Xi Jinping to give ‘important speech’ at Joe Biden’s Earth Day summit

The Chinese foreign ministry on Wednesday said that President Xi Jinping will attend a virtual climate summit hosted by US President Joe Biden on April 22-23, reported AFP. Notably, Earth Day is observed every year on this date to show support for environmental protection.

Biden has invited 40 world leaders, including Xi and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, to the meet, to mark the US’ return to the front lines of the battle against climate change after former president Donald Trump disengaged from the process.

Also read: Earth Day summit a chance for Biden to show US serious about climate: Trudeau

At the meeting, Xi is set to give an “important speech” on the climate situation, according to the statement. This comes days after US climate envoy John Kerry visited Shanghai. He was the first official from Biden’s administration to do so.

Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua had said they were “committed to cooperating” on tackling the climate crisis, even as political tensions between the two countries remain high.

Also read: India, US can ‘creatively collaborate’ for clean and green technologies: PM Modi

China, the world’s top carbon emitter, has vowed to reach peak emissions by 2030 and become carbon neutral thirty years later.

Washington and Beijing’s pledge to cooperate on climate change comes amid acrimony over accusations about China’s policies in Hong Kong and its treatment of Uyghurs in its northwestern Xinjiang region — criticisms Beijing rejects as interference in its domestic affairs.