US, China 'Committed to Cooperating' on Climate Crisis: Joint Statement

WASHINGTON - The United States and China are "committed to cooperating" on the pressing issue of climate change, the two sides said in a joint statement Saturday, following a visit to Shanghai by U.S. climate envoy John Kerry.

"The United States and China are committed to cooperating with each other and with other countries to tackle the climate crisis, which must be addressed with the seriousness and urgency that it demands," said the statement from Kerry and China's special envoy for climate change Xie Zhenhua. Kerry, the former U.S. secretary of state, was the first official from President Joe Biden's administration to visit China, signaling hopes the two sides could work together on the global challenge despite sky-high tensions on multiple other fronts. The joint statement listed multiple avenues of cooperation between the United States and China, the world's top two economies, which together account for nearly half of the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change.