China says Xi Jinping had no option to send video message to COP26

China said on Tuesday (2) that President Xi Jinping did not have the opportunity to deliver a video speech at the Climate Summit (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland and instead had to submit a written statement.

Xi, who did not attend the United Nations meeting in person, sent a written statement to the other heads of state and government in which he offered additional no-promises, while urging countries to fulfill their promises and “strengthen confidence and mutual cooperation”.

“As I understand it, the conference organizers did not provide the video link method,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters at a briefing.

The United Kingdom is responsible for organizing the COP26, which aims to ensure that the planet is able to zero net carbon emissions and maintain the Paris Agreement target of restricting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius in order to contain the impacts of global warming.

Climate watchers expressed concern that Xi’s physical absence from Glasgow could mean that China is not prepared to offer further concessions during this round of negotiations.

But Beijing said it had already made a number of important pledges last year, pledging to peak emissions by 2060, increase total solar and wind capacity to 1,200 gigawatts by 2030 and reduce coal use by 2026.

The faltering diplomatic relationship between China and the United States – the two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases – emerges as one of the biggest obstacles during the latest round of climate talks.

Beijing rejected Washington’s efforts to separate the climate from broader conflicts between the two sides, with diplomat Wang Yi telling US climate envoy John Kerry in September that there was still a “desert” threatening the “oasis” of climate cooperation .

A particular sticking point for China has been the US imposition of sanctions on Chinese companies, including solar equipment suppliers, with links to the Xinjiang region.

China rejects Western claims of human rights abuses in the country’s northwestern region.

“China cannot be asked to cut coal production on the one hand and, at the same time, impose sanctions on Chinese photovoltaic companies,” Wang said on Tuesday (2).

O Global Times, which is part of the newspaper People’s Daily, led by the Communist Party of China, said in an editorial on Monday that the US should not expect to influence Beijing on the climate while attacking the country on human rights and other issues.

“[A atitude de Washington tornou] impossible for China to see any potential for a fair deal amid the tensions,” the paper said.

Reference: CNN Brasil

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