John Kerry, the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate, is reinforcing a dangerous Chinese mindset by not talking about human rights. He is surrendering the most important leverage the U.S. has over China. Even if he thinks he should try to obtain China's cooperation on climate — a debatable goal — he is going about it the wrong way. If you want to get Chinese communists to do something, you have to impose great costs. That gives them an incentive to do something to relieve the pain. Offers of cooperation never work for long. Unfortunately, Beijing believes signals of friendship show American weakness. Pictured: Kerry on September 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)
