Gavin Newsom meets with Xi Jinping in China

California Governor Gavin Newsom met Wednesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. The Governor's Office posted a video reporting the meeting.

"California is using our time in China to fight pollution globally by collaborating on climate policies," the governor's office wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Likewise, Newson's office detailed that he also met with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Vice President Han Zheng. He signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) focused on climate change with Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission Zheng Shanjie.

Nicholas Burns, United States ambassador to China, joined the governor for the meetings. "Governor Newsom was the first governor to be in China in more than four years, and the first to meet with President Xi since former Governor Brown in 2017," the statement explained.

The statement also highlighted that the intention of the meetings with Xi Jinping and other high-level Chinese officials is to discuss "climate action, economic development, cultural exchange, human rights concerns, and democracy."

Governor Gavin Newsom 'highlighted the importance of the people-to-people cultural exchange'

Meanwhile, Governor Newsom stressed that, despite differences, he is united with Xi Jinping in the "desire to feel protected." And he maintained that "divorce is not an option. The only way we can solve the climate crisis is to continue our long-standing cooperation with China. As two of the world’s largest economies, the work we do together is felt in countless communities on both sides of the Pacific."

"The Governor highlighted the importance of the people-to-people cultural exchange, citing the rise in xenophobia and anti-Chinese rhetoric since the COVID-19 pandemic. Governor Newsom emphasized the path forward is through people-to-people relationships, cultural respect and understanding," the statement continued.

There was, however, not a word about the limitation of human rights in China, the persecution of political dissidents or its tense relations with the United States after the recent episodes of espionage, threats of war and the sympathies of the Chinese regime towards authoritarian regimes and terrorist groups.