Asia-Pacific

Beijing, Washington talk tech and markets

By Fu Jing (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-20 07:51

Beijing - China has an ambitious goal of improving energy efficiency but faces a shortage of cutting-edge technology, while the United States is the world's biggest owner of such know-how.

US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke speaks during a ceremony to present the US Department of Commerce's Certificate of Appreciation to Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co., Ltd. in Shanghai May 18, 2010. [Agencies]

With President Barack Obama promising to create millions of green jobs, it would seem easy for Chinese and US officials to ink such a technology-for-market access deal.

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However, industry insiders are doubtful of success at a high-level strategic and economic talk in Beijing next week.

"I hope there is a breakthrough but I think mounting difficulties loom ahead in achieving such an ideal win-win situation," said Robert Lao, head of Beijing-based RCL Consulting Company. As a scientist-turned-consultant, Lao has been tracking the clean energy competitiveness of major economies for years.

Despite the Obama administration's intention to create green jobs and boost the market share of its know-how worldwide, Lao said the American Congress and some influential multinationals are not willing to relax control of high-tech exports.

"They may welcome China buying high-tech products, but when it comes to core technology transfer, that's a problem," said Lao.

During a recent interview with China Daily, Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Administration, said he hoped the US could soon remove the high-tech barriers.

The Beijing office of the United Nations published a low-carbon development report this month, saying China needs more than 60 key technologies to realize its carbon intensity reduction goal in major industrial sectors such as electricity, transportation, buildings, steel and chemicals.

"For 70 percent of this necessary know-how, China does not have the core technology," the report said. "China has to make a choice: Either buy from multinationals or develop it itself."

Facing export controls from developed economies, China recently encouraged investment in solar power, carbon storage and clean coal while urging rich countries to relax their controls.

However, China's incentives in clean energy development have caused some concern among developed countries. US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke urged China to remain open to US and other foreign technologies as it ramps up investment in clean energy to fight global warming and secure its economy.

"China, given the incredible challenges that it has, should in my view be taking the best technology from wherever - whether it's China, the United States, Europe, Japan, anywhere else," Locke said in Hong Kong on Sunday.

There are also worries that China could restrict foreign participation in Chinese clean energy projects. An official from the National Development and Reform Commission has said that China badly needs to boost competitiveness in clean technologies and encourage foreign investment.

"In reality, some local governments even favor foreign investment over that from local investors, though it's unfair for the latter," said the official, who refused to be named.

Echoing consultant Robert Lao, Huang Shengchu, president of the China Coal Information Institute, agreed that the US is competitive both in technology development and market-oriented practices. Based on US experiences, he believed that designing market-based tools is as important as improving coal combustion and achieving breakthroughs in carbon storage technologies.

"We hope the US is generous enough to export both market-based tools and technology at the same time," Huang said.