The former Secretary of State under Barack Obama made the first visit to China by a senior Biden administration official from Wednesday to Saturday in Shanghai since the new US president took office.

Mr. Kerry’s trip aims to prepare for next week’s virtual climate summit, initiated by Joe Biden. Debates that see Beijing and Washington temporarily put aside their many differences.

China attaches great importance to dialogue and cooperation with the United States on climate changeChinese Vice Premier Han Zheng told the US envoy on Friday, according to the China New News Agency.

We welcome the return of the United States to the Paris Agreement, and we expect them to preserve this agreement, shoulder their responsibilities and make the necessary contributions.Han said from Beijing during a videoconference with Kerry.

Since his first day in the White House, on January 20, Joe Biden has recorded the United States’ return to the Paris climate agreement, which Donald Trump had left almost four years earlier.

It’s not a glorious comeback by any means, but rather a bad student who returns to school after skipping classes.

Zhao Legian called Washington to Explain how he has been filling the remaining void for four years, Particularly with regard to financing the Green Climate Fund, a United Nations mechanism that aims to transfer money from rich countries to those most affected by climate change.

Before his trip, John Kerry said it was imperative to work with China on climate. The Asian country is in absolute terms the world’s top emitter of greenhouse gas emissions (nearly 30% of the total).

Despite Sino-American tensions, trade in Hong Kong via Taiwan and the plight of Uyghur Muslims in China, cooperation between Beijing and Washington is essential to the success of climate initiatives.