UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended a latest joint statement issued by China and the United States on strengthening their cooperation on climate change, calling it "an important contribution" to a possible agreement at a UN climate conference in Paris next year.

The document was issued after Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama on Wednesday in Beijing, the Chinese capital.

In a press statement, Ban "congratulates President Xi and President Obama on this significant and timely announcement, and thanks the two presidents for their personal commitment to work together to remove any impediments to reaching an agreement in Paris."

"Today, China and the United States have demonstrated the leadership that the world expects of them," the statement said.

According to a press release, the two countries announced their respective post-2020 goals of coping with climate change. They will also jointly push international climate change negotiations for a new agreement to be reached as planned at a conference in Paris next year.

China and U.S. will also step up cooperation in the fields of clean energy and environmental protection, said the press release.

Obama arrived in Beijing Monday to attend the 22nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting and pay a state visit to China at Xi's invitation.