Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, has vowed to protect the Paris Agreement on climate change, as the future of the accord hangs in the balance.
The Chinese leader pledged his support for the 2015 deal to tackle global warming and curb fossil fuel emissions in a phone call with French President-elect Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday.
His comments came as US president Donald Trump considers withdrawing from the accord – a promise he made during his election campaign.
The issue was also raised on Tuesday by former US president Barack Obama, who called on Beijing and Washington to work together on the environment.
Mr Xi told Mr Macron that China and France "should protect the achievements of global governance, including the Paris Agreement", according to a statement released by China’s foreign ministry.
Mr Trump was expected to meet with key advisors on a possible withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on Tuesday. However the meeting was reported to have been cancelled.
The US president in March signed a sweeping executive order aimed at ending regulations in the US energy industry that were established by Mr Obama to confront global warming.
Speaking at a conference in the Italian city of Milan, Mr Obama acknowledged differences between himself and Mr Trump with regards to global warming
“The current administration has differences with my administration in terms of environmental policy," he said.
But the former US leader said developing countries were watching the actions of the bigger nations, who should lead by example.
He said: “It's important that big countries that are big emitters like the US and China... lead the way.”
China’s best known environmental campaigner Ma Jun said it would be a “disaster” if the US withdrew from the agreement.
“If it withdrew, this will have a seriously negative impact, and will be a disaster for the world’s efforts in dealing with climate change,” the director of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs told The Telegraph.
“The commitment from the US cannot be replaced by other countries.”
The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.
President Xi has previously warned that the Paris Agreement should not be “derailed” when he spoke at the UN in Geneva in January.
Jiang Kejuan, an expert on coal energy at China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said he had “no doubt” that China will always defend the deal.
“China will take the lead in dealings on climate change issues,” he said. “This has been repeated by China's leaders.”
The Paris Agreement sets ambitious goals in capping global warming and helping poor countries who are facing enormous challenges because of climate change.
The US and China formally signed up to it at a ceremony in China last September.
Mr Obama described the deal as: “The moment we finally decided to save our planet".
Mr Trump’s views on the environment have raised alarm among environmentalists, given that he is seen as a climate change denier.
In 2012, he tweeted: “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.”
That assertion was denied by a Beijing official last year who reminded Mr Trump it was his Republican predecessors who first put the issue on the table.
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