The Change Of U.S.Climate Policy And Its Impact On China-U.S.Relations

Climate change has become one of the global issues of common concern to the international community today,and it is gradually becoming the consensus of the international community to adopt active climate policies to cope with the negative impact of climate change on human existence.Based on the efforts,three international legal documents,namely the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCC),the Kyoto Protocol,and the Paris Agreement,have been concluded,playing an essential role in promoting the global climate governance process.In the future,countries will further negotiate on climate change issues and strive to strengthen further cooperation to build a global climate governance system with the core objective of maintaining the future survival and development of mankind.The United States has been an early participant in the global climate governance process.As the country with the strongest comprehensive power since the end of World War Ⅱ,every move of the U.S.has an impact on the world landscape;especially in the field of climate change,the U.S.can use its economic and technological advantages to have significant implications for advancing global climate governance,so the international community is very concerned about the changes in U.S.climate policy.However,the U.S.climate policy is not coherent,especially from the Trump to Biden administrations,there has been a clear change in the U.S.climate policy,and this change has caused an important impact on China.Therefore,it is necessary to study the reasons for the change in U.S.climate policy and its impact on China.Based on constructivist international relations theory,this paper argues that the Trump and Biden administrations have constructed different concepts of climate change by interacting with domestic and foreign structures:the Trump administration has constructed the concept of "de-climatization" in its interaction with domestic and foreign structures;Under the influence of the concept of "de-climatization," the Trump administration has adopted a negative attitude toward climate change,denying the reality and urgency of climate change and judging that the positive climate policies are detrimental to U.S.economic interests and threaten U.S.economic security,so it has formulated a "declimatization" policy.The Biden Administration has constructed the concept of "climate security" in its interactions,believing that climate change is a major crisis that threatens U.S.national security and human survival,that it is urgent to take action to address it,and that an active climate policy is conducive to boosting the U.S.economy,solving the multiple problems facing the U.S.at home,and reshaping U.S.global leadership.Based on this judgment,the Biden administration has vigorously pursued the " Climate New Deal ",placing climate change at the center of its domestic and foreign affairs.Guided by different climate concepts,the Trump and Biden administrations have developed distinctly different climate policies.Based on the U.S.bipartisanship and electoral system,climate concepts played an important causal role in shaping the climate policies of the two administrations by linking climate issues to climate action,interests and policies.With the change in administration,climate perceptions changed,which led to changes in U.S.climate policy.Therefore,this paper argues that the difference in climate perceptions between the two administrations is the underlying cause of the change in U.S.climate policy.The change in U.S.climate policy has had an important impact on China.In the short term,the change in U.S.climate policy is conducive to the re-establishment of dialogue mechanisms between China and the U.S.in the field of climate change,enhancing consensus and expanding the space for cooperation between the two sides on climate change issues;however,in the long term,the overall strategy of U.S.competition with China has not changed,and due to multiple factors,the friction between China and the U.S.on climate change issues will further increase in the future.China will continue to face climate pressure from the U.S.and its allies,and the U.S.and China may form a"competition-oriented,limited cooperation" climate competition in the field of climate change.