Economy

Markets

Industries

Insights

Reports

Events

Vital energy deal with US signed

By Fu Jing, Yu Tianyu and Li Jing (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-20 10:34

China and the US signed a 10-year agreement on cooperation in energy and environmental protection on the closing day of the Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED).

As a "major achievement" of the fourth SED, the two governments have agreed to increase energy efficiency and reduce pollution.

The agreement, signed on Wednesday, calls for cooperation on a range of issues, from energy efficiency in power generation and transportation and water treatment to reducing air pollution and the preserving the wetlands and forest resources.

Leading the Chinese delegation to the SED, Vice-Premier Wang Qishan said the deal will influence future bilateral economic cooperation and contribute to sustainable development across the world.

US Secretary of Finance Henry Paulson, head of the American team, said the interests of China and the US in the energy and environmental fields are similar.

The meeting also discussed financial and macro economic management, development and protection of human capital, benefits of the open market and trade, and an increase in investment.

Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, hoped the two countries would work on detailed plans soon.

China and the US have to meet the challenge of rising energy costs through long-term and extensive cooperation, said Zhang, also a member of the Chinese team.

Paulson said making existing or new technologies affordable is crucial. On his visit to China earlier this year, he had said: "It will require reducing market access barriers."

"For instance, I hear from some government officials about the need for US technology to help clear up China's rivers and control pollution from China's smoke stacks, but technology can be expensive, in part due to tariffs and non-tariff barriers."

Environmental efforts

Li Xinmin, deputy director of the Ministry of Environmental Protection's pollution control department, said the US and Chinese economies would become complementary once the cooperation goes smoothly.

The US has agreed to offer technological solutions and management expertise to improve China's air and water quality over the next decade.

On the other hand, China has agreed to expand market-oriented practices such as emission trading to check water and air pollution.

The Chinese government will soon set up a national trading system for sulfur dioxide emissions to deal with pollution caused by the country's power industry.

As a major aspect of the clean air cooperation plan, emission-trading rules have to be followed by all the power generators in the country.

The US experience will help China set up its own management mechanisms to clean up its major rivers and take measures to ensure the supply of safe drinking water.