One month after U.S. and Chinese officials publicly attacked each other at their first summit of the Biden administration, the two governments issued a rare joint statement on April 17 saying they share a major goal: tackling the climate crisis with the seriousness and urgency that it demands.

The commitment offered a big reason for optimism about the global fight against climate change. Coming just before President Joe Bidens high-profile international climate summit on April 22 and 23, the pledge suggested that the worlds two largest emitters of greenhouse gases can stay on the same page on climate issues even as they argue over a sprawling array of other subjects, from human rights to business practices.

Thats precisely what other countries and many experts want particularly as Biden crafts a foreign policy that is largely skeptical of China, reflecting the views of most U.S. officials and lawmakers from both parties, and as Chinese leadership grows warier of Washington.

Smaller nations that cannot do as much to limit global warming with their own policies are relying on cooperation between the two world powers as the planets best hope to prevent a temperature rise of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial average temperatures. Once that limit is crossed, frequent catastrophes like dramatic flooding and severe weather events become inevitable, scientists say.

To Armando Varricchio, Italys outgoing ambassador to the U.S., Bidens outreach to China on climate is a vital first step.

We salute the fact that John Kerry, Bidens special envoy for climate issues, traveled to China, Varricchio told HuffPost in an interview last week. We really welcome his personal engagement. You cannot tackle climate change unless China, as one of the greatest polluters, comes to the table and shares the same concern.

Varricchio hosted a Feb. 19 event with Kerry to commemorate the U.S.s reentry to the Paris agreement on slashing global emissions.

Some national security analysts have suggested that by prioritizing climate issues in U.S.-China relations, Kerry could push Biden to make concessions to Beijing on matters like ambitious Chinese territorial claims and Republicans are keen to present Biden as soft on Beijing.

Varricchio whose country will co-lead this years United Nations climate change conference said he doesnt buy the narrative that climate diplomacy is a sign of American weakness on other fronts and that U.S.-China disagreements might stymie collaboration against global warming.

Kerrys visit takes place after saber-rattling, but now we do know for sure that China wants to find a channel of communication, the ambassador said.

This will offer China the opportunity to show their readiness to be part of global governance. This is something that China desperately wants. I reverse the narrative: climate change as an opportunity rather than leverage that can be used by either side in negotiations on other concerns.