A condition for the resumption of bilateral climate talks between China and the US is Washington dispelling the “negative influence” left by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last month, Beijing said yesterday.
In response to the visit on Aug. 2 and 3, China on Aug. 5 suspended bilateral cooperation with the US in a number of areas, including climate talks and dialogue between senior-level military commanders.
In an interview with the Financial Times on Tuesday, US Special Envoy on Climate Change John Kerry — who earlier this month said the suspension of bilateral climate talks punished the entire world — urged Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to resume the discussions.
Photo: AFP
Kerry told the newspaper that he was hopeful the countries could “get back together” ahead of the UN’s COP27 climate summit in November in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
China yesterday responded to Kerry’s remarks by stating that the resumption of climate talks with the US was dependent on actions taken by Washington to address the “negative influence” of Pelosi’s Taiwan visit.
“The US side should dispel the negative influence of Pelosi scuttling to Taiwan, this is an indispensable condition of China-US climate change cooperation,” the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The statement also said that China would continue to participate in international forums on climate change.
Beijing’s response highlights the divergent approaches to global climate change cooperation between the world’s two largest powers.
While officials in the administration of US President Joe Biden, including Kerry, have repeatedly expressed hope that US-China cooperation on climate change would not be affected by tensions on other fronts, Beijing has rejected any separating of issues in US-China relations.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
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DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
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