Climate a Bright Spot in China Relationship

The Obama administration's push to help clean up China is emerging as a bright spot in a relationship rife with economic and strategic tensions.

The failure of the world's two largest economies to agree on tough carbon emissions limits four years ago doomed substantial progress on climate change and left each side blaming the other.

Since the Copenhagen talks, however, the U.S. and China have ramped up their environmental cooperation as repeated outbreaks of thick, acrid smog have virtually shut down major Chinese cities and cost the country hundreds of billions of dollars a year.

"For a period of time the two countries sort of used each other as sort of an excuse not to take much action.  But now I think there's a better opportunity," said Ma Jun, a leading Chinese environmentalist and director of the nonprofit Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs in Beijing.  "Together I think we can make a huge contribution to global pollution control."

The recent pollution scares have awakened the Chinese government to the dangers of unbridled economic growth at the expense of the environment.  Policymakers and activists are looking to the U.S. for guidance because of its own experience passing environmental legislation such as the Clean Air Act, said Barbara Finamore, director of the China program at the New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council.

Climate a Bright Spot in China Relationship