U.S. climate envoy Kerry meets Chinese counterpart Xie at COP27

FILE PHOTO: John Kerry, U.S. Special Envoy for Climate speaks as he attends the opening of the American Pavilion in the COP27 climate summit in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt November 8, 2022. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry met his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua on Thursday at the COP27 summit in Egypt, a Reuters witness said.

Asked about the progress of the talks as he left the meeting, Kerry said: "We're making progress. Let's let the talks continue."

The first draft of a deal being hashed out at the summit, published on Thursday, would keep a target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius but left many of the most contentious issues unresolved ahead of a Friday deadline.

FILE PHOTO: China's chief climate negotiator Xie Zhenhua speaks during a news conference at the COP27 climate summit in Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 9, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici, writing by William James; Editing by Dominic Evans)