'Ball In Washington's Court For Climate Cooperation'

Beijing has challenged the US to fix relations with it in order to make progress on climate change, the foreign ministry said on Thursday, with Washington's climate envoy John Kerry visiting to press China to slash emissions.

Wang Yi told Kerry that climate cooperation could not be disentangled from broader diplomacy between the two countries.

In a video call from separate rooms with Kerry, Wang accused Washington of a "major strategic miscalculation towards China", according to the ministry statement.

"It is impossible for China-US climate cooperation to be elevated above the overall environment of China-US relations," Wang said.

Kerry, who visited Japan earlier this week before travelling to meet with his Chinese counterpart in Tianjin, said China "plays a super critical role" in tackling climate change, according to footage of the call published by state broadcaster CCTV.

"I think the challenge is as big as any that we face on a global basis," Kerry told Wang.

But Wang said "the ball is now in the United States' court, and the US should stop seeing China as a threat and opponent." (AFP)