U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said he hopes that climate negotiations could pave the way for improved ties with China. Still, critics claim that China’s ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses climate issues as a “bargaining chip.”
“Our hope is that this can be the beginning of a new definition of cooperation and of capacity to resolve the differences between us,” Mr. Kerry told Mr. Wang.
Mr. Wang, who addressed the former secretary of state as an “old friend,” said the Chinese regime is willing to strengthen dialogues. But such communications, he said, must be conducted on what he described as an “equal basis,” a term often used by Beijing to deflect international criticism from its poor human rights records and other issues while projecting an image that it “upholds” rules and regulations.
“Climate change cooperation proceeds under the greater atmosphere in China and the United States,” Mr. Wang said through an interpreter at a meeting room in the Great Hall of the People. “Sometimes, small problems can become big problems.”
According to the summary of the talks released by China’s foreign ministry, Mr. Wang warned the United States should “properly handle issues related to Taiwan,” a self-ruled island that the CCP views as its own territory to be taken by force if necessary.
Mr. Kerry later met Premier Li Qiang, telling him that as the “two largest emitters of greenhouse gases” in the world, it’s “imperative” for the two nations to show the rest of the world “how we can cooperate and begin to address this with the urgency it requires.”
“President Biden is really hopeful that we can advance the climate agenda,” Mr. Kerry said.
Mr. Li said it’s necessary for China and the United States to strengthen coordination.
Criticism
Mr. Kerry’s comments on Monday while meeting Mr. Xie have drawn criticism from Republicans.Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who sits on the Senate Finance Committee, took to Twitter to question why Mr. Kerry would praise China for building up its renewable energy capacity.
“U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry says the Chinese Communist Party is doing an ‘incredible’ job with increasing its green energy sources,” Ms. Blackburn wrote on July 17. “Does Kerry forget that the CCP uses child labor and allegedly Uyghur slave labor to produce green energy technologies?”
“The reality is that the Chinese polysilicon and solar-component industries are highly dependent on mining and manufacturing in the Uyghur homeland,” wrote Louisa Greve, director of global advocacy for the group. “It is clear that an increase in solar imports from Chinese solar manufacturers—regardless of whether these imports are from China or Chinese controlled factories in Southeast Asia—directly supports the Chinese solar industry’s use of Uyghur forced labor.”
Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, questioned why Mr. Kerry would tell the Chinese side that climate change is “not a political issue.”
“Kerry is mistaken about China,” Mr. Hagerty wrote on Twitter on July 17. “For the CCP, everything is a political issue. They will use these meetings to advance political goals & exploit tensions.
“The only thing Kerry will likely walk away with is more aggressive CCP demands & actions toward the US.”
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who is seeking GOP nomination for the White House in 2024, criticized Kerry for potentially being the “worst member” of the Biden administration on July 17.
‘Bargaining Chip’
Bryan Dean Wright, former CIA operations officer, said in a podcast on July 17 that China sees climate change as a “bargaining chip” and is not concerned about the climate crisis.He drew his conclusions after analyzing recent articles from China’s hawkish state-run media Global Times and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s recent comments. He also highlighted how China has built new coal power plants “at a record clip.”
“It’s pretty darn clear that China does not view climate change as important. It’s only a bargaining chip to get, what do they say, ‘improved ties,’” Mr. Wright said. “In fact, a cynic might say that they are actually increasing their carbon dioxide emissions so that the rest of the world, well, freaks out.”
He continued, “And here’s the key, we remained forever stuck with China’s iron grip on the things that they supply to the world, like solar panels, and batteries, and electric vehicles.”
“50 GW of coal power capacity started construction in China in 2022, a more than 50% increase from 2021,” the report says. “A total of 106 GW of new coal power projects were permitted, the equivalent of two large coal power plants per week.”
“If Beijing felt that climate change was real, and that it was manmade, and an existential threat to China, they would work dramatically and quickly on reducing their carbon dioxide emissions, and they would join the rest of the world and doing it,” Mr. Wright said. “No one would have to tell them to do so.
“But they don’t want to do that. Instead, they want to build coal plants at a record clip.”
