Pacts On Energy And Environment Projects

CHINA and the United States signed seven accords to cooperate in projects that promote energy and environmental conservation.

"Today (yesterday) we mark the beginning of what I believe will be a powerful model" for future energy agreements, US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said at the signing ceremony in Beijing yesterday. The accords coincided with the fifth round of the biannual Strategic Economic Dialogue between China and the US.

China will spend 2.5 billion yuan (US$365 million) this quarter on energy and environmental conservation projects to help stimulate its economy. The agreements signed yesterday cover cooperation with the US in areas of electricity generation, energy efficiency, transport, and forest, air and water conservation.

The pacts allow for local trials of initiatives that could eventually have a wider impact, Paulson said.