What’s new: China has appointed Liu Zhenmin, a former vice foreign minister, to be the country’s new special envoy for climate change, according to an official announcement.
Liu replaces Xie Zhenhua, a veteran climate negotiator who worked closely on developing relations with his U.S. counterparts. The 74-year-old stepped down from the chief climate negotiator role “due to health reasons,” according to a Friday statement from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
The announcement came after Xie and U.S. climate envoy John Kerry co-hosted a video meeting Friday, which discussed enhancing cooperation in key climate areas in the current decade.
Xie’s resignation did not come as a surprise, with previous media reports stipulating that he was dealing with health issues and would retire after the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, also known as COP28, which concluded last month.
The background: Liu, 68, is a long-serving diplomat, with more than 30 years at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a stint serving as under-secretary-general at the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs from 2017 to 2022. He was “deeply involved” in climate change negotiations for a decade, according to his biography on the U.N. website.
Xie, an environmental expert turned politician, served as the head of the State Environmental Protection Administration for over 12 years and led the Chinese delegation in global climate negotiations in most of the past 16 years. He received a special contribution award for sustainable development by the Nobel Sustainability Trust for 2022.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Jonathan Breen (jonathanbreen@caixin.com)
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