US climate envoy John Kerry told senior Chinese officials on Tuesday that Beijing and Washington could use cooperation on climate change to redefine their difficult relationship.

Kerry, who is on a three-day visit to China, said both countries — the world's top two greenhouse gas emitters — could together show global leadership in tackling global warming.

What the climate envoy said

"Our hope is now that this can be the beginning of a new definition of cooperation and capacity to resolve the differences between us," Kerry told Wang Yi, the Communist Party's head of foreign relations, in a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

"We both know there are real differences. But we also know from experience, if we work at it, we can find the path ahead and ways that resolve these challenges."

"The world really is looking to us for that leadership, particularly on the climate issue. Climate, as you know, is a global issue, not a bilateral issue," Kerry said. "It's a threat to all of humankind."

'Small problems can become big'

Wang described former US Secretary of State Kerry, his opposite number for several years, as "an old friend" and underlined the need "for a healthy, stable, and sustainable Sino-US relationship."

He said both countries had made progress on climate change, and noted that better relations between Beijing and Washington could improve this.

Wang said the sides had suffered from a lack of communication, but that through renewed dialogue "we can find a proper solution to any problems."

"Sometimes, small problems can become big problems," Wang said.

However, in an apparent reference to US criticism of China's increasingly assertive foreign policy and human rights abuses, he added that dialogue must be conducted on an "equal basis."

The countries are seeking to improve relations and Kerry is the third senior Biden administration official in recent weeks to visit China for meetings with counterparts after Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

China broke off some contact with the Biden administration last August, in response to a visit by former House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as a breakaway territory and views and views any official exchange as an affront.

Beijing last month objected to US President Joe Biden's reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping as a "dictator," saying the remarks were "absurd and a provocation."

Kerry, himself a former US presidential candidate, told Wang that Biden valued his relationship with Xi and that the pair would "move forward and change the dynamics."

rc/sms (AFP, AP, Reuters)