China: Beijing, Jinan, and Shanghai: September 1-5, 2008
China, the world’s fastest growing major market, is targeting the development of clean technologies in its current Five Year Plan, due to rapidly increasing energy demand, the desire to expand the use of non-fossil fuels, and reverse the dramatic environmental consequences of rapid growth. The Plan emphasizes clean coal technologies, wind power, solar power, and biomass. The Plan also calls for developing large scale, highly efficient, environmentally friendly power generation.
Beijing is unique in China as a city with provincial status, enabling its municipal government to approve independent foreign investment projects up to a value of $30 million. This has positioned Beijing as an attractive location for foreign investment in China. As the national capital, Beijing offers unparalleled access to meet with Chinese policymakers. There is a strong market for clean energy and pollution abatement technologies in Beijing, due to its size and economic importance. The selection of the city as the host of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games has also spurred substantial government investment in projects that improve environmental quality.
Jinan is the capital of China’s Shandong Province and home to ten universities, and has over two hundred research institutions, including ten national labs. The city is host to heavy industry, textiles, IT, bioengineering, home appliances, and transportation tools companies. Shandong Province’s energy intensive economy and environmental needs offers an array of opportunities to U.S. companies. In recent years, the province has invested over $13 billion on environmental projects including water treatment, industrial monitoring, and pollution prevention.
Jinan is also host to the 3rd International Exhibition on Green Industry and the Northeast Asia Environmental Protection Industry Fair, which brings together green technologies and buyers from across North Asia. Trade mission participants will receive special attention from the event's organizers as the first U.S. delegation to the exhibition.
Shanghai is known as the commercial and financial capital of China. With its strategic location at the mouth of China’s longest river, the Yangtze, Shanghai also serves as the country’s central transportation hub, offering a well-developed air, rail, sea, and road transportation infrastructure. Its estimated population of 21 million people makes Shanghai the second largest city in China, after Chongqing. Per capita GDP is US$7,000, compared to the national average of US$2,800. Its strategic location, highly skilled workforce, and solid infrastructure make Shanghai a magnet for foreign direct investment (FDI). Contracted FDI for 2006 reached US$15 billion, up 5 percent from 2005, and realized FDI was US$7 billion. Shanghai hosts over 4,800 U.S.-invested firms, including GM, Intel, GE, Motorola, FedEx, and UPS.
In an effort to reverse environmental degradation, Shanghai recently launched the multi-billion dollar Shanghai Urban Environment Plan, seeking to address urban planning and environmental needs for the city. The plan will require the Shanghai Water Authority to invest $725 million in the next few years, including a 1.3 million ton per day wastewater treatment plant, new pipe networks, pumping stations, and overall management and monitoring systems.
Shanghai’s energy strategy has focused on the diversification of energy supplies, increasing energy efficiency, and introducing clean energy technologies into the energy mix. Shanghai’s energy demand has grown approximately 6-8% annually, while electricity demand has recently surged to over 10% a year. As a result, this focus is particularly reflected in the Shanghai’s building codes have been changed to encourage energy efficient technologies and design.