Diplomat: China never engages in geopolitics

Vice-Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu hosts a news briefing after President Xi Jinping joined world leaders at a virtual climate summit in Beijing on April 22, 2021. [Photo/fmprc.gov.cn]

A senior Chinese diplomat has said that the nation never engages in geopolitics and has no interest in playing the climate change card, and called for global action and cooperation to deal with the common challenge.

Vice-Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu made the remark at a news briefing late on Thursday after President Xi Jinping joined world leaders at a virtual climate summit.

The response to climate change shouldn't become a geopolitical bargaining chip, a means of attacking other nations or an excuse for imposing trade barriers, Ma said.

Xi's participation in the summit showed the great importance China attaches to climate change, as well as China's responsibility as a major country in global environmental governance, Ma said.

Economic recovery, environmental protection and climate change response have become common concerns as well as key issues for the international community, Ma said, adding that it was meaningful for Xi to attend the summit and deliver a speech at such a critical moment.

Xi said in his speech that it requires "extraordinarily hard efforts" for China to fulfill its commitment to moving from carbon peak to carbon neutrality, which is in a much shorter time span than what might take many developed countries.

Ma said the two goals were a reflection of China's firm determination to tackle climate change.

China will achieve the transition from carbon peak to carbon neutral in just 30 years, meaning that the country needs to complete the world's highest reduction in carbon emissions, Ma said.

He said that this decision requires arduous efforts to make extensive, profound and systemic changes in economic and social spheres.

Xie Zhenhua, China's special envoy for climate change affairs, said that the two goals proposed amid a depressed world economy greatly boosted the confidence of the international community, when most countries were challenged by the raging pandemic and had less confidence to implement the Paris agreement.

According to Xie, during his talks with his US counterpart John Kerry in Shanghai last week, China and the US reached various agreements on taking practical actions domestically regarding climate change as well as jointly making contributions to global climate governance.

Xie said that their agreements aren't empty talk and require concrete actions.

"We will establish an official cooperation channel in appropriate time and do not rule out setting up a joint working group on climate change," he said.