Yellen Visits China, Calls for Support of International Fund to Fight Climate Change

On August 8, the second day of her visit to Beijing, U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen called on China to cooperate with an international fund to help developing countries combat climate change and to fight the "threat to survival" posed by climate change.

She noted that the U.S. and China have differences on a variety of issues, but called for the two countries to work together to address global challenges.

"As the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases and the two largest investors in renewable energy, we have a joint responsibility and capacity to lead the effort," Yellen told officials and climate experts. Climate change is at the top of the global agenda. The United States and China must work together to address this existential threat.

Yellen's visit to Beijing coincided with one of the hottest heat waves in the city's recorded history.

On August 6, temperatures in Beijing once again topped 40°C. Since 1951, there have been 11 days when temperatures in Beijing have exceeded 40°C, five of which were observed in the last two weeks.

Yellen now called for China, along with partners such as the U.S., to support existing climate action agencies such as the Green Climate Fund and the Global Climate Investment Fund (GCF), which would increase the influence of such agencies.

The GCF is the UN's main climate finance mechanism, helping developing countries combat climate change.

U.S. Ambassador to China John Burns, who joined Yellen at the Beijing event, said he looked forward to a visit by Presidential Special Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry, but gave no specific date for the visit.

If Kerry's visit happens, he would be the third person in the Biden administration to visit China, following Yellen and Secretary of State Blinken, who visited China last month.