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In response to the anti-dumping and countervailing measures taken by the United States, MOFCOM spokesman Shen Danyang said that the U.S. restrictions not only harm China-U.S. cooperation in the renewable energy industry, but also harm the interests of the U.S. energy industry. The two countries should make joint efforts to combat global climate change and energy challenges.
The United States attributed the slow development of its new energy industry resulting from its own weak competitiveness to the so-called threat posed by Chinese new energy products and intended to take restrictive measures against China. Chinese companies and the Chinese people express strong dissatisfaction with this, said Shen.
In 2013 the International Solar Decathlon will be held in China's Shanxi Province, cosponsored by China's National Energy Administration and the U.S. Department of Energy and undertaken by Peking University. China and the United States develop the new energy technology from the same starting point, recognizing the threat of energy shortage and its impact on economic development.
There is still big room for cooperation between China and the United States in the new energy industry. Currently China is the largest solar power equipment manufacturer, but most of the solar-grade polysilicon it uses now is imported from the United States. Chinese and U.S. companies also cooperate in using wind power, hydroenergy and nuclear energy. Zhejiang Sanmen Nuclear Power Station, which is now under construction, uses third-generation nuclear energy technology of the United States' Westinghouse Co. and has imported other equipment from the United States. Since China and the United States are both major energy consumers, companies of both countries can play big roles in the two large markets.
Because the new energy industry has higher production costs than the fossil fuel industry, it can hardly survive in the market without subsidies and support from the government. The governments in Europe and Japan have both offered subsidies and granted support to their new energy industries. The U.S. Government has given subsidies to many new energy industries, but, influenced by different interest groups, they are distributed unevenly.
In response to some U.S. congressmen's criticisms of China's new energy subsidy policy, Li Chunding thinks that it is crucial for China to be granted market economy status. During the renewable energy trade frictions launched by the United States against China, anti-dumping is a major target, because anti-dumping duties are much higher. The U.S. anti-dumping investigations are unreasonable and unfair for the United States having not granted China market economy status and still adopting the surrogate country approach.
"China should urge the United States to grant it market economy status and abolish the 'surrogate country' approach," Li said.
Li also said that in order to settle trade disputes it is crucial for China to strengthen the competitiveness of its renewable energy industry and accelerate its industrial upgrading. China's new energy products, once becoming competitive, will be sold in many countries, and by then, trade barriers will have little effect on Chinese exports, no matter which country has erected them.
2012 China-U.S. Trade Frictions
- The United States
March 21, the U.S. Department of Commerce ruled steel wheels exported by China adopted dumping and subsidy policies.
May 17, the U.S. Department of Commerce made a preliminary anti-dumping decision on silicon solar cells exported by China.
July 27, the U.S. Department of Commerce made an anti-dumping and countervailing decision against Chinese wind power products.
July 31, the U.S. Department of Commerce made a preliminary decision, charging the brushed stainless steel tanks exported by China were government subsidized.
- China
March 22, China decided to impose anti-dumping duties on imported photographic paper from Europe, the United States and Japan.
May 21, China decided to adopt anti-dumping measures against imports of pyrocatechol from the United States and Japan.
July 20, China launched countervailing investigations on imported solar-grade polysilicon from the United States.
(Source: MOFCOM)
2012 Investment in Renewable Energy
Global investment in renewable energy development reached a new high of $257 billion in 2011. With much reduced costs, many countries have boosted solar power development, increasing the total installed capacity by 2.7 times worldwide.
China's investment in renewable energy reached $51 billion last year, the highest in the world, while the United States came second with $48 billion. Japan, Britain and Spain were tied in sixth place, each registering an investment of $9 billion.
(Source: The United Nations Environment Programme)
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