Cablegate: Senator Cantwell Meets with Shanghai Vice-Mayor On

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R 150930Z SEP 09
FM AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8273
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 3069
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0664
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 2371
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 2206
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 2000
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RULSDMK/DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON DC
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 8924
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 2197

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.

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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

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