From the outset of Joe Biden ’s presidency, climate change emerged as the likely catalyst for restoring constructive cooperation between the United States and China. The US rejoined the Paris climate accord and the two sides began discussions. They led to last week’s talks in Tianjin between China’s climate envoy, Xie Zhenhua, and US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, ahead of this year’s United Nations climate change conference. In the wider bilateral relationship, however, such appearances and the reality could not be further apart. The US has tried to make climate change an exception to the continuation under...