Another key area for China-US collaboration within APEC is energy. APEC member economies consume 60% of the world’s energy, and have a key stake in fighting global warming and alternate energy development. In parallel to all the efforts by the UN Climate Change Conference (which is too large, too complicated and thus too difficult to hit a compromise), APEC has also been working hard in this direction. As early as Sept 9, 2007, the APEC Leaders Declaration at Sydney set a deadline of reducing energy intensity by at least 25% by 2030. The most recent APEC Conference on Clean, Renewable and Sustainable Use of Energy (APRCRES), in Bali, Indonesia, on Sept 30-Oct. 2, 2013 called for investment, capacity building and technology cooperation in clean and renewable energy. China and the US, as the world two largest energy consuming nations, have been cooperating in this field. Both countries could extend the current collaboration from a bilateral to a multilateral level within APEC, working together on clean energy projects in other APEC economies, making a common contribution to APEC, and sharing benefits alike.

China-US BIT to Play a Leading Role

The BIT talks between China and the US are of a high-level FTA design. It would cover not only the traditional measures of trade and investment liberalization, but also the most up to date regulatory regimes on economic governance, fair and open market access and competition, environment, energy, labor, SOEs, and government competitiveness neutrality. The China-US BIT, if it moves fast, will provide a convincing case on how the world’s largest developed economy and the largest developing economy, with wide disparities in development and governance, can come together and work with each other. It will be an encouraging symbol to the rest of APEC members: Why can we not reach FTAAP?

Together, China and the US accounts for 58% of APEC’s total GDP, with the latter in turn, accounting for 57% of the world’s GDP. The sound economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two, and joint collaboration by the two within APEC, will make key contributions to an effective APEC and the rest of the world.

He Weiwen is co-director, China-US/EU Study Center, China Association of International Trade

This article was first published at the chinausfocus.com. To see the original version please visit http://www.chinausfocus.com/finance-economy/china-us-collaboration-in-apec/