Minister Gao Hucheng met with U.S. presidential trade delegation of “wisdom city--wisdom growth” headed by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and Deputy Secretary of Energy Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall sent by the Obama administration in Beijing on April 13. The two sides exchanged views on issues concerning the China-U.S. trade and economic relations and bilateral cooperation in energy and environmental protection.
Gao said this year was a key year for the development of China-U.S. relations. President Xi Jinping will start his state visit to the U.S. in September and it will lead a sound and steady development of China-U.S. ties for a long period in the future. Over recent years, China-U.S. trade and economic cooperation has been escalating size and expanding areas. The bilateral trade in 2014 made a record of US$555.1 billion, with the combined two-way investment exceeding US$120 billion. It has brought real benefits to people from both sides and injected vigor into the economic development of both countries and helped to restore the world economy.
Gao said, as two global energy consumption powers, China and U.S. have the same goal of developing the new energy, realizing the fossil energy substitutions and coping with the climate change. To cope with the climate change requires to eliminate the backward and heavily polluting industries. It’s a great challenge as well as an opportunity to develop energy and environmental protection industry. He hoped that businesses of both sides would make active efforts to implement the consensus on dealing with global climate , strive to expand cooperative opportunities and realize the win-win fruits.
Official from the U.S. side said this visiting delegation, consisting of U.S. officials from the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Energy, was the first presidential trade delegation sent to China by Obama administration, fully reflecting the U.S. close attention to cooperation with China in energy and environmental protection industry. This visit aims to carry out the consensus on coping with climate changes reached by the leaders of both countries last November, and work with China to seek solutions to realize the carbon emission goal after 2020. Many businesses along with the delegation boast latest new energy and renewable energy technology and would like to expand their business in China. They hoped that enterprises from both China and the U.S. could take this opportunity to enhance understanding, strengthen communication, and jointly advance the cooperation in clean technology field so as to achieve common development.
