BEIJING - Companies and research institutes from China and the United States on Tuesday signed deals on eight joint projects for coping with climate change just before a China-US high-level annual meeting opens on Wednesday.

The projects address carbon capture, usage and storage, hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) reduction, and the move toward low-carbon cities and a low-carbon model for the cement industry.

The deals marked some of the achievements by the China-US climate change working group, launched during US Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to China in April 2013 and aimed at enhancing China-US cooperation on climate change.

The working group will report to senior Chinese and US leaders attending the sixth China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue, to be held in Beijing on Wednesday and Thursday.