Climate envoy John Kerry in Beijing talks as US seeks to raise China relations from historic low

BEIJING (AP) — U.S. climate envoy John Kerry is holding talks with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing as the U.S. seeks to restore contacts with China amid disputes over trade, Taiwan, human rights and territorial claims. China’s state media said Kerry was meeting with Xie Zhenhua on Monday for the first extensive face-to-face climate discussions between representatives of the world’s two worst climate polluters after a nearly yearlong hiatus. China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal but has pledged to reduce emissions and become carbon neutral by 2060. Before Kerry’s trip, the Republican questioning of him at times broke down into challenging the existence of the scientifically established fact of climate change.