Greening the Belt While Paving the Road? China’s Environmental Diplomacy Challenge

The rise of China and the pollution in China have been two intertwined images of the 21st century. One of the challenges that China’s foreign policy faces in the 21st century revolves around its leadership in global and regional environmental initiatives. The policy shift on climate change at the 2016 Paris Climate Summit and the personal negotiations of Presidents Xi Jinping and Barack Obama showed a willingness to work cooperatively with the United States on achieving global goals toward limiting climate change. For China, the abrupt announcement of the Trump Administration that it is leaving the Paris Accord is an opportunity to assume a leadership role in climate policy. Seizing this opportunity, however, must also deal with China’s major program – the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).