China’s state-run newspaper Global Times mocked President Joe Biden on Tuesday for eliciting “ridicule” by apologizing for America at the United Nations COP26 climate summit this week.
Biden told journalists he was sorry that, under his predecessor Donald Trump, the United States had abandoned the Paris Climate Accords. Trump withdrew on the grounds that it imposed onerous demands on the United States while providing for other large countries – most notably the world’s worst polluter, China – to increase greenhouse gas emissions for nearly a decade.
“I guess I shouldn’t apologize,” Biden told those assembled at the conference on Monday, “but I do apologize for the fact that the United States in the last administration pulled out of the Paris Accords and put us sort of behind the eight ball a little bit.”
“What a ‘noble’ apology, which made Biden seem like he cares about climate change, but also how hypocritical and powerless he is,” the column affirmed. “His apology does not make any sense, as he has no plan to fulfill his promises and no guarantee to make sure that his commitment won’t be toppled by the next administration.”
“Worse, he cannot even win enough support from his own party to get a green light for his plan,” the article continued, citing opposition to Biden’s trillion-dollar “infrastructure” plan from moderate Democrats like Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV). Citing a Communist Party-approved expert, the newspaper stated, “If the U.S. still has teeth, it will definitely not become that humble.”
The Global Times accused Biden of using a serious climate change conference for a cheap “slap in the face” to Trump, “bringing US political infighting to the global arena.”
“Developed countries should also earnestly fulfill their commitments to providing funds for developing countries,” Xi demanded. China considers itself a developing nation despite having the world’s second-largest economy. He also made China’s frequent argument that nations that industrialized in the 1800s must pay for “historical” emissions and have more of a responsibility to combat climate change today than China, the world’s biggest carbon emitter.
Last month, the Washington Post reported that John Kerry, Biden’s special climate official, urged the president to enact friendlier policies towards the Communist Party in an attempt to convince it to implement more pollution restrictions. Kerry made the request in the summer, according to the newspaper, after which Biden initiated a friendly call with Xi.
China, under its current communist system, is the world’s most egregious human rights violator, a reality that has severely impacted environmentalists in the country. China routinely discourages climate activism, arrests or disappears environmentalists, and limits public statements urging Beijing to cease its prolific coal plant construction, maritime pollution, and other detrimental activity.
Content created by Frances Martel
What are your thoughts on the story? Let us know in the comments below!
