Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi has warned the United States that political tensions between Beijing and Washington could undermine efforts by the world's top two sources of greenhouse gas to cooperate in the fight against climate change.
China's state councilor and foreign minister told U.S. climate envoy John Kerry via video link on Wednesday that the two sides' joint efforts to combat global warming were an "oasis," according to a foreign ministry statement published late on Wednesday.
"But surrounding the oasis is a desert, and the oasis could be desertified very soon," he said. "China-U.S. climate cooperation cannot be separated from the wider environment of China-U.S. relations."