Obana and Chinese President talk on Eco cars

Xinhua reported that the visit of USA President Barack Obama in China also meant talks on clean-energy vehicles between the two presidents. Chinese President Hu Jintao plans an extensive plan to trengthen the two nations’ cooperation on clean energy.

This means more than just chit-chat or some minor funds allocated to multiple makers. A China-U.S. Clean Energy Research Center will be set up with public and private funding of at least $150 million over five years, split evenly between the two countries. The highlights of this Research Centre will be: building energy efficiency, clean coal including carbon capture and storage, and clean vehicles.

We learned that the Protocol formally establishing the Center was signed in Beijing by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang, and Chinese National Energy Agency Acting Administrator Zhang Guobao. Also, demonstration projects will be organized in more than a dozen cities, technical road-mapping and public education projects.

The two leaders stressed their countries’ strong shared interest in speeding up the deployment of electric vehicles to reduce oil dependence, cut greenhouse gas emissions and promote economic growth for makers that offer Eco solutions for civilian vehicles.

UPDATE: The two presidents, Barack Obana and Hu Jintao also announced the China-U.S. Energy Efficiency Action Plan. Under the new plan, the two countries will work together to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, industrial facilities, and consumer appliances. We salute this power shift plan and hope China and USA, two major car making countries as well as huge consumer markets, will work side by side for the greater good of both. And the Planet, not the least…