U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that there are competitive aspects as well as cooperative aspects with China, including climate change, which is an issue on which both sides can cooperate. However, experts say the two countries are far apart on some key issues and face many obstacles to cooperation.
The Voice of America reports that China has long maintained its position as a developing country, and therefore should have different responsibilities and goals for reducing emissions. Critics point out that this means China can continue to emit large amounts of carbon for up to 10 more years.
Nicolas Loris, deputy director of the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank, said there is a huge gap between the U.S. and China in terms of carbon reduction commitments, making it difficult for China, the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide, to make any meaningful progress on climate issues. Loris said the U.S. and China have serious conflicting interests in many areas, and that while it is easy to pay lip service to cooperation in the climate field, “the devil is in the details.
Rebecca Grant of IRIS Independent Research, a U.S. political consultancy, noted that addressing climate change is seen as a top priority for the United States, but not for China.
Recent Comments