Cantwell: US, China must cooperate on clean energy

I / Shanghai September 7, 2009, 12:27 IST

China and the United States should dismantle outdated trade barriers and cooperate in developing clean energy to help battle climate change and tap job-creating market opportunities, Sen Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington state, said today. 

Speaking to a conference on so-called "green technologies," Cantwell and Chinese officials both urged broader and deeper cooperation, noting that Cold War era limits on technology transfer are hindering both sides of taking advantage of opportunities to invest and create jobs.     

But such cooperation must be paired with real progress in protecting intellectual property, Cantwell said, by combatting piracy of the patents and trademarks.     

"Technology exchange and intellectual property protection are wrapped together," said Cantwell, who is on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "It's safe to say we have a lot of work to go."     

"If we can deal with these intellectual property issues, it's huge. Hundreds of thousands of jobs can be created in both countries," she added.     

Despite dozens of agreements on environmental and energy cooperation signed over the past few decades, little progress has been made, said Fu Zhihuan, a former minister of railways who now heads the China Energy Conservation Association.