China-U.S. Climate Change Cooperation And Its Impact

With scientific evidence of global warming accumulating and the hazard revealing,all nations are alarmed of going through a danger which no one can be exempt from.In this background,global climate governance has been steadily making progress to strike the Paris Agreement,one of the two milestones in global climate governance history.Nations around the world are taking efforts to address climate challenge as well as transform towards low-carbon society.As two of the key countries in the world,every move of China and U.S.poses significant impact on the destiny of global climate governance.China-U.S.climate cooperation has witnessed leaps and bound since Obama administration turned to active climate policy in 2009.During this period,the importance of this issued increased as the leaders of two nations initiated and released joint statement for several times;the cooperation mechanism has established and diversified,creating more channels for mutual communication and cooperation;cooperation scale has expanded with policy coordination as well as academic and commercial programs.It is both inevitable and possible for bilateral climate cooperation,for China and U.S.converge on domestic climate policy and interest.Climate vulnerability,advantages of a head start in low-carbon economy,motivation in energy security and transform,good national image and reputation,international pressure and incentive of enhancing governance leadership are making the cooperation necessary.Meanwhile the mutual and complementary interest in clean energy make the cooperation possible.China-U.S.climate cooperation pose profound influence on bilateral relationship as well as the global governance.Limited by structural contradictory in security and political issues,climate change can be the entry point for the improvement of bilateral relationship through enhancing mutual interest,establishing stable communication pathways and alleviating tensions.In terms of the key position in global governance,bilateral cooperation also play a due role of leadership to improve the lack of public goods,advancing governance efficiency and promoting governance process.The new-elected president Donald Trump has raised uncertainty to China-U.S.climate cooperation.The author predicts that the passive climate policy of the new government will lay negative impact to bilateral relations and global governance.However,the prevailing trend of low-carbon economy will restrain the Trump administration from rolling back too far.Although in face of challenges,the climate cooperation has already become the political legacy between China and U.S.,and it should be prolonged in the future.How to deal with the potential challenges and continue to benefit from the value of this issue require great wisdom.