Green tech war would cripple ailing globe
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Instead of recognizing the common responsibility of both the US and China as the world's top two polluters, US politicians frame competition in green technology as just another battleground in an ever-escalating trade war.
The common welfare of the whole world is made subordinate to national interests as in a recent dispute brought before the World Trade Organization (WTO) by the US on behalf of the United Steelworkers' Union over subsidies to wind power and other green energy industries.
The US is wrong to treat green technology like a normal commodity. The proliferation of green technology benefits all of mankind. As such, it should be encouraged, not hindered, by global governance organizations such as the WTO.
Furthermore, as the top consumer of China's products, the US has a certain culpability in China's environmental problems, so it has a moral obligation to help repair them. China needs technology transfer from the US in order to modernize its energy infrastructure and industry. But the leasing of this technology is often prevented due to concerns over intellectual property.
When it comes to protecting intellectual property, there is always a balancing act between rewarding innovation and disseminating knowledge, which can lead to new breakthroughs.
In the case of technology that benefits the common good, such as green technology and medicine, the scale should tip toward the greatest public benefit rather than protecting the commercial interests of the companies that produce those technologies. A fitting analogy is the fight to provide life-saving generic medicines in developing countries.
Rather than allow the issue of global climate change to be a casualty of a petty trade war, China and the US need to come to the table for bilateral talks to put aside differences on these green tech trade related issues and move forward with real cooperation.
China, for its part, needs to assuage any doubts about protection of intellectual property, and the US, should own up to its responsibility for the state of China's environment by facilitating the transfer of technology. In addition, China and the US can establish scientific cooperatives and public-private partnerships that share the technologies developed between the two nations.
Only by giving up the "us vs. them" mentality will the US be able to fully engage with China in meaningful cooperation in green technology. Both countries must stop pointing the finger for the world's environmental problems and start shouldering the burden of building a real solution.
The author is an editor at People's Daily Online English edition and a former journalist from the US. viewpoint@globaltimes.com.cn
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