Chinese President Xi Jinping Urges West To Uphold Paris Climate Agreement

China’s President Xi Jinping vowed to protect and uphold the Paris Climate Agreement, an international accord designed to reduce global fossil fuel emissions, and mitigate climate change.

This is according to a statement from China’s foreign ministry, following Jinping’s conversation with newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron.

Jinping urged Macron to ensure France remains a leader in renewable energy, and said that France and China “should protect the achievements of global governance, including the Paris agreement.”

But the sub-text of Jinping’s message is clear: France (and the West) should continue to hamstring their economies with expensive (and pointless) environmental regulations, so that China retains its cost advantage—and therefore economic growth.

China doesn’t care about the environment.

They never have.

The evidence? China is the most thoroughly polluted country on earth—the Yellow River itself has been labeled “unfit for any use.”

Smog cloaks Chinese cities like fog envelops the San Francisco Bay. The country is an environmental disaster:

And yet China focuses on persuading the West to curb our relatively modest environmental footprint, while they gobble up as much coal as possible.

Why the double-standard?

Because it’s not a double standard from China’s point of view.

China isn’t championing international climate treaties because they care about the environment, they’re using them as political and economic tools.

They know that the root of their economic growth lies in their exports, in selling things to America. In fact, China’s entire economic miracle was caused by American investment in China‘s manufacturing sector.

So it’s in China’s best interests to ensure Western money continues to flow towards the Middle Kingdom.

What’s the best way to do this?

It used to be via currency devaluation, which made Chinese products cheaper, and therefore more desirable. But due to international pressure, they’ve changed their tack.

Now, China remains relatively cheap because Western governments saddle their economies with layers and layers of environmental regulation—most of which does nothing but make lawyers rich.

All China has to do is talk a good game, and then sit back and do nothing—except get rich.