China's Climate Envoy Visits US For Talks

"China's special envoy for climate change, Liu Zhenmin, will lead a delegation to the United States between May 7th and 16th," announced the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment in a statement.

For its part, the US State Department said that Liu and Podesta will meet in Washington for a "bilateral meeting of the working group on strengthening climate action in the 2020s", according to a press release .

This is the first meeting between the two envoys, both recently appointed, but also the first exchange between Washington and Beijing on climate since COP28, held in Dubai in December.

At that time, a global compromise agreement called for the first time to phase out fossil fuels, the main cause of global warming.

Liu and Podesta's respective predecessors, Xie Zhenhua and John Kerry, developed a very cordial relationship, which made it possible to advance discussions on the climate issue between the two countries that emit the most carbon dioxide in the world.

According to Beijing, the two envoys will hold an "in-depth exchange of views" on an agreement reached in California between their predecessors before COP28, and will also discuss the promotion of "climate cooperation between China and the United States." United".

According to the US State Department, discussions will focus, in particular, on "the energy transition, methane and non-CO2 greenhouse gases, the circular economy and energy efficiency , cities, states and provinces with low carbon emissions and deforestation, among others".