US climate envoy John Kerry arrives in China to restart talks

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) - US climate envoy John Kerry arrived in China on Sunday to restart stalled talks between the world's two largest polluters after a year-long hiatus, state media reported.

Commencing on Monday, Washington and Beijing will have an "in-depth exchange of views" on climate issues, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Negotiations on climate change between the two countries were suspended by Beijing in protest against then-US Congress Speaker Nancy Peolsi's visit to Taiwan, although Kerry met his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, on the sidelines of several climate events.

Kerry who is the third senior US official to visit China in the last two months, told reporters in Washington on Thursday that he hoped to make progress on talks with Beijing over reducing methane emissions, transitioning away from coal, combating deforestation and jointly increasing the deployment of renewable energy technologies.

On Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in Indonesia's capital Jakarta.

The meeting between the top US and Chinese diplomats, who were in Jakarta for meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), came less than a month after Blinken paid a visit to Beijing.

Analysts view recent visits of the top US officials, despite China's strong reaction to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, as Washington's efforts to stabilize ties with Beijing, particularly the climate change talks.