Dear Focus Reader,

In the latest of a string of high-level talks between China and the U.S., Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with China's Vice President Han Zheng on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Monday.

This engagement, along with talks between Wang Yi and U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan in Malta this past weekend, could pave the way for leaders Joe Biden and Xi Jinping to meet when the U.S. hosts the APEC summit in November.

While climate has been high on the agenda at the UNGA gathering, China's climate envoy Xie Zhenhua also recently gave a speech at the 9th China and Globalization Forum discussing further U.S.-China collaboration on the matter. He said that he has discussed potential travel to the U.S. with his counterpart John Kerry to further talk about combating climate change, following the almost biweekly virtual talks he and Kerry have been holding for the past two months.

It's also expected that both Kerry and Xie will attend COP28 in November, and serve as two of several co-chairs of the first "local climate summit" that will take place at the gathering, bringing together not only heads of state, but also city, state and regional governments.

Meanwhile, we encourage you to catch up on our latest Focus content, including topics covering China-U.S. trade, the tech war, China's international diplomacy, and more.

Have a safe and enjoyable fall weekend!

Team Focus