Biden and Xi Jinping Hold First Face-to-Face Meeting at Climate Summit

First Face-to-Face Meeting of Leaders from Both Countries at the Virtual Climate Summit on the 22nd
Attention on Whether Cooperation Can Be Achieved on Climate Change Amid US-China Conflict

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the climate summit held amid US-China tensions and have his first virtual face-to-face meeting with US President Joe Biden.

On the 21st, Hua Chunying, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced that President Xi would attend and deliver a speech at the climate summit held virtually from the 22nd to 23rd upon President Biden's invitation. This will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since Biden took office, conducted during a meeting focused on addressing climate change.

Previously, the two leaders had a phone call ahead of China's Lunar New Year in February.

Since taking office in January, the Biden administration has continuously pressured China, including reviewing semiconductor supply chains and raising human rights issues in the Xinjiang region. In particular, President Biden declared that "during his term, China will not surpass the United States," signaling a strong policy to check China, continuing the stance of former President Donald Trump.

Nevertheless, President Biden has left room for cooperation with China on areas where collaboration is possible, such as climate change, stating that joint efforts can be made to reduce carbon emissions. Earlier, after US Climate Envoy John Kerry visited Shanghai from the 14th to 17th to attend US-China climate talks, the joint statement issued by both countries included a commitment to "cooperate on solving climate issues."

China has already declared domestically and internationally that it will cooperate with the US in areas like climate change, excluding core interests such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Xinjiang. China has set goals to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. This is interpreted as climate being the common ground where the US and China can cooperate.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

On the 16th, President Xi stated during a virtual climate summit with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel that "addressing climate change is a joint endeavor of all humanity and should not be used as a pretext for trade barriers," affirming that "we will actively engage."

Meanwhile, President Biden, who signed an executive order to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement on his first day in office with environmental policies as a core agenda, is expected to invite leaders from 40 countries to this climate summit to present new carbon emission reduction targets and propose international cooperation measures to tackle climate change.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.