Vice President Han Zheng on Tuesday met US climate envoy John Kerry on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, highlighting the need for the two countries to join hands in the fight against climate change.

The vice president said Beijing and Washington should maintain dialogue and cooperation over the matter.

"Secretary Kerry reiterated the urgency of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, which will require ambitious action by the United States and the PRC," the US State Department said in a statement.

The meeting came a day after Han held talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, with the two sides agreeing to maintain open lines of communication.

Delivering a speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden said his administration will not "decouple" from Beijing.

“When it comes to China, I want to be clear and consistent,” Biden said. “We seek to responsibly manage competition between our countries so it does not tip into conflict. I’ve said we are for de-risking, not decoupling, with China.”

Biden said Beijing and Washington need to cooperate on climate, and referenced recent natural disasters – devastating heat waves, droughts and floods around the globe – as part of a “snapshot” that tells the “urgent story of what awaits us if we fail to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and begin to climate-proof the world." (Agencies)