Query: The climate-change agreement between the United States and China "requires the Chinese to do nothing at all for 16 years."

Relevant passages:
China <=SEP=> China , officially the People 's Republic of China ( PRC ) , is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the world 's most populous country , with a population of over 1.381 billion . Covering approximately 9.6 e6km2 , China is the world 's second-largest state by land area and third - or fourth-largest by total area . Governed by the Communist Party of China , it exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces , five autonomous regions , four direct-controlled municipalities ( Beijing , Tianjin , Shanghai and Chongqing ) and the Special Administrative Regions Hong Kong and Macau , also claiming sovereignty over Taiwan . China is a great power and a major regional power within Asia , and has been characterized as a potential superpower .   China emerged as one of the world 's earliest civilizations in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain . For millennia , China 's political system was based on hereditary monarchies , or dynasties , beginning with the legendary Xia dynasty . Since 221 , when the Qin dynasty conquered the other largest six states to form the first unified Chinese empire , China has then expanded , fractured and re-unified numerous times in the following millennia . In 1912 , the Republic of China ( ROC ) replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949 , when it was defeated by the communist People 's Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War . The Communist Party established the People 's Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949 , while the ROC government relocated to Taiwan with its present de facto temporary capital in Taipei . Both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China , though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory .   China has had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two thousand years , during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline . Since the introduction of economic reforms in 1978 , China has become one of the world 's fastest-growing major economies . , it is the world 's second-largest economy by nominal GDP and largest by purchasing power parity ( PPP ) . China is also the world 's largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods . China is a recognized nuclear weapons state and has the world 's largest standing army and second-largest defense budget . The PRC is a member of the United Nations , as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council in 1971 . China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations , including the WTO , APEC , BRICS , the Shanghai Cooperation Organization ( SCO ) , the BCIM and the G-20 .

2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference <=SEP=> The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference , commonly known as the Copenhagen Summit , was held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen , Denmark , between 7 and 18 December . The conference included the 15th Conference of the Parties ( COP 15 ) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) and the 5th Meeting of the Parties ( MOP 5 ) to the Kyoto Protocol . According to the Bali Road Map , a framework for climate change mitigation beyond 2012 was to be agreed there .   On Friday 18 December , the final day of the conference , international media reported that the climate talks were `` in disarray '' . Media also reported that in lieu of a summit collapse , only a `` weak political statement '' was anticipated at the conclusion of the conference . The Copenhagen Accord was drafted by the United States , China , India , Brazil and South Africa on 18 December , and judged a `` meaningful agreement '' by the United States government . It was `` taken note of '' , but not `` adopted '' , in a debate of all the participating countries the next day , and it was not passed unanimously . The document recognised that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of the present day and that actions should be taken to keep any temperature increases to below 2 ° C . The document is not legally binding and does not contain any legally binding commitments for reducing emissions .   In January 2014 , documents leaked by Edward Snowden and published by Dagbladet Information revealed that the US government negotiators were in receipt of information during the conference that was being obtained by spying against other conference delegations . The US National Security Agency provided US delegates with advance details other delegations ' positions , including the Danish plan to `` rescue '' the talks should they flounder . Members of the Danish negotiating team said that both the US and Chinese delegations were `` peculiarly well-informed '' about closed-door discussions : `` They simply sat back , just as we had feared they would if they knew about our document . ''

United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement <=SEP=> On June 1, 2017, United States President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would cease all participation in the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation, and begin negotiations to re-enter the agreement "on terms that are fair to the United States, its businesses, its workers, its people, its taxpayers," or form a new agreement. In withdrawing from the agreement, Trump stated that "The Paris accord will undermine (the U.S.) economy," and "puts (the U.S.) at a permanent disadvantage." Trump stated that the withdrawal would be in accordance with his America First policy. In accordance with Article 28 of the Paris Agreement, a country cannot give notice of withdrawal from the agreement before three years of its start date in the relevant country, which was on November 4, 2016 in the case of the United States. The White House later clarified that the U.S. will abide by the four-year exit process. On November 4, 2019, the administration gave a formal notice of intention to withdraw, which takes 12 months to take effect.  Until the withdrawal took effect, the United States was obligated to maintain its commitments under the Agreement, such as the requirement to continue reporting its emissions to the United Nations. The withdrawal took effect on November 4, 2020, one day after the 2020 U.S. presidential election.While celebrated by some members of the Republican Party, international reactions to the withdrawal were overwhelmingly negative from across the political spectrum, and the decision received substantial criticism from religious organizations, businesses, political leaders of all parties, environmentalists, and scientists and citizens from the United States and internationally.Following Trump's announcement, the governors of several U.S. states formed the United States Climate Alliance to continue to advance the objectives of the Paris Agreement at the state level despite the federal withdrawal. As of July 1, 2019, 24 states, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico have joined the alliance, and similar commitments have also been expressed by other state governors, mayors, and businesses.Trump's withdrawal from the Paris agreement will impact other countries by reducing its financial aid to the Green Climate fund. The termination of the $3 billion U.S. funding will ultimately impact climate change research and decrease society's chance of reaching the Paris Agreement goals, as well as omit U.S. contributions to the future IPCC reports. Trump's decision will also affect the carbon emission space as well as the carbon price. The U.S.'s withdrawal will also mean that the spot to take over the global climate regime will be obtainable for China and the EU.President-elect Joe Biden vowed to rejoin the Paris Agreement on his first day in office.

Donald Trump <=SEP=> Donald John Trump ( born June 14 , 1946 ) is the 45th and current President of the United States . Before entering politics , he was a businessman and television personality .   Trump was born and raised in Queens , New York City , and earned an economics degree from the Wharton School . He then took charge of The Trump Organization , the real estate and construction firm founded by his paternal grandmother , which he ran for 45 years until 2016 . During his real estate career , Trump built , renovated , and managed numerous office towers , hotels , casinos , and golf courses . Besides real estate , he started several side ventures and has licensed the use of his name for the branding of various products and properties , including Trump Entertainment Resorts , Trump Steaks , and Trump Vodka . He was the founder of Trump University . He owned the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants from 1996 to 2015 , and he produced and hosted The Apprentice , a reality television series on NBC , from 2004 to 2015 . His net worth was estimated to be $ 3.5 billion , making him the 544th richest person in the world .   Trump first publicly expressed interest in running for political office in 1987 . He won two Reform Party presidential primaries in 2000 , but withdrew his candidacy early on . In June 2015 , he launched his campaign for the 2016 presidential election and quickly emerged as the front-runner among seventeen candidates in the Republican primaries . His remaining opponents all suspended their campaigns by the end of May 2016 , and in July he was formally nominated at the Republican National Convention along with Indiana governor Mike Pence as his running mate . Many of his campaign statements were controversial or false , generating much free media coverage .   Trump won the general election on November 8 , 2016 , in a surprise victory against Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton and commenced his presidency on January 20 , 2017 . He became the oldest and wealthiest person ever to assume the presidency , the first without prior military or government service , and the fifth to have won the election while losing the popular vote . His political positions have been described by scholars and commentators as populist , protectionist , and nationalist .