Liu Zhenmin, former UN under-secretary-general for economic and social affairs, speaks at a session themed on "Building an Order of Cooperation and Security in the South China Sea" during the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2023 in Boao, south China's Hainan province, March 30, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

The inaugural meeting of the China-US Climate Action Working Group was held on Friday, according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

To implement the consensus reached at the China-US summit in San Francisco to collaborate on addressing climate change, the "21st Century Climate Action Workgroup" between China and the US was successfully organized via a video conference on Friday.

Both sides praised the successful launch of the workgroup and engaged in in-depth and friendly discussions on key areas of cooperation, including energy transition, methane, circular economy, low-carbon provinces/states, and cities

The meeting was co-chaired by China's Special Envoy for Climate Change Xie Zhenhua and the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry.

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Vice-Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission Zhao Chenxin, Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment Zhao Yingmin, Deputy Director of the National Energy Administration Ren Jingdong, Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Energy David Turk, and Assistant Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency Radhika Fox, attended the meeting as heads of the working group's subcommittees and delivered speeches.

Both sides praised the successful launch of the workgroup and engaged in in-depth and friendly discussions on key areas of cooperation, including energy transition, methane, circular economy, low-carbon provinces/states, and cities.

The two sides agreed to maintain close communication, exchange experiences, and deepen practical cooperation within the framework of the workgroup mechanism, in accordance with the consensus outlined in the The Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis.

Due to health reasons, Xie Zhenhua has stepped down from his position as China's special envoy for climate change. Liu Zhenmin, former vice-minister of foreign affairs, has been appointed as Xie's successor.

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This means that Liu will be responsible for handling climate change-related affairs, representing China in international cooperation and negotiations. He is expected to continue to promoting cooperation between China and the US in the field of climate change and maintain close contact with his US counterpart John Kerry and other US representatives, working together to advance actions on climate change.

China and the United States operationalized their Working Group on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s via video link on Friday.

The working group was initiated to implement the consensus reached between the two heads of state at their San Francisco meeting and strengthen cooperation between China and the United States in response to climate change.

According to China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the two sides spoke highly of the successful start of the working group and conducted in-depth and friendly communication on key cooperation areas such as energy transition, methane, circular economy, and low-carbon provinces, states and cities.

Both parties agreed to continue to maintain close communication, conduct exchanges, learn from each other and deepen practical cooperation under the working group mechanism in accordance with the consensus enshrined in the Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis.

With Xinhua inputs