Climate envoy John Kerry meets with Chinese officials amid U.S. push to stabilise rocky relations

John Kerry told Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi that Biden is committed to stabilising US-China relations. Wang said dialogue must be conducted on an equal basis. Kerry paid a courtesy call to Li Qiang, who said the countries should cooperate on global warming. No meeting has been set with Xi Jinping. Kerry is the third senior Biden official to visit China in recent weeks.

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry told China's top diplomat on July 18 that President Joe Biden's administration is “very committed” to stabilising relations between the world's two biggest economies.

On his second day of talks in Beijing, Mr. Kerry met with the ruling Communist Party's head of foreign relations Wang Yi, telling him Mr. Biden hoped the two countries could “achieve efforts together that can make a significant difference to the world.”

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Ties between the countries have hit a historic low amid disputes over tariffs, access to technology, human rights and China's threats against self-governing Taiwan.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Wang said the sides had suffered from a lack of communication, but that China believes through renewed dialogue “we can find a proper solution to any problems.”

“Sometimes, small problems can become big problems,” Mr. Wang said, adding that dialogue must be conducted on an “equal basis.”

That was an apparent reference to U.S. criticism of China's aggressive foreign policy, rights abuses against Muslim and Buddhist minorities and travel sanctions against officials ranging from the Beijing-appointed leader of Hong Kong to the country's Defence Minister.