US climate envoy John Kerry met Premier Li Qiang and top diplomat Wang Yi in Beijing on Tuesday, as the two countries revive stalled diplomacy on reducing planet-warming emissions.

Premier Li told the US envoy climate change posed a "daunting challenge".

"It is incumbent on China, the United States and indeed all countries in the world to strengthen coordination, build consensus and speed up actions," Li said.

Kerry was also greeted by Wang on the third day of a visit to China. The two shook hands and exchanged opening remarks before beginning a meeting.

"Cooperation on climate change is advancing under the overall climate of China and the United States, so we need the joint support of the people of China and the United States," Wang told Kerry, who he described as an "old friend".

"There is a need for a healthy, stable, and sustainable Sino-US relationship," he added.

Kerry said climate is a global issue that poses a threat to mankind.

"This is a matter of global leadership," he stressed, adding that the world "really hopes for that and needs it".

"Our hope is now that this can be the beginning of a new definition of cooperation and of capacity to resolve the differences between us," he added, noting that "we both know there are real differences".

Climate talks between the two biggest greenhouse gas emitters came to a halt last year following a visit by Nancy Pelosi, then speaker of the US House of Representatives, to Taiwan.

Kerry, a former secretary of state, has enjoyed comparatively cordial and consistent relations with China.

He met his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua in Beijing on Monday, with the two men speaking for around four hours, state broadcaster CCTV said.

Both countries "must take urgent action on a number of fronts, especially the challenges of coal and methane pollution", Kerry wrote in a tweet after the talks.

"The climate crisis demands that the world's two largest economies work together to limit the Earth's warming," he added.

Beijing said after the talks that "climate change is a common challenge faced by all mankind".

China would "exchange views with the United States on issues related to climate change, and work together to meet challenges and improve the well-being of current and future generations", foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.

Kerry's trip follows two other high-profile visits by US officials – Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen – that were aimed at stabilising US-China ties.

His visit to China came as the Northern Hemisphere endured record-setting summer heat waves, which scientists have said are being exacerbated by climate change.

And China on Monday said the mercury hit 52.2 degrees Celsius in the northwest of the country over the weekend, setting a record for mid-July.

Xin Xin, an analyst working for the China Meteorological Administration, said in a post on his verified Weibo account that 52.2C was the "highest measured temperature at a regional station in our country that I have ever seen". (AFP)
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Last updated: 2023-07-18 HKT 19:31