The Paris climate change agreement was a ‘bad deal’ for the United States, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Scott Pruitt, has said.

Reports from Fox News quoted Pruitt to have said this, and that the United States would continue to be ‘engaged’ in international climate change discussions.

The EPA administrator did not confirm whether the United States would remain in the global climate change pact, under which nearly all countries agreed in 2015 to halt or curb their greenhouse gas emissions.

The EPA’s claims on the Paris agreement has also come at a time the world’s biggest emitter, China reaffirmed its commitment to the agreement.

Chinese President, Xi Jinping, is due to have his first meeting with President Donald Trump on April 6 and 7, yet, Xi and other Chinese officials have pledged to keep China in the Paris agreement.

Pruitt however said on Fox News: “To demonstrate the leadership that we have shown on this issue with China and India and other nations is very important and discussions should ensue, but what Paris represents is a bad deal for this country.”

US President, Donald Trump had last week signed an executive order rolling back former President Barack Obama’s climate change policies. The order affected the Clean Power Plan to slash carbon emissions from power plants which is a key factor in the US ability to meet its Paris commitments.

While the new executive order did not address the question of whether the US would remain in the agreement, White House spokesman, Sean Spicer, however said last week that a decision on this would be made before the G7 summit in June.

Also, spokesman of the Chinese foreign ministry, Lu Kang, last week said all countries should move with the times and fulfil their promises and earnestly take proactive steps to jointly push the enforcement of the agreement.