States and China must work together to address this existential threat,” Yellen said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also traveled to Beijing in June to meet with senior Chinese officials, including President Xi Jinping
Yellen walked away with the message that “the world is big enough for both of our countries to thrive,” while Blinken felt the countries had “made progress and we are moving forward.”
Still, even as the US looks to resume diplomatic relations with the country, it has imposed sanctions on Chinese companies, successfully pushed allies in Japan and the Netherlands to restrict sales of advanced semiconductors to China and rallied other advanced economies to counter Beijing’s “economic coercion.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Nectar Gan, Juliana Liu, Kylie Atwood, Simone McCarthy, Ivana Kottasová and Ella Nilsen contributed to this report.