Here are some images of Joe Biden and Xi Jinping’s seperate arrivals to San Francisco ahead of their bilateral meeting on Wednesday:
With the US and China pledging on Tuesday to cooperate more closely to fight climate change, both countries said that they would commit to “economy-wide” nationally determined contributions across all greenhouse gases, not just CO2.
The Guardian’s Amy Hawkins reports:
One of the most notable features in the climate statement was that both countries would commit to “economy-wide” nationally determined contributions (NDCs) across all greenhouse gases, not just CO2. China has previously resisted the idea of specifying which parts of the economy would be covered by its climate pledges.
Li Shuo, the incoming director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Policy Institute, said the language of “economy-wide” NDCs “implies a pretty stringent framework” that “will help enhance the transparency of China’s emissions”, a goal that the US has long pushed for.
The US and Chinese climate envoys, John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua, had met this month at the Sunnylands resort in California in an attempt to restart stalled cooperation. Experts agree that keeping the Paris goals in reach will require an enormous collective effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions this decade.
For further details, click here:
Joe Biden is set to meet Chinese president Xi Jinping today in San Francisco – the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders in a year.
The summit, which marks Xi’s first visit to the US in six years, has been widely regarded by US and Chinese officials as an opportunity for the two leaders to ease tensions amid a precarious geopolitical climate involving the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars.
Over the years, tensions surrounding trade, human rights and the future of Taiwan has deteriorated US-China relations. Following the then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last year, which triggered outrage from China, military dialogues between the two countries have been largely suspended.
In addition to issues surrounding trade, human rights and Taiwan, the two leaders are also widely expected to discuss climate agreements. In a statement released alongside China on Tuesday, the state department said that the US and China “reaffirm their commitment to work jointly and together with other countries to address the climate crisis”.
Another major potential talking point between the two leaders is the control of the fentanyl pipeline from China to the US which has resulted in an opioid overdose epidemic across the US.
Here’s the timeline for Biden and Xi’s meeting today:
-
Biden and Xi’s bilateral meeting is due to start at 2pm ET and is expected to last at least four hours.
-
Biden is expected to hold a press conference at 7.15pm ET.
-
The Bidens will then host a welcome reception for Apec leaders in San Francisco.
Here are other developments in US politics:
-
Homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI director Christopher Wray is set to testify before a homeland security subcomittee on worldwide threats, Politco reports.
-
House speaker Mike Johnson has called the separation of church and state a “misnomer,” telling CNBC on Tuesday that “people misunderstand it.”
