Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend President Joe Biden's climate conference this week, Beijing announced on Wednesday, as the world's top carbon emitters seek unique common ground behind broader political tensions. China and the United States are the two countries with the highest levels of climate-changing carbon emissions.

Biden has welcomed 40 world leaders, including Xi and Russia's Vladimir Putin, to the summit, which will begin on Earth Day and is expected to mark Washington's return towards the front lines of the battle against climate change after former President Donald Trump backed away from the initiative. In December, Xi stated that China's emissions will be reduced by 65 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.

This interactive conference will be the first meeting between two leaders since Biden took office. Xi will deliver a "sensitive address" at the conference, according to the Chinese foreign ministry, only days after US climate envoy John Kerry toured Shanghai – the very first official from Biden's administration to visit China.

Kerry and his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, have stated that they are "dedicated to coordinating" in addressing the climate crisis, even though the concerns remain high on several fronts.

The promise of coordination between Washington and Beijing comes despite bitterness over allegations about China's actions in Hong Kong and its handling of Uyghurs in its northwestern Xinjiang province – complaints that Beijing dismisses as interfering in its domestic matters.

No global response to climate change is possible without the participation of both the United States and China, since the world's top two economies account for almost half of total greenhouse gas emissions.