A joint statement promised new efforts to cut emissions at a time when China is positioning itself as the world’s one-stop shop for clean energy technologies.

Two of the world’s biggest polluters want to combat climate change — but neither wants to give an inch while doing it.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Beijing at a tense bilateral summit this week, making no headway on geopolitical disputes and only modest advances on trade and climate change.