Around the world, there has been an increasing amount of attention on new clean energy technologies. As the world’s two largest carbon emitters, both the US and China have a large market for involvement in this sector. Although both nations face international pressure to develop cleaner and more efficient ways of generating energy, they also stand to profit significantly from investment in this area.

China has already given increasing attention to green energy in governmental plans such as the 11th Five Year Plan and its 2009 stimulus package. It has become the biggest producer of wind power in the world, announced plans to reduce energy consumption by 20% by 2020, and has allocated investments to building new infrastructure and improving existing structures such as coal plants. The US has similarly invested billions ($80 billion in the Recovery Act alone) in the sector. Despite some competition between the two nations to develop successful clean energy infrastructures, collaborations between the two have proved optimal.

In November, China and the US signed a clean energy pact which outlines various measures for the two countries to share technologies and resources in order to bolster market opportunities. This marks a growing trend in cooperation in this area. In many cases, the US provides advanced technical knowledge to China, which in turn uses its large resources to implement them. American companies such as GE, for example, have provided clean coal equipment to some of China’s many plants, thus helping to improve emissions and efficiency. Other sectors with great promise include nuclear power, oil refining, and renewable energies such as wind and solar power.