China will continue to put climate change issue first: Expert

A Chinese expert has rebuked United States' Special Envoy on Climate Change John Kerry's criticism that China's suspension of Sino-US climate talks "punishes the world", saying the statement is "deceptive" and "does not make any sense".

"Firmly upholding its climate commitment, China has offered consistent support to developing countries," said Zhang Jianyu, executive director of the BRI Green Development Institute.

Kerry's remark came on Friday following the announcement that China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs was to suspend China-US talks on climate change as one of the eight countermeasures in response to the visit of Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the US House of Representatives, to Taiwan.

The suspension is "disappointing", Kerry said. "Suspending cooperation doesn't punish the United States -- it punishes the world, particularly the developing world."

Zhang said the US indeed undermined China's core interest on Taiwan question. It's thus understandable for China to take the countermeasures.

He said, however, he expects climate issues will provide impetus for the resumption of China-US cooperation.

China has included climate talks into the countermeasures together with military dialogue and fighting crimes. This shows that climate issues have been considered by Chinese government as one of the cornerstones in China-US cooperation, he said.

He said, in the long run, China and the United States will surely resume cooperation. He believes climate issues will play a key role in helping bring the cooperation back on track.