[A climate deal between China and the United
States, the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 carbon polluters, is viewed as essential to
concluding a new global accord. Unless Beijing and Washington can resolve their
differences, climate experts say, few other countries will agree to mandatory
cuts in emissions, and any meaningful worldwide pact will be likely to founder.]
By Mark Landler
 |
| President Obama and President Xi Jinping of China, with their delegations, met inside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday. Mandel Ngan/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
BEIJING
— China and
the United States made common cause on Wednesday against the threat of climate
change, staking out an ambitious joint plan to curb carbon emissions
as a way to spur nations around the world to make their own cuts in greenhouse
gases.
The landmark agreement, jointly announced here
by President Obama and President Xi Jinping, includes new targets for carbon
emissions reductions by the United States and a first-ever commitment by China to
stop its emissions from growing by 2030.
Administration officials said the agreement,
which was worked out quietly between the United States and China over nine
months and included a letter from Mr. Obama to Mr. Xi proposing a joint
approach, could galvanize efforts to negotiate a new global climate agreement
by 2015.
It was the signature achievement of an
unexpectedly productive two days of meetings between the leaders. Mr. Obama and
Mr. Xi also agreed to a military accord designed to avert clashes between
Chinese and American planes and warships in the tense waters off the Chinese
coast, as well as an understanding to cut tariffs for technology products.
A climate deal between China and the United
States, the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 carbon polluters, is viewed as essential to
concluding a new global accord. Unless Beijing and Washington can resolve their
differences, climate experts say, few other countries will agree to mandatory
cuts in emissions, and any meaningful worldwide pact will be likely to founder.
“The United States and China have often been
seen as antagonists,” said a senior official, speaking in advance of Mr.
Obama’s remarks. “We hope that this announcement can usher in a new day in
which China and the U.S. can act much more as partners.”
As part of the agreement, Mr. Obama announced
that the United States would emit 26 percent to 28 percent less carbon in 2025
than it did in 2005. That is double the pace of reduction it targeted for the
period from 2005 to 2020.
China’s pledge to reach peak carbon emissions
by 2030, if not sooner, is even more remarkable. To reach that goal, Mr. Xi
pledged that so-called clean energy sources, like solar
power and windmills, would account for 20 percent of China’s
total energy production by 2030.
Administration officials acknowledged that Mr.
Obama could face opposition to his plans from a Republican-controlled Congress.
While the agreement with China needs no congressional ratification, lawmakers
could try to roll back Mr. Obama’s initiatives, undermining the United States’
ability to meet the new reduction targets.
Still, Mr. Obama’s visit, which came days
after a setback in the midterm elections, allowed him to reclaim some of the
momentum he lost at home. As the campaign was turning against the Democrats
last month, Mr. Obama quietly dispatched John Podesta, a senior adviser who
oversees climate policy, to Beijing to try to finalize a deal.
For all the talk of collaboration, the United
States and China also displayed why they are still fierce rivals for global
economic primacy, promoting competing free-trade blocs for the Asian region
even as they reached climate and security deals.
The maneuvering came during a conference of
Pacific Rim economies held in Beijing that has showcased China’s growing
dominance in Asia, but also the determination of the United States, riding a
resurgent economy, to reclaim its historical role as a Pacific power.
Adding to the historic nature of the visit,
Mr. Obama and Mr. Xi were scheduled to give a joint news conference on
Wednesday that will include questions from reporters — a rare concession by the
Chinese leader to a visiting American president.
On Tuesday evening, Mr. Xi invited Mr. Obama
to dinner at his official residence, telling his guest he hoped they had laid
the foundation for a collaborative relationship — or, as he more metaphorically
put it, “A pool begins with many drops of water.”
Greeting Mr. Obama at the gate of the walled
leadership compound next to the Forbidden City, Mr. Xi squired him across a
brightly lighted stone bridge and into the residence. Mr. Obama told the Chinese
president that he wanted to take the relationship “to a new level.”
“When the U.S. and China are able to work
together effectively,” he added, “the whole world benefits.”
But as the world witnessed this week, it is
more complicated than that. Mr. Xi won approval Tuesday from the 21 countries
of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum to study the creation of a
China-led free-trade zone that would be an alternative to Mr. Obama’s
Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation trading bloc that excludes China.
On Monday, Mr. Obama met with members of that
group here and claimed progress in negotiating the partnership, a centerpiece
of his strategic shift to Asia.
Negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership
are much further along than those for the nascent Chinese plan, known as the
Free Trade Area of Asia Pacific, and some analysts said the approval by the
Pacific Rim nations of a two-year study was mainly a gesture to the Chinese
hosts to give them something to announce at the meeting.
For all the jockeying, the biggest trade
headline was a breakthrough in negotiations with China to eliminate tariffs on
information technology products, from video-game consoles and computer software
to medical equipment and semiconductors.
The understanding, American officials said,
opens the door to expanding a World Trade Organization agreement on these
products, assuming other countries can be persuaded to accept the same terms.
With China on board, officials predicted a broader deal would be reached
swiftly.
“We’re going to take what’s been achieved here
in Beijing back to Geneva to work with our W.T.O. partners,” said Michael B.
Froman, the United States trade representative. “While we don’t take anything
for granted, we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to work quickly” to conclude an
expansion of the agreement, known as the Information Technology Agreement.
On Wednesday morning, Mr. Xi formally welcomed
Mr. Obama at a ceremony in the Great Hall of the People; they later toasted
each other at a state banquet.
Administration officials said Mr. Obama had
pressed Mr. Xi to resume a United States-China working group on cybersecurity
issues, which abruptly stopped its discussions after the United States charged
several Chinese military officers with hacking.
“We did see a chill in the cyber dialogue,”
said Benjamin J. Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser. “We do believe
it’s better if there’s a mechanism for dialogue.”
On Tuesday, Mr. Obama credited APEC with
originating the work on reducing tariffs, saying, “The United States and China
have reached an understanding that we hope will contribute to a rapid
conclusion of the broader negotiations in Geneva.”
Talks with China over expanding the 1997
accord on information technology broke down last year over the scope of the
products covered by the agreement. But after intensive negotiations leading up
to Mr. Obama’s visit, Mr. Froman said, the Americans and the Chinese agreed
Monday evening to eliminate more than 200 categories of tariffs.
While the United States still exports many
high-technology goods, China is the world’s dominant exporter of electronics
and has much to gain from an elimination of tariffs. Taiwan, South Korea and
Japan increasingly find themselves supplying China’s huge electronics industry,
deepening their dependence on decisions made in Beijing.
The administration estimated that expanding
the Information Technology Agreement would create up to 60,000 jobs in the
United States by eliminating tariffs on goods that generate $1 trillion in
sales a year. About $100 billion of those products are American-made. The
administration faces a longer path on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, including
whether Mr. Obama will obtain fast-track trade authority from Congress. That could
make it easier for the United States to extract concessions from other
countries, since they would have more confidence that the treaty would be
ratified by Congress.
While Mr. Froman conceded that sticking points
remained, he said, “It’s become clearer and clearer what the landing zones
are.” He said that Mr. Obama would seek fast-track authority, but that the best
way for him to win congressional passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership would
be to negotiate the best deal.
Keith
Bradsher and Chris Buckley contributed reporting from Hong Kong, and Coral
Davenport from Washington.
