Trump has also pledged a major shift in policy focus to further ramp up American oil and gas production, already the largest in the world.
“Everybody’s concerned about next steps … whether after the U.S. election, U.S. climate policy will or won’t change,” said Liu. “But most colleagues [here at COP] still feel that regardless if a country’s climate policy changes or doesn’t change, international multilateral climate cooperation should continue.”
China, the world’s biggest greenhouse gas polluter, has cooperated with the Biden administration despite major tensions in other areas of their relationship. Liu and his U.S. counterpart John Podesta held talks in September ahead of COP29.
Other Chinese diplomats were also voicing their concern about Trump on Monday. Foreign Ministry Deputy Head of European Affairs Cao Lei said the election may be “the turning point of [our] times” in comments reported by the South China Morning Post.
“No one wants to return to the law of the jungle, no one wants to go back to the era of confrontation and the Cold War, and no one wants to return to unilateral hegemony. This is the backdrop that China-EU relations are facing,” Cao said.
Despite Trump’s win, the U.S. delegation in Baku was still trying to pressure China to do more to address its own emissions.
Podesta noted in a press conference on Monday that China has its own work to do on climate. He said he expected China to come forward with a climate target improving on its current goal to stop greenhouse gas emissions growing around 2030.
China’s economy has “really already peaked emissions,” Podesta said. “They can be more ambitious. I think it will send a powerful signal to the world.”
