Buy American? China Nuclear Plants Heard You

by Graham Webster · 2010-07-11 07:00:00 UTC
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A nuclear turbine.Global warming and energy efficiency are plainly problems that stretch across borders, but as we reported in April, some U.S. legislators don't want America buying foreign technology for the job. The idea of using Obama's economic stimulus funds to buy Chinese turbines for a massive U.S. wind farm just rubs them the wrong way.

But the Trans-Pacific market in renewable energy technology is a two-way street. Chinese media earlier this week reported that 10 nuclear reactors in China would be built or upgraded with state-of-the-art technology from the U.S. company Westinghouse.

When Senators, led by Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), proposed to ban the use of U.S. Treasury funds and stimulus money to purchase foreign equipment, the issue was jobs. (Jobs, jobs, jobs!) Supporters of the wind project's Chinese purchase noted that despite foreign suppliers it would produce 1,000 U.S. jobs, and a U.S. wind energy industry association said the senators' proposal could cost them 50,000 jobs.

This Chinese purchase of enormously expensive and advanced U.S. technology underlines that trade between countries can benefit both economies. This isn't even the first time Westinghouse has made a multi-billion-dollar nuclear power deal with China. Congressional politics aside, it's a good sign to see important deals going both ways in the U.S.–China relationship.

Image Credit: cheesy42.

Graham Webster is a graduate student at Harvard and environment writer. He has worked as a journalist and consultant in Beijing and as an editor at the Center for American Progress.
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