Clean Energy Race: The United States and China

Today we'll hear from witnesses on competitiveness and collaboration issues between the United States and China related to clean energy. The hearing follows a trip that I took to China in April to try to learn about Chinese policies and incentives to deploy clean energy. My staff and I visited Hong Kong and Shenzhen and Beijing to talk with investors and business representatives and government officials. On that trip I was impressed by the vast combination of financial investments and government partnerships with industry to deploy clean energy. China is rapidly developing and, although much of its growth is dominated by coal and fossil fuels, the Chinese government has combined a mix of financial incentives with government policies to promote the clean energy sector as well. That sector is not only developing domestically in China; it's also extending abroad. It's influencing the United States very directly and European markets.