The US special climate envoy John Kerry held a four-hour meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua today and called for action “urgently” as the US and China, the world’s two biggest emitters, resumed dialogue on environmental issues.

Kerry, who will be in China until next Wednesday, said both sides “must take urgent action on a number of fronts,” but particularly on coal and methane pollution, he said in a tweet after talks with Xie Zhenhua.

“The climate crisis requires the world’s two largest economies to work together to limit global warming,” he added..

“Climate change is a common challenge for all mankind,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning when asked about the issue during a regular press briefing. THE China “will discuss with the US the issues related to climate change and will work with them to improve the lives of the current generation and future generations,” he assured.

The climate dialogue broke down about a year ago. China had withdrawn from the talks in protest over a visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi, who was then the speaker of the US House of Representatives.

Circumstances now appear to have changed, although Washington wants to show “decisiveness” in this area. So Kerry plans to call on China “not to hide behind the statement that it is a developing country” to limit its contribution to the fight against climate change, he told CNN. Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser. “Every country, including China, has a responsibility to curb emissions,” Sullivan insisted, urging the rest of the world to pressure Beijing to take more radical action.