The global economic recovery remained weak and G20 countries should take steps to revive trade and investment, Xi said, pointing to challenges including the refugee crisis, climate change and terrorism. And when it comes to combating climate change, that’s what we’re doing.
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China and the United States ratified the 2015 Paris agreement to cut global greenhouse gas emissions on Saturday, ahead of the G20 summit beginning Sunday in Hangzhou, China.
“In promoting green development we also aim to address climate change and overcapacity”, Mr. Xi said in an earlier speech Saturday. He specifically cited maritime disputes, cybersecurity and human rights, though the president didn’t elaborate during brief remarks in front of reporters at the start of the meeting.
For its part the White House is looking for the Paris accord to come into force during Obama’s tenure, in part to burnish his climate legacy, but also to ensure the forthcoming United States election does not obstruct USA participation. The leaders also had a “candid exchange” over the arbitration case between China and the Philippines, the White House said.
The ceremony opened what is likely Obama’s valedictory tour in Asia.
According to an global news agency, a Chinese official attempted to prevent Barack Obama’s national security adviser Susan Rice from walking to the motorcade as she crossed a media rope line.
But the welcome didn’t go smoothly. Soon after Air Force One landed, a Chinese security official blocked National Security Adviser Susan Rice on the tarmac, speaking angrily to her before a Secret Service agent stepped between the two. “This is our airport”. The results have been mixed. That would remove any kind of fear that could exist around the globe that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump would make good on his promise to undo the deal if he is elected president.
But the ability of the United States to achieve its Paris targets could be affected by the outcome of a federal court hearing this month, in which 27 U.S. states are trying to block the federal Clean Power Plan that slashes Carbon dioxide from power plants, the largest source of USA greenhouse gas emissions.
Xi said he acted after China’s legislature voted Saturday to formally enter the agreement. In the US, no Senate ratification is required because the agreement is not considered a formal treaty.
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“Our two nations are the world’s largest economies – and its largest greenhouse gas emitters; as we have seen in the past, when we come together to take action on climate, it moves the needle in a way that no two other nations can accomplish”, Kerry said.
