China’s Xi to attend Biden’s virtual climate summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend President Biden’s virtual White House climate summit and deliver an address to other participants, a state-run news agency said Wednesday.

Axios and The Associated Press reported that Xi will “deliver an important speech” at the gathering, scheduled to be held Thursday and Friday. 

It wasn’t clear whether Xi planned to announce any further Chinese commitments related to climate change, but the two countries released a joint statement this week stressing their commitment to cooperating on the issue.

“The United States and China are committed to cooperating with each other and with other countries to tackle the climate crisis, which must be addressed with the seriousness and urgency that it demands,” the statement reads.

Dozens of world leaders have been invited to the climate summit, which was first announced in March.

“In his invitation, the President urged leaders to use the Summit as an opportunity to outline how their countries also will contribute to stronger climate ambition,” said the White House at the time.

The Washington Post, citing two unidentified sources, reported on Tuesday that the Biden administration is expected to commit to cutting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent by 2030.

Biden is slated to announce his emissions reduction target for 2030 on Thursday to coincide with the summit and Earth Day. 

A White House official told the Post that a final decision hadn’t been made. A White House spokesperson declined The Hill’s request for comment.