Yet thornier issues like maritime disputes and cybersecurity shadow Obama’s visit.
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The ceremony occurred shortly after Mr. Obama arrived in the scenic Chinese city of Hangzhou for the annual summit of Group of 20 industrialized and emerging economies.
Obama, on his 11th trip to Asia as president, faces a long list of tough issues during the G-20 summit, where leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies are expected to have a robust debate about how best to stimulate the sluggish global economy and push ahead against climate change. The ethnic minorities are said to be mostly the followers of Islam religion – largest group of Muslims in China – and speak a language that is close to Turkish.
Obama, who will be addressing weak global growth and several worldwide crises during his final G-20 summit, is pointing to the climate agreement with China as a bright spot on the worldwide scene.
Lawmakers of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress voted to adopt “the proposal to review and ratify the Paris Agreement”, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Obama also is scheduled to meet with the Philippines’ new president, Rodrigo Duterte, to discuss an worldwide court ruling at The Hague against China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.
He credited China and the US for “working together to achieve a result that none could achieve alone”. That won’t happen until a critical mass of polluting countries joins.
The G20 nations are responsible for about 80 percent of global carbon emissions.
President Barack Obama is expected to meet later Saturday with his Chinese host, President Xi Jinping.
But despite holding face-to-face talks with Chinese president Xi Jinping, Mrs May is not expected to use the meeting to make an announcement on the Hinkley Point project, which is backed by Beijing’s state-owned nuclear firm.
The U.S.is also entering into a joint agreement with China to work on other climate issues beyond the Paris agreement. Washington has been deeply concerned about China’s territorial ambitions in waters far off its coast, while Beijing looks warily at Obama’s efforts to expand USA influence in Asia, viewing it as an attempt to contain China’s rise.
If the deal clears the final hurdles, he said, “we’ll have a truly global climate agreement that will bind the two biggest emitters in the world”.
“So where we see them violating global rules and norms, as we have seen in some cases in the South China Sea or in some of their behavior when it comes to economic policy, we’ve been very firm”, he added.
Of China’s artificial island-building in the South China Sea, Obama added: “We’ve indicated to them that there will be consequences”.
Obama made an early effort to court the Chinese leader, inviting him for talks in the scorching desert outside Palm Springs, California, shortly after Xi took office.
The agreement forged by 195 nations last December in Paris sets non-binding targets for the reduction of carbon emissions that most scientists blame for rising temperatures and sea levels. China has committed to seeing its emissions peak by 2030, but reducing its ratio of emissions to economic activity over that time. The accord provides for it to go into effect when countries producing 55 percent of global emissions ratify it; China and the US together account for about 38 percent. Russian Federation accounts for 7.5 percent, with India pushing out 4.1 percent.
Developed countries should honor their commitments and provide financial and technological support to developing countries and enhance their capability in climate actions, Xi said.
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The US leader will also meet with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with whom relations have become more complex following the country’s intervention in Syria. Obama plans a major speech on his Asia policy and a meeting with the new Phillipine leader while in Laos.
