"The Biden administration is searching for ways to push the world’s largest polluter to reduce carbon emissions, as superpower rivalries engulf a fragile bilateral relationship that could determine the future of global warming.

Since negotiations between U.S. climate envoy John F. Kerry and his Chinese counterparts stalled in August, Chinese provinces have accelerated their approvals of new coal power plants, sparking fears that China is moving away from its climate goals, not toward them.

Now Biden administration officials are trying to get talks back on track even as they also explore other tools, such as tariffs, that could be tied to the emissions level of products such as steel and aluminum.

How to navigate relations with China was a major focus of the Group of Seven summit this month. Leaders offered a host of tough-on-Beijing language and urged countries that “have the capabilities and are not yet among the current providers of international climate finance” to step up and do more to help developing nations invest in climate-related projects. That was a reference to China and other economically powerful players such as Middle Eastern oil nations."

Michael Birnbaum and Christian Shepherd report for the Washington Post May 30, 2023. [2]