SENATOR CANTWELL MEETS WITH SHANGHAI VICE-MAYOR ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SHANGHAI 000387 CODEL SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE ALSO FOR EAP/CM, EEB/TRA USDOC FOR ITA DAS KASOFF, MAC/OCEA - SZYMANSKI TRANSPORTATION FOR DAS JOEL SZABAT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ENRG ETRD CH OREP PGOV SENV SUBJECT: SENATOR CANTWELL MEETS WITH SHANGHAI VICE-MAYOR ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND PORTS REF: SHANGHAI 148 (U) This message is sensitive but unclassified. Not for distribution outside USG channels. ¶1. (SBU) Summary. In a September 7 meeting with Washington State Senator Maria Cantwell, Shanghai Executive Vice Mayor Yang Xiong touted Shanghai's expanding investments in new energy technology, highlighting efforts to use the World Expo 2010 as a platform for promoting clean energy. Senator Cantwell detailed Washington State's clean energy initiatives and suggested that Shanghai and Washington State combine their efforts to develop smart grid technology and achieve broader environmental objectives. End Summary. ============================================= ========= SHANGHAI WORLD EXPO: PUTTING ITS CLEANEST FOOT FORWARD ============================================= ========= ¶2. (SBU) In a September 7 meeting with Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA),Executive Vice Mayor Yang Xiong compared the World Expo 2010 to the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago, which took place in the midst of an economic depression and helped to restore confidence in the global economy. Yang expressed hope that the Shanghai Expo will not only serve this confidence-rebuilding function but will also put Shanghai forward as a role model for other cities through its use of clean energy and its reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. He detailed measures the Shanghai Municipal Government and Expo Bureau are taking to showcase China's clean energy achievements to the world during the World Expo. Solar panels and photovoltaic power generators with 400-500 megawatt capacity will power many of Expo installations. All vehicles on the Expo site will run on a combination of fuel and batteries, with a zero emission target. Water from the adjacent Huangpu River will be channeled through pipes as an air conditioning mechanism. One fourth of the Expo area will be covered with grass or trees to absorb carbon dioxide. (See reftel for more info on the environmental protection aspects of the Shanghai 2010 Expo.) ========================== "BETTER CITY, BETTER LIFE" ========================== ¶3. (SBU) Shanghai's efforts to develop clean energy are not limited to the World Expo, Yang observed. Shanghai's lack of energy resources, coupled with the high cost of energy in China's eastern coastal cities, creates a strong incentive for developing clean energy technologies. Shanghai is positioning itself to take a leading role in China's national efforts to develop new energy at a reasonable price and has plans for or already invested in solar and wind power, Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC),biomass, and smart-grid technology. Yang also pointed to the decision of large international companies, such as General Electric, to establish research and development facilities in Shanghai as evidence of the city's growing role as a center for research and development, the work of some of which will include clean energy research. Yang also stressed the Central Government views clean energy as a crucial component of China's continued rapid economic development, laying the foundation for Shanghai's clean energy initiatives. ================== SHIPPING AND PORTS ================== ¶4. (SBU) Yang noted that Shanghai and international companies operating in Shanghai benefit from the Central Government's favorable treatment of the Port of Shanghai and Yangshan Port, which Senator Cantwell had toured the day before. Senator Cantwell told Yang she would like to see a more active presence for U.S. shipping and stevedoring companies in China, since Chinese companies, such as China Shipping, already have commercial opportunities in Washington State and throughout the United States. Yang noted that Shanghai has many preferential policies to support development of international shipping in SHANGHAI 00000387 002 OF 002 Shanghai and recommended that interested U.S. shipping companies include contacts with port and municipal officials in China as part of the services market access inquiries. ============================ AN ENVIRONMENTAL PARTNERSHIP ============================ ¶5. (SBU) Senator Cantwell, whose visit centered on a conference on green technology sponsored by Shanghai's American Chamber of Commerce, noted the similarities between Shanghai and Seattle, which both "look to the Pacific Ocean and to the future." She explained the vital role of hydroelectric power in Washington State and detailed her state's current efforts to accommodate electric cars and create neighborhoods of "zero homes" that, rather than taking energy from the power grid, put energy back onto the grid. She raised the possibility of direct cooperation between Washington State and Shanghai on energy issues, particularly with respect to smart grid technology. The Senator praised Yang for his vision of the 2010 World Expo as a force to pull the world out of the current economic downturn and reiterated Secretary Clinton's strong commitment to the World Expo and the U.S. Pavilion. Yang said he would pass Senator Cantwell's message about energy cooperation along to his colleagues and asked Senator Cantwell to thank Secretary Clinton for all of her efforts to promote the World Expo. Yang said he hopes Secretary Clinton will attend the Expo opening ceremony next spring and hopes Senator Cantwell will also attend. CAMP