US should stop looking for excuses for inaction on climate change: FM spokesperson

The US should earnestly deliver on its historical responsibilities and due obligations on climate change and stop looking around for excuses for its inaction, China said on Wednesday.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a press briefing in Beijing in response to remarks by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry that China's decision to suspend US-China climate change talks was punishing the world and not the United States.

The measure taken by China was part of the country’s legitimate and reasonable countermeasures against Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, Wang said.

“It has been repeatedly stressed to the US side that the one-China principle is the political foundation on which China develops bilateral relations with other countries and Speaker Pelosi insisted on visiting Taiwan despite China's strong opposition, which seriously violated China's sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said.

Pelosi’s visit took place “with the US government’s connivance and support” which undermined the political foundation of the China-US relations and would inevitably cause major disruption to exchanges and cooperation between the two sides, Wang said.

“China had made those points perfectly clear long beforehand. We said it and we mean it. The US has no reason to feel surprised,” the spokesperson said. “Due to the egregious impact of Pelosi’s visit to China’s Taiwan region, China has suspended its climate talks with the US. All consequences arising therefrom shall be borne by the US.”

"China is a country committed to real action, not just words on global climate governance," Wang said. “As a responsible major country China will continue to actively participate in international and multilateral cooperation on climate change.”

The US Supreme Court limited the US Environmental Protection Agency’s powers to curb greenhouse gas emissions and has been sanctioning and suppressing China’s solar companies citing the so-called Xinjiang-related issues as a pretext, which has dealt a direct blow to the atmosphere of our cooperation and the climate response of China and other countries, he said.

“These self-contradictory moves make the world question the US’s capability and seriousness on addressing climate change.”

(Compiled by Wang Jiarui)