COP26: China urges US to look at its own record on climate action after Biden condemns Xi’s absence

China’s ambassador to the UN Zhang Jun says countries needed to make ‘firm commitment and continued actions’ in tackling climate change

Criticism levelled at China includes that President Xi has not shown up at Glasgow summit and a reluctance by Beijing to embrace more ambitious climate targets

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US President Joe Biden presents at the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. China’s ambassador to the UN has countered US criticism of President Xi Jinping’s absence from the summit with comments on US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:28pm, 3 Nov 2021Updated: 11:26pm, 3 Nov 2021

China’s ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday harshly criticised the United States over its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and its back-pedalling on climate policies after President Joe Biden condemned Chinese and Russian leaders for not taking part in the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

Zhang Jun wrote on Twitter that countries needed to make “firm commitment and continued actions” in tackling climate change, instead of conveying “empty slogans” and ever-changing policies.

“China has been earnestly supporting #ClimateAction. We are not the one who withdrew from the #ParisAgreement,” Zhang tweeted.

“The US however has back-pedalled its climate policies many times. Instead of blame shifting, what it should do now is to shoulder responsibility and take concrete actions.”

He also responded to criticism about the absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping at the climate summit, saying China had delegations attending the meeting and the country had published climate action plans and policies.

“The Chinese leader addressed the meeting to share China’s solution to climate change. The Chinese delegation attended the meeting in person,” he tweeted.