The 8th Steering Committee Meeting of the China-U.S. Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) was held in Beijing on July 1st, 2016. Participants included Wan Gang, Minister of Science and Technology of China; Nur Bekri, Administrator of the National Energy Administration; Ernest Moniz, U.S. Secretary of Energy and Max Baucus, U.S. Ambassador to China. Yin Hejun, Chinese Vice Minister of Science and Technology chaired the meeting. About 150 delegates attended the meeting, coming from both governments, universities, research institutes and enterprises of CERC consortia.
Minister Wan noted that thanks to the close cooperation of the two sides, CERC has been included in the China-U.S. Joint Statement issued by the presidents of the two countries for several times, which shows the recognition and support of the leaders from both countries. Through years of cooperation, CERC has put in place a sound organizational structure and operational mechanism, established a new model of cooperation underpinned by the consortia of businesses, academia and research, and tested models of intellectual property protection. The industries of the two countries have forged close ties through the CERC platform, playing a leading role in promoting industrial restructuring by advancing scientific and technological innovation. In the next stage, CERC should focus on the promotion, application and demonstration of research outcomes and the formulation of joint standards, develop influential demonstration projects and provide excellent examples for China-U.S. cooperation in science and technology.
Secretary Moniz acknowledged the efficient cooperation between research institutions, universities and the private sector under the CERC framework. As the long-term goal of CERC is to achieve stable growth, the two sides should work together to generate sustained values for both countries by achieving goals both short-term and long-term.
Representatives came from the Center of Science and Technology of Construction, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development; Huazhong University of Science and Technology; Tsinghua University; Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development (RIPED) of the China National Petroleum Corporation; Tianjin University; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; West Virginia University; Argonne National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley. They reported the progress of cooperation in thefield of building energy efficiency, advanced coal technology, clean vehicles, water and energy as well as intellectual property and the energy efficiency of medium- and heavy-duty trucks. They also made proposals for future cooperation. Business members had a round table discussion on the role of companies in CERC cooperation and other issues.
During the meeting, Minister Wan Gang, Director Nur Bekri and Secretary Ernest Moniz signed the Amendment to the Protocol for Cooperation on a Clean Energy Research Center. Representatives from the four CERC consortia signed the Joint Work Plan 2016-2020 respectively.
