According to the statement released by Johnson’s office, both leaders held a long conversation on Friday about the actions to be taken to curb climate change, just two days before the start of the Climate Summit (COP26) in the Scottish city of Glasgow, which Xi plans to attend via video conference.

The text adds that Johnson recognized the new determined national contributions made by China to reduce polluting gas emissions, and welcomed the success of the biodiversity summit held weeks ago in Yunnan province.

He also highlighted the importance of all countries making concrete commitments to stop environmental degradation and accelerate the transition to renewable sources of energy and stop using mineral coal.

Beijing reaffirmed days ago that its goal is to peak emissions by 2030, achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, and reduce their intensity by more than 65 percent by 2030, compared to 2005 levels.

Johnson and Xi also addressed other international issues, such as the situation in Afghanistan, global economic and trade cooperation, and human rights, although they admitted that there are discrepancies and difficulties in some areas of bilateral relations.

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