In the deal signed in Glasgow, the two countries agreed to cooperate on a range of issues, including methane emissions, transitioning to clean energy, and decarbonization. However, China and the United States have barely set specific targets for action. Both countries have not joined the pledges regarding coal power or electric vehicles, and China has not agreed to end overseas fossil fuel financing, reduce methane emissions, or implement a more sustainable plan for agriculture. Neither did it agree to commitments regarding clean electricity, green steel, or road transportation.
International experts believe there are hidden reasons for China’s signing of the climate agreement with the United States and question its sincerity.
Li Cheng-hsiu, an associate researcher at the National Policy Research Foundation of the Taiwanese consortium, told The Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times: “Now there is a grand topic that can be used to repair Sino-U.S. relations. The so-called global warming requires the cooperation of the Chinese communist regime.”
He believes that the two countries have interdependence in terms of energy supplies.
In an interview with the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times, Anders Corr, head of Corr Analytics, a political consulting firm in New York, said that the Chinese regime is not a sincere partner on climate change. “They see the issue as a way to get ahead of the West economically, which will power their military ascendancy,” he said.
Corr, a contributor to The Epoch Times, suggested that other countries should at least jointly impose carbon taxes on China’s exports. These carbon taxes can be used to fund global climate finance, “not only is China the world’s largest emitter, but it is a militarily-aggressive dictatorship that ignores the world’s reasonable requests to engage as a good-faith counterpart in the climate negotiation process.”
China economic analyst Antonio Graceffo told the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times on Nov. 12 that signing a non-binding agreement would buy time for the Chinese communist regime.
“At the end of China’s grace period, they should begin reducing pollution, but just like with WTO or with SEC disclosure requirements, they will be given a warning, then a grace period, then another warning ... China can milk this thing for the next 20 years, increasing production and pollution while the rest of the world cuts back and becomes even more dependent on China.” Graceffo is a contributor to The Epoch Times.
Graceffo emphasized that China is not a reliable partner: “China is one of the most inward-looking nations and now, under Xi is turning even more isolationist. China does not care about globalization. But China is clever enough to see that by pushing globalization and climate change, they can cripple the West, particularly, the United States, while making more money and skirting or just disregarding the rules.”
