China's President Xi Jinping told U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday that their countries should step up efforts to reach a climate change deal, state media said, as leaders try to bridge gaps between rich and developing countries at talks in Paris.
Negotiators from 195 countries remain divided over fundamental issues, including which countries would be expected to shell out the hundreds of billions of dollars required to help developing nations shift from fossil fuels to lower-carbon energy sources.
That sticking point has accentuated backroom tension between the United States and China, the world's two largest carbon emitters, over what U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has called the "minimalist" approach by countries that could make a greater financial contribution.
