A Great Proposal for Joint R,D&D on Energy and Environmental Technologies

In June Wang Qishan published an article titled "Strengthening the US-China dialog." I quote from the article:

First, we should build joint laboratories or research and development (R&D) centres for energy and environmental protection technologies and promote the development of platforms for engineering application of technologies, experiment centres for industrial application of technologies, and intermediate experiment centres for technologies. Priority should be given to R&D of technologies on efficient use of fossil fuels, energy conservation, environmental protection and development of renewable energy.

Richard Holbrook, a distinguished diplomat and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, endorsed the proposal for a joint U.S.-Chinese energy research center in the September/October issue of Foreign Affairs. He notes that Wang Qishan is the powerful Vice Premier of China in charge of trade and finance.

Comment: Vice Premier Wang has advanced a great idea -- to create such a joint research, development and demonstration program focusing on energy and environmental technologies. While it is always important to get the details right, it should be quite possible to create such a program that would yield both China and the United States technological benefits that would exceed the costs of the program. The technologies developed would have large external benefits to other nations, both in making cost-effective technologies more available and in reducing the severity of the coming environmental crises.

In addition, such a program would be a great example of "soft diplomacy", helping technological leaders in the United States and China understand each other better, both improving the likelihood of success in future international energy and environmental negotiations and contributing modestly to improving overall relations between the two countries. JAD