As rising fossil fuel emissions continue to push global temperatures to record highs, California Gov. Gavin Newsom will head to China next week to meet with officials on such environmental imperatives as offshore wind power, air pollution reduction and the transition to fully electric vehicles, according to the governor’s staff.

The visit, which is likely to boost Newsom’s reputation as a national leader in climate policy, comes at a time of increasing economic and military tension between Washington and Beijing.

Although friction between the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters makes binational cooperation difficult, experts say California can help to bridge this gap through ‘subnational’ diplomacy — encouraging international cooperation and forging climate-focused partnerships.

“We’re fighting on two fronts: Can America and China learn to live in the world together, and can we, together, take steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?” said former Gov. Jerry Brown, chair of the California-China Climate Institute at UC Berkeley.

“It is difficult to map one-to-one how Chinese pollution policies have reduced greenhouse gas emissions, but it is certainly the case that those policies helped promote the use of renewable energy sources” over more polluting fuel sources, said Christa Hasenkopf, director of the University of Chicago Energy Policy Institute’s annual global air quality assessment.

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