U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke arrived in China on Tuesday to explore ways the world's two biggest greenhouse gas emitters could work together to address climate change, according to China Securities Journals.
China and the US were planning to discuss the building of a Sino-US clean energy center during the two US secretaries' visit this week. This would be the first government-level center between China and the US that promoted the use of clean energy.
The two sides also may put focus on the construction of the smart grid, said Han Xiaoping, CIO with China Energy Net.
The two countries have tremendous trade opportunities in areas such as wind power, energy efficiency, clean coal and modernizing the electric grid, Travis Sullivan, policy director for Commerce Department, told Reuters.
The week's talks of the two ministers will set the stage for possible agreements in the weeks and months ahead, and may press China to lower its tariffs on clean energy technology as U.S. companies face high tariffs on some exports.
At the same time, China may raise the concerns about U.S. export controls that restrict sales of some high-technology goods.
The US is the largest consumer of energy in the world. With energy use growing at 15 percent per year, China is catching up rapidly. Together, the US and China account for nearly 50 percent of global energy demand, and spew out a similar percentage of greenhouse gases, China daily reported earlier.
