Cooperation or Conflict? Contradictions in US-China Clean Energy Relations

Speakers:

Craig Allen, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia, Department of Commerce

Joanna Lewis, Assistant Professor, Georgetown University & Fellow, Woodrow Wilson Center

Jigar Shah, President, Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy

While significant progress has been made under the clean energy cooperation agreements signed by Presidents Hu Jintao and Barack Obama in the fall of 2009, The United States and China may be on the verge of a clean energy trade war.  The seven new bilateral clean energy initiatives launched in 2009 focused on many key technology areas and including renewable energy, advanced coal technology, energy efficiency and electric vehicles, and have propelled numerous other collaborations within the private sector. However, at the end of last year the United States initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations into China’s practices in the solar and wind sectors, and the Department of Commerce recently decided to impose duties on Chinese solar panels.  In the meantime, election year politics and a slow economic recovery are fueling competitive tensions. President Obama announced in his State of the Union address that he would establish a new trade enforcement unit to speed investigations of unfair trading practices by China. Beijing has (not surprisingly) responded with its own investigation into American clean energy support programs. This comes as the U.S. renewable energy industry is increasingly divided over China’s role. This CEF event features leading experts from government, industry and academia to discuss the current state of US-China clean energy relations in the wake of recent trade investigations.

Agenda

The State of US-China Clean Energy Relations

Joanna Lewis, Assistant Professor, Science, Technology and International Affairs Program, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University and fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Engaging with China on Trade Issues: Carrots and Sticks

Craig Allen, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia, Department of Commerce

Can the US Compete in the Global Solar Industry?

Jigar Shah, Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy