11.10.06

Cantwell Leads Delegation to China to Promote Export of Washington Clean Energy Technologies

Senator Pushes for Continued Positive U.S.-China Relations

SEATTLE, WA – Friday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) arrived in China where she will discuss trade and energy cooperation, and deliver a keynote address to American and Chinese business leaders in Beijing on Monday. During her trip, Cantwell will discuss building a better relationship with China through trade and positive engagement and highlight China’s potential as a growing market for new renewable fuel technologies developed in the Pacific Northwest.

“Our state is the most trade-dependent in the nation, and by staying on the path to positive engagement, by enhancing our energy cooperation, and by increasing the products and technologies we export to China, we can create good jobs in our state and give our local economy a boost,” said Cantwell, a member of the Senate Energy and Commerce committees. “Our region is poised to become a global leader in new energy technologies, and China’s growing energy and infrastructure needs present us with an incredible opportunity to export technologies and biofuels developed right here in our state.”

Energy technologies developed in the Pacific Northwest with the potential for export to China include power grid management software, smart meters, new power transmission technology, and biomass and biofuels-related innovations.

Cantwell is leading the Stellar International Networks 2006 Women’s Business and Leadership Delegation on a trip to China this month. The visit is being hosted by the All China Women’s Federation, one of the largest women’s organizations in China, and the Chinese Association of Women Entrepreneurs, a leading Chinese business group. The Cantwell-led delegation includes business professionals from across the United States, as well as several Pacific Northwest entities, including Puget Sound Energy, Microsoft, Itron, the Port of Seattle, and Starbucks. During her stay in China, Cantwell will also invite a Chinese delegation to visit Washington state in 2007 to continue discussions on energy, environmental issues, and trade.

Cantwell has long worked to promote the development of a Northwest Biofuels industry and to open new markets for Washington products. In October 2005, Cantwell convened the BioFuels Business Collaborative—a group of Washington businesses, farmers, investors, and consumers—to help create a local biofuels industry. Last month in Grays Harbor, Cantwell visited the construction site of what will be the nation’s largest biofuels plant and a cornerstone of the emerging Northwest biofuels industry. In July 2006, at the Washington Council on International Trade’s annual conference in Seattle, Cantwell laid out concrete steps to improve U.S.-China energy cooperation, including a plan for a presidential energy summit between the U.S. and China and a U.S.-China Energy Working Group with cabinet level leadership.

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