John Kerry to travel to Beijing for climate talks with Chinese officials

July 12 (UPI) -- John Kerry, the special presidential envoy for climate, will become the latest Biden administration official to meet with Chinese officials when he travels to Beijing next week.

The State Department said Kerry's trip will run July 16-19 as he aims to engage with the PRC on addressing the climate crisis, including with respect to increasing implementation and ambition and promoting a successful COP28."

The visit comes on the heels of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen concluding a four-day trip on Sunday and Secretary of State Antony Binken taking the trip in June.

In Yellen's meeting, the Treasury secretary stressed that the United States and China must seek to "closely communicate" with each other to avoid conflict, despite their ongoing disagreements.

She also urged Chinese Premier Li Qiang to guide China in working with Washington to "effectively" support multinational efforts to reduce greenhouse gases.

Blinken met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other officials during his trip. He said he held "important" conversations with Xi and "candid, substantive and constructive discussions" with his counterparts, foreign affairs advisor Wang Yi and Foreign Minister Qin Gang.

"In every meeting, I stressed that direct engagement and sustained communication at senior levels is the best way to responsibly manage our differences and ensure that competition does not veer into conflict and I heard the same from my Chinese counterparts," said Blinken then.