“Dialogue with Paulson” held in NSD

Apr 18-2013   

Sponsored by Caixin Media, “Dialogue with Paulson” began in National School of Development (NSD) on April 7. Mr. Henry Paulson, former US Treasury Secretary and former chairman of Goldman Sachs, delivered a keynote speech on “Global Energy Bottleneck and Sustainable Development”. Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of China Investment Corporation (CIC) Mr. Jin Liqun, NSD professors Lu Feng and Xu Jianguo, and chief economist of China International Capital Corporation (CICC) Mr. Peng Wensheng participated in the event as guests for the dialogue. 

Leaving off his post of US Treasury Secretary, Mr. Paulson has always kept in touch with the political and business circles of China and the US. The key to the energy bottleneck, as Mr. Paulson put it, lies in development of new energy, which creates ample opportunities for cooperation, both technical and political, between China and the US. 

A prompt and relatively minor move can be taken through Sino-US cooperation to abolish tariffs on environmental products and services, according to Mr. Paulson. When you truly think through the problem, you will find that tariffs on environmental products and services are neither economically advisable nor morally justified. It is indeed an important and significant move, though we still face the challenge of developing new technologies. 

Development of new technologies is crucial for sustainable development of the economy, Mr. Paulson points out. Technical innovation can only be propelled with both wings of policy encouragement and business promotion. Mr. Paulson suggests China issuing more policies, such as on pricing for cargo emission and punishment of low-efficient energy utilization.