China’s participation in global climate governance can ensure it continues to make progress despite the US withdrawal

Against the backdrop of an escalating climate crisis, the United States announced its withdrawal from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as well as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, following its earlier exit from the Paris Agreement. These withdrawals are poised to cause significant damage to global climate governance.

In contrast, China is actively participating in global climate governance on all fronts. By committing to multilateralism, establishing and upholding the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC), shaping and implementing international rules and standards, and building a robust domestic climate governance system, China has made substantial contributions to the institutional architecture of global climate governance.

Historically, China has upheld multilateralism and safeguarded the continuity and authority of the UN-led climate negotiation process. China participated in the global negotiations that established the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, helping to drive their adoption, entry into force and implementation.

More recently, after the US announced its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement for the second time, China reaffirmed its determination and action for proactive climate responses, and pledged to work with other parties to uphold the Paris Agreement’s authority. While the US was absent from the 30th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP30), the Chinese delegation, made up of nearly 100 delegates, engaged substantively across the full range of issues and played a constructive role in securing the Belém package of outcomes.

China has consistently advocated the principle of CBDR-RC as a cornerstone of a just and equitable global climate regime. China played an important role in establishing this principle in the early stages. When some Western countries later called for reinterpretation, revision or selective reapplication in the post-2020 climate framework, China worked with other countries across multilateral platforms to defend it. China has not only aligned its national interests with the common interests of developing countries, but also helped preserve a fair climate regime grounded in differentiated responsibilities.

China has also sought to ensure that the principle of CBDR-RC is embedded in specific rules of mitigation, adaptation, transparency, climate finance and technology support. At COP30, China helped advance efforts to incorporate mechanisms opposing unilateral trade measures into the UN multilateral framework, thereby setting institutional limits on unilateralism. It also pressed developed countries to scale up financial support for climate adaptation in developing countries.

The country has also strengthened the institutional design of green development under the Belt and Road Initiative framework, thereby enhancing the inclusivity of global climate governance. Belt and Road projects across green investment, energy cooperation and ecological protection have aligned with the core objectives of the Paris Agreement, notably its temperature control goal and nationally determined contributions. By drawing in the private sector and research institutions, the BRI has also broadened participation in climate governance beyond sovereign states and UN agencies.

In addition, China has co-founded new international organizations and cooperation platforms, notably the BRI International Green Development Coalition and the Alliance of Belt and Road Low Carbon Technology Innovation and Cooperation, to promote international consensus, deepen cooperation, and advance collective action on green development.

China’s bilateral climate cooperation has served as a crucial supplement, support and driver of global climate governance. As a key promoter of South-South climate cooperation, by October 2025, China had signed 55 memoranda of understanding on South-South cooperation to address climate change with 43 developing countries, launching mitigation and adaptation projects such as the Africa Solar Belt and clean cooking programs, alongside low-carbon demonstration zones and capacity-building initiatives.

China’s bilateral cooperation with developed economies has also injected momentum into multilateral mechanisms. Over the past two decades, China and the European Union have issued five joint statements on climate change and established the high-level dialogue on environment and climate. Despite repeated US retreats from climate coalitions, China-EU cooperation sends a positive signal: the two sides remain committed to upholding the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement and to working together to advance their implementation.

China’s climate governance system, rooted in integrated, holistic and systems-based approaches, offers an important reference for other countries. Since China announced its dual carbon goals of peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality before 2060 in September 2020, it has put in place a “1+N” policy framework designed to ensure a science-based, coordinated nationwide transition. China’s demonstrated capacity for institutional design, policy innovation, and cross-sectoral coordination has led to a distinctly Chinese pathway for implementing the Paris Agreement, while also providing countries in the Global South with a practical model for their green transformations.

As a key participant in global climate governance, China can expand its contribution during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period through a practical pathway.

China can further bring together countries of the Global South to share experiences in implementing the Paris Agreement. Coordination can be strengthened through multilateral platforms such as the G77+China and the BRICS, paving the way for follow-up negotiations and identifying priorities for the next stage. These can then be elevated into multilateral agendas and institutional outcomes through COP meetings and other relevant platforms. In addition, South-South cooperation platforms, such as the BRI International Green Development Coalition, can be leveraged to systematically collect and disseminate best practices and green transition case studies, helping to create replicable pathways.

China should deepen climate cooperation within the BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, offering constructive complements to existing global institutions. Such efforts will help accelerate solutions addressing BRICS development needs and priorities, while fostering multi-level, broad-based and efficient cooperation mechanisms on climate change. Within the SCO framework, multilateral platforms can be established to facilitate environmental information sharing, deepen the exchange of low-carbon development experience and jointly initiate cross-border climate cooperation projects.

The author is a professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University.

The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.