Brown has signed agreements to deepen his state's cooperation with China in the wake of Donald Trump's announcement that the US would withdraw from the Paris agreement, the California governor's office announced in a statement.
Brown and China's Minister of Science and Technology, Wan Gang, signed a deal on Tuesday which will see closer ties in the development of green technology including low-carbon, renewable energy and urban development, grid modernization and energy storage.
"I have proposed that California will cut its greenhouse gases 40 per cent below 1990 levels and that we'll have 50 per cent of our electricity from renewables," Brown told Xi in a 45-minute meeting.
"To keep that goal, we need a very close partnership with China -- with your businesses, with your provinces, with your universities."
The agreement builds on subnational pacts Brown signed with officials in Sichuan and Jiangsu provinces earlier this week.
California is one of hundreds of signatories to the "We Are Still In" letter released on Monday.
US states, cities, businesses and investors signed the open letter to pledge their commitment to the Paris agreement.
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