But Obama said they also would have a candid discussion about differences, including on human rights, cybersecurity and maritime issues.
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Significantly, China’s President Xi Jinping also formally ratified the accords earlier on Saturday. To enter into force, the agreement must be ratified by at least 55 countries representing at least 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
In a speech Saturday, Mr. Xi pledged to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 18 per cent in the next five years.
In the Chinese city of Hangzhou, US President Barack Obama said the Paris deal was the single best chance to deal with a problem that could end up transforming this planet.
But he says leadership by the US and China has been one of the biggest drivers of action on the issue, which Obama has highlighted during his presidency.
Campaigners welcomed the move, with WWF saying they had sent “a very powerful signal that there will be real global action on climate change”.
At a ceremony on the sidelines of a global economic summit, Obama and Xi, representing the world’s two biggest carbon emitters, delivered a series of documents to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
G20 countries emit about 80 percent of global greenhouse gases, with China and the U.S. responsible for about half of that.
The move by China and the U.S. bolsters the agreement – bringing the total greenhouse gas emissions accounted for by signatories to 39.06%. “What China and presumably the U.S. will do is set an example for other countries to follow”, Brown said.
Entrance by the USA and China will bring the count to 40 percent of emissions.
China has formally ratified the Paris climate change agreement, according to state news sources.
The United States and China on Saturday formally joined the Paris climate change agreement, with President Barack Obama hailing the accord as the “moment we finally chose to save our planet”.
He said Republican presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush “joined important global environmental agreements by using executive agreements”.
“Ratifying the agreement accords with China’s policy of actively dealing with climate change”, said the proposal.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan joined forces with mayors of major cities across the world to urge countries to sign up to the global treaty as soon as possible.
At a time when China has rattled nerves around the region with its increasingly assertive stance on disputes like the South China Sea, and ambitious military modernization program, Xi said China was committed to peaceful development.
Modi, who is in Vietnam on a maiden visit, will arrive here tonight to attend the summit.
“I look forward to continuing to have extremely productive conversations with my provincial counterparts”.
This deal has effectively been 20 years in the making.
But the welcome didn’t go entirely smoothly.
The altercation occurred out of sight of Obama, who greeted ambassadors and other officials before the presidential motorcade pulled away with Rice.
The Chinese government has broad control over domestic media and prevents many foreign media outlets from publishing in the country, including by blocking their websites. “This is our airport!”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has described his country’s relationship with the United States as “frozen”.
China championed the twin ratification as part of efforts to put environmental issues at the forefront of the debates during the Group of 20 summit, which China begins hosting Sunday. Xi and U.S. President Barack Obama had met before the announcement. Putin has denied sanctioning any attacks.
G20 leaders are likely to renew their promises to use tax and spending policies to invigorate the sluggish world economy, although a new pro-growth push was unlikely.
It is expected to be Obama’s last trip to Asia as president.
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China has gone to great lengths to try to make the Sept 4-5 G20 summit a success, hoping to cement its standing as a global power, but a range of thorny diplomatic topics could overshadow the agenda. Many people have been staying in tent camps.
