China currently faces a number of huge and pressing economic problems. The pollution of its air and water, the destruction of its forests, its dwindling amount of natural resources are all issues that have made the country realize that cleaner and more sustainable solutions to energy and agriculture are not just an opportunity, they are an existential necessity.
By doing so, China will begin to take the lead in industries the U.S is still sheepish about, for example in solar power, where the largest American supplier of solar materials will be opening a huge research facility in Xian, China. China is also home to the world's largest manufacturer of solar equipment, SunTech. Innovations towards low cost manufacturing of clean energy technology are a priority in energy hungry China, and Friedman provides the example of the government support behind Shi Zhengrong, founder of SunTech, after the complete pollution of China's third-largest freshwater lake, Lake Tai.
China is also ahead of the U.S. with its auto industry. Chinese cars are already far ahead of American ones in terms of fuel efficiency, and future goals established to increase that efficiency. President Obama has pledged that the average standard will be 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. China's cars already average 36.8 miles per gallon, with a goal of 42.2 mpg by 2015.
In the U.S, the predictions about the upcoming debate on the pending climate change bill are that it will focus on how much of the economy can we sacrifice for the environment,(or maybe denying global warming and environmental degradation outright. In China, this debate is already bypassed. The big question is whether China will be able to transform its economy before its pressing environmental issues will really damage the country beyond repair.
Posted on September 29, 2009
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