China has appointed 71-year-old Xie Zhenhua, a familiar name in Beijing’s climate bureaucracy and diplomacy, to serve as Special Climate Envoy. Xie Zhenhua previously served as China’s top representative for climate negotiations from 2007 to 2018 – during which time he oversaw a landmark deal between the U.S. and China on climate change commitments. His return is seen as a positive signal for U.S.-China cooperation over climate issues, as he is familiar with John Kerry, the Biden Administration's Climate Czar.

(Comment: In 2009, China’s delegation, led by Xie Zhenhua, was widely blamed by developed countries for stonewalling a comprehensive agreement at the 2009 Copenhagen climate conference. Two years later, at the 2011 conference in Durban, Xie went viral with a table-banging tirade in 2011 rejecting pressure for China to commit to emissions reductions.)