Climate summit + Wolfgang Egger + Backbone network

First, the more-than-frosty meeting in Alaska between Foreign Ministers Antony Blinken and Wang Yi, then the round of sanctions from Beijing against critical European voices. Diplomatically, the last few months have been from rather bumpy to openly aggressive for the Beijing-Brussels-Washington triangle. But on one issue, the EU states, the US, and China now find themselves at the same table: the global fight to save the climate. China’s President Xi Jinping has accepted the invitation of his US counterpart Joe Biden and will attend the video climate summit in person.

As the world’s most populous country, China emits around 28 percent of global greenhouse gases – more than the USA and the EU combined. The global community needs the People’s Republic to make real progress on climate protection. However, China also has its own interest in this because the People’s Republic is already feeling the effects of climate change. Christiane Kühl analyses the fruits of China’s climate efforts ahead of the high-level online meeting.

China’s CO2 balance is also to be improved with electric cars. The Chinese manufacturer BYD presented the EA-1 compact car at the Shanghai auto show. Frank Sieren spoke with the lead car designer Wolfgang Egger there and asked the question: How do you make a compact car palatable to Chinese customers, while other manufacturers continue to focus on SUVs and large sedans?

Marcel Grzanna spoke with the Dalai Lama’s former special envoy, Kelsang Gyaltsen, for today’s edition. At the end of May, the newly elected Tibetan government-in-exile will begin its work in Dharamsala, India. Gyaltsen explains the challenges facing Tibetans and warns of dangerous parallels between Beijing’s current crackdown on the Uyghurs and what the Chinese government has practiced in Tibet.

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Amelie Richter