US and Chinese officials unveiled a raft of industrial, energy and science agreements during Hu Jintao’s visit to Washington this week, bolstering a rather amicable presidential summit despite continuing tensions in other arenas.
At the top of the list is a trio of new research partnerships under the umbrella of the US-China Clean Energy Research Center. As previewed this week in Nature, the agenda includes an analysis of advanced coal technologies including the particular carbon-capture facility we discussed at Huaneng Group’s power plant in Shanghai. The five-year research agenda announced this week will involve US and Chinese companies as well as government officials and academics, organized under the US and China Advanced Coal Technology (ACT) consortia.
The Clean Energy Research Center will also host research initiatives targeting building energy efficiency and clean vehicles. For a quick review of some of the recent work that has taken place between the two countries, take a look at the progress report released this week by the Department of Energy (available in PDF form here).
The summit served as an opportunity to advance numerous other industrial partnerships between the countries. Stories about green partnerships and technology transfer going both directions lit up the wires. Groups like the Clean Air Task Force, which was involved in several of these initiatives, say this kind of business-to-business exchange will be critical in building bridges between the two countries and advancing new energy technologies in the decades to come.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu said as much in a guest editorial in the Huffington Post on Wednesday, arguing that the United States and China must expand traditional their science and technology partnership (also renewed this week) and work together to deploy clean energy. Such a mission, he wrote, “is good for Americans and good for the world.”
UPDATE: The United States and China have also signed a agreement to establish a centre of excellence in China to promote nuclear security. The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration and the Department of Defense will work with the centre to help train those working in China’s growing nuclear sector, and promote nuclear security.