The clean energy game US plays
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In fact, high labor cost has created disadvantages for US companies in many fields despite their more advanced technologies, and clean energy is only one of them. Maybe what Paul R. Krugman has said would drive some sense into US politicians. In a speech delivered in China, Krugman said the average salary of a Chinese worker was only 4 percent that of his US counterpart.
Sometimes US companies even give up opportunities to bid for a project because the profit to be made would not cover the high labor cost in their country. And the US politicians should not blame China for the high labor cost in their country.
The inequality between the two countries can also be cited to support China's position. Even with the so-called "subsidies", China's export to the US is still very small in the clean energy sector. Until now, Chinese companies have exported only three aero-generators to the US, with a total installed capacity of less than 10,000 kW. In contrast, the capacity of aero-generators General Electric Company of the US exported to China was 80,000 kW in 2005 and 34,000 kW in 2009. If China has really taken some "unfair" measures, why has the situation not changed drastically?
The fact is not "discriminating" measures taken by China against US companies rather it is that the US is trying to "contain" China in the development of clean energy. Such "containment" measures reflect the lack of foresight on the part of the US, for they will not only hurt China, but also be detrimental to the US in the long run.
Let's see the US' move from a totally different perspective. The US has been blaming China for high carbon emissions for long. And the best way to reduce emissions is to promote the generation of clean energy. So how can the US expect China not to help develop its clean energy sector and fight climate change at the same time? Saving energy and reducing carbon emissions is the shared goal of the entire world. We hope the US politicians stop acting against the common interests of humankind only to win elections, be it presidential or midterm.
Of course, even if the US insists on taking harsh measures, China is not likely to submit to them and stop developing its clean energy sector. The sector is growing at a fast pace. China is expected to raise its investment in wind energy this year. Seven wind power farms are already under construction, each with a capacity of more than 10 million kW, increasing the overall capacity of wind energy greatly.
Such a prosperous growth rate of the clean energy industry is beyond the containment of any country, including the US.
The author is a research scholar in energy at the China Institute of International Studies. This is an excerpt of his interview with China Daily's Zhang Zhouxiang.
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