Doing Business in China

China is making great effort to develop its renewable energy.China has become the world's largest market for wind energy this year.It is now building six wind farms with a capacity of 10,000 to 20,000 megawatts apiece, using extensive low-interest loans from state-owned banks.

When the Chinese government took bids this spring for 25 large contracts to supply wind turbines, every contract was won by one of seven domestic companies. All six multinationals that submitted bids were disqualified on various technical grounds, like not providing sufficiently detailed data.

Some foreign companies, particularly European businesses, are starting to express misgivings about China’s promotion of the local manufacturers.

American companies play a smaller role in the global renewable energy industry, but some of them are also growing exasperated with the Chinese market. “That has been a tough market for non-Chinese manufacturers,” said Victor Abate, General Electric’s vice president for wind energy.

Premier Wen Jiabao of China told Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany in a telephone call on June 25 that China would not discriminate against foreign enterprises, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

The United States will press China this week to lower its tariffs on clean energy technology as one of many steps the two countries can take to fight global warming, U.S. officials said on Monday.

"Both China and the U.S. have much to lose from potentially devastating impacts of climate change, but much to gain by partnering to develop clean energy technologies that will power our economy by cutting carbon emissions," David Sandalow, assistant secretary of energy for policy and international affairs policy, told reporters in telephone conference call.

He spoke shortly before U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke were headed to China to explore ways the world's two biggest greenhouse gas emitters could work together to address climate change.