California Gov. Gavin Newsom met with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, in Beijing on Wednesday as part of an ambitious weeklong mission to negotiate climate partnerships.

The two-term Democratic governor wants California to set an aggressive pace for the United States — and the world — to cut carbon emissions that are dangerously heating the planet. Newsom’s moves to tackle the climate crisis have elevated his national profile, just as he is widely believed to be preparing for a White House run in 2028.

On the diplomatic front, Newsom’s visit is the latest in a flurry of exchanges between Chinese and American officials and businesspeople that have raised expectations that Xi might travel to the United States next month. This month, Sen. Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, also met in Beijing with Xi, who struck an amicable tone, saying there were “a thousand reasons” the two countries should make their relationship work.

Xi met with Newsom in the Great Hall of the People, a grand building on the west side of Tiananmen Square where Xi often receives dignitaries. In an official summary of the meeting published by Chinese state media, Xi was quoted as saying he hoped Newsom’s visit would help promote ties between their countries.

Xi also “happily recalled his visit to California,” according to the official summary, potentially referring to a summit with President Barack Obama at the Sunnylands estate in Rancho Mirage in 2013.

In a statement after the meeting, Newsom said that he had “made it clear to Chinese leaders that California will remain a stable, strong and reliable partner, particularly on low-carbon green growth.”

“Divorce is not an option,” Newsom said. “The only way we can solve our climate crisis is to continue our long-standing cooperation with China. As two of the world’s largest economies, the work we do together is felt in countless communities on both sides of the Pacific.”

China has not said whether Xi will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, summit, in San Francisco, next month, or meet with President Joe Biden. But the potential visit is expected to be high on the agenda of Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, during Wang’s talks in the United States this week.

In a conversation with Wang on Wednesday, Newsom invoked San Francisco and Shanghai’s decadeslong relationship as “sister cities,” adding that he hoped to deepen connections between California and China. “I’m here in expectation, as you suggest, of turning the page, of renewing our friendship and reengaging on foundational and fundamental issues that will determine our collective faith in the future,” he said. Newsom stressed in his meetings that China and California needed to work together to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and address the climate crisis, according to a summary provided by his office.

The governor raised issues beyond climate, his office said. He pressed Chinese leaders to stop the flow of chemicals that are used to make the fentanyl that is sold on the street in California, where fatal overdoses of the drug have soared in recent years. He spoke with Chinese officials about ways to increase the number of Chinese visitors to California, the summary added; the number of direct flights between the state and China is now about 15% of the number that were operating before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

He also discussed the Chinese imprisonment of a California pastor, David Lin, and “a variety of human rights issues including Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang and Taiwan,” the summary said.

Newsom raised the human rights issues in a separate meeting with Chinese leaders before he sat down with Xi, according to the governor’s office.

Nicholas Burns, the U.S. ambassador to China, joined in the day’s meetings, and said it was “a very positive and consequential day for the United States.”

But critics of Newsom questioned the meeting with Xi, saying it had little use other than to burnish the governor’s own reputation.

“It’s the make-believe president tour,” said James Gallagher, the leader of the Republican caucus in the California Assembly, noting that the conversation between the governor and the president had reportedly steered clear of sensitive civil rights topics.