China said Friday that the United States needed to take more responsibility on climate change but welcomed greater cooperation after a visit by envoy John Kerry, state media said.

The former secretary of state turned US climate emissary was the first official from President Joe Biden's administration to visit China, signalling hopes the two sides could work together on the global challenge despite sky-high tensions on multiple other fronts.

"China attaches importance to carrying out dialogue and cooperation on climate change with the US side," said Vice Premier Han Zheng, according to state news agency Xinhua.

"China welcomes the US return to the Paris agreement, and expects the US side to uphold the agreement, shoulder its due responsibilities and make due contributions," Han said after virtual talks with Kerry, who visited Shanghai where he met his Chinese counterpart.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying was more blunt on Twitter as she highlighted the US withdrawal from the Paris accord under former president Donald Trump.

Biden immediately returned to the deal and next week holds a virtual summit of world leaders on climate.

"Its return is by no means a glorious comeback but rather a truant getting back to class," Hua said of the United States.

She pressed the United States to "offer how it will make up for the lost four years" including payments to the UN-backed Green Climate Fund, which provides support to developing countries worst hit by climate change.

Biden is expected next week to announce new US targets on reducing carbon emissions as part of the summit amid mounting global alarm over record-breaking temperatures and increasingly frequent natural disasters.

Kerry and other Biden administration officials have said that it is vital to work on climate with China -- by far the largest carbon emitter at nearly 30 percent of the global total.

If the United States refuses to work with China on climate because of other disagreements, "you're just killing yourself," Kerry told CNN before his trip to Shanghai.

His trip comes despite little prospect seen for broader US-China talks following a tense meeting between top foreign policy officials of the two countries last month in Alaska.

The United States, both under Biden and Trump, has pressed China over alleged intellectual property theft, its assertive military moves in Asia and crackdowns on rights in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet.

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Kerry presses climate in first Biden official's trip to China
Washington (AFP) April 13, 2021
US climate envoy John Kerry will visit China this week in the first trip there by the Biden administration, seeking to raise global ambitions despite soaring tensions with Beijing on other fronts. The former secretary of state will visit Shanghai as well as the South Korean capital Seoul on a trip starting Wednesday, the State Department confirmed. His trip comes in preparation for President Joe Biden's virtual climate summit next week to which the US leader has invited both Chinese President Xi ... read more