Commerce Secretary Gary Locke Talks Clean Energy Cooperation with Tsinghua University Students

Dialogue with U.S. administration official, questions with "Netizens" live on Web for first time

Remarks

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke engaged in a dialogue with students and scientists working on cutting-edge, clean-energy technologies today at China’s prestigious Tsinghua University to discuss how U.S.-China cooperation on clean energy projects can boost the economies of both countries.  The first-of-its-kind dialogue with a U.S. administration official and live questions from "netizens" was streamed on NetEase.com and co-hosted by the Global Times, a leading Chinese-language daily paper. 

“The spirit of academic cooperation that is seen every day at Tsinghua holds important lessons for American and Chinese business and government leaders as we seek to solve our profound energy and environmental challenge,” Locke said.

Locke told the students that the United States, China and the entire world are counting on bright, motivated people to discover new energy technologies to reach energy efficiency goals while creating jobs in China and the United States. 

Tsinghua University is one of China's most prestigious institutions of higher learning.  The University is a national center of cultural and academic excellence with a rich and profound history and a strong commitment to scientific and mathematical discovery.

Locke is in Beijing on the last leg of the China business development clean energy trade mission that also stopped in Hong Kong and Shanghai. It’s the first Cabinet-level trade mission of the Obama administration. The mission aims to advance President Obama’s National Export Initiative, which is focused on doubling U.S. exports within five years to support job growth at home.