The Challenge of China's Green Technology Policy

Testimony Before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission

SOURCE: AP

A worker walks past solar panels in a solar farm in China's Yunnan province. China is currently the world leader in clean energy technology.

By Julian L. Wong | July 14, 2010

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CAP Action's Julian L. Wong testifies before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Read the full testimony (CAP Action)

I speak before you today after having spent the past two and a half years of my professional life almost exclusively devoted to analyzing China’s energy policies. Three months ago, I led a delegation of senior staffers from the Center, along with key Senate staffers from Ohio and other important districts, to Beijing and the surrounding area to look at China’s advances in clean energy.

In a Washington Post op-ed last year, two esteemed business leaders, venture capitalist John Doerr and General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt, said:

Do we want to win the race to lead the next great global industry, clean energy? … We are clearly not in the lead today. That position is held by China, which understands the importance of controlling its energy future. China's commitment to developing clean energy technologies and markets is breathtaking.

Today, I would like to address three points. First, I’d like to briefly describe the means by which China is pursuing the development of clean energy technologies. Second, I want to talk specifically about what China is doing on innovation in clean energy. Finally, I will describe what I see as the implications of all this for U.S. policy.

CAP Action's Julian L. Wong testifies before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Read the full testimony (CAP Action)