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Xie Zhenhua and John Kerry greet each other at the COP27 UN Climate Summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Photo: AP

COP 27: China and US held ‘constructive’ climate talks with more to follow, Beijing’s envoy says

  • Climate ambassadors Xie Zhenhua and John Kerry meet at the UN-led global summit in Egypt as bilateral talks resume following rift over Taiwan
  • COP27 closes with historic agreement on ‘loss and damage’ fund for poorer countries, but finer details remain up in the air
China and the United States have held “constructive” talks on climate change and the exchanges will continue, top Chinese climate negotiator Xie Zhenhua said.
Xie met his US counterpart John Kerry at the 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt as formal bilateral talks resumed after being suspended for months over the Taiwan issue.

“Discussions between China and the US … [were] very candid, friendly, active and positive, and very constructive,” Xie said, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

Restart of US-China climate dialogue a step in the right direction: analysts

This came as the nearly 200 nations at COP27 reached a hard-fought, last-minute deal to set up a “loss and damage” fund for poorer countries battling extreme weather, caused by decades of carbon pollution from the developed world.

The summit nearly collapsed on Saturday over the finer details, but tense negotiations overnight were able to push the agreement through.

The summit in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh took place against the backdrop of a global energy crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, growing risks of economic recession, and lingering tensions between China and the US – the world’s top two producers of greenhouse gases.

China had suspended talks with the US on a range of issues, including climate change, in a furious response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August.

Beijing views self-governed Taiwan as breakaway territory to be reunited by force if necessary. The US, like most countries, does not see Taiwan as an independent state but is opposed to any change of the status quo by force.

Dialogue reopened after Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden agreed to resume climate collaboration, as they held an in-person meeting ahead of the Group of 20 summit in Bali last week.

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Calls for ‘climate justice’ as COP27 puts focus on compensation for poorer, vulnerable countries

Calls for ‘climate justice’ as COP27 puts focus on compensation for poorer, vulnerable countries

Meeting the press in Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday, Xie said there was still much to be discussed between the two countries, and the results of the latest talks could only be announced after both sides had discussed them further.

“We agreed today that, after the [COP27] conference, we will continue to have formal conversations, even face-to-face ones,” he said.

Bilateral exchanges in Egypt were cut short, however, as Kerry tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday and had to finish his COP27 work in isolation.

While the two-week summit closed on Sunday with the historic “loss and damage” deal for less-polluting nations facing climate crisis, some sticking points – such as which countries should pay into the fund – were left untouched and pending further discussion.

COP27 applauds historic ‘loss and damage’ fund, but dismayed with emissions deal

Delegates also failed to reach any new agreement on further addressing fossil fuels, the main cause of global warming.

Xie said the developed world should come forward to help poorer countries, but developing nations such as China could contribute to the fund on a voluntary basis.

“The recipient should be the developing countries, but the funding should go to those that need it first,” he said.

The US has sought to have China labelled as a developed economy and therefore eligible to pay into the UN climate reparations fund.

Additional reporting by Reuters

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