China and U.S. sign six new EcoPartnerships agreements

[News_Editor]

China and U.S. sign six new EcoPartnerships agreements

2011-05-11 02:07:10 GMT+7 (ICT)

WASHINGTON D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- China and the United States on Tuesday signed six new landmark EcoPartnerships agreements to address environmental challenges and creating jobs.

The new agreements will add six partners to the original group of seven, as said by U.S. State Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The Chinese government was represented by Environment Minister Xie Zhenhua.

"This EcoPartnership program was founded to bring these groups together to share best practices, foster innovation, and encourage sustainable development," said Secretary Clinton. "I am confident that these new collaborations will yield innovative solutions."

The signing came during the third round of China-U.S. Economic and Strategic Dialogue, held to enhance cooperation in the area of energy, environment, and the climate change.

"The EcoPartnership is a very innovative and green cooperation mechanism," said Minister Xie. "It has provided a very good cooperation platform for the provinces and states of both countries, for the cities, for the universities, for the public and the private sectors of both countries."

Under the agreements, Chinese energy companies will cooperate with U.S. counterparts based in Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. The deals were established under the Ten Year Framework on Energy and Environmental Cooperation (TYF).

The EcoPartnerships program formally links U.S. and Chinese stakeholders to work on clean energy and sustainable development. The current seven partnerships are already sharing best practices on preventing air pollution, protecting water resources, rebuilding after natural disasters, developing electric vehicles and wind energy technologies, and safeguarding natural habitats.

The program was founded in 2008 under the auspices of the U.S-China Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED), which began in 2006. The current Implementation Plan for the EcoPartnership program was signed in May 2010.

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