Talks on environment and energy projects stalled, says US
Negotiations between China and the US to resolve their differences and economic issues have hit a snag as talks on a series of groundbreaking environmental and energy co-operation projects came to a standstill.
The environmental co-operation issues are intended to be part of a package of trade agreements to be announced during next month's Strategic Economic Dialogue summit in Washington between Vice-Premier Wu Yi and US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
According to US sources, Chinese officials abruptly stopped their discussions on a proposal by Washington that Beijing purchase 15 coal-mine methane capture projects - which would cut the equivalent of 25 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide gas - 15 next-generation coal-fire plants and the elimination of import tariffs for US environmental goods and services into China.
The proposal also included a public statement that the Chinese government seek to achieve greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.
'We do not know what is going on with the Chinese. All of a sudden, the talks have stopped,' a US official said.
The environmental and energy issues were part of a package of trade and economic items the US hopes Beijing could agree on for the May 23-24 Washington summit.
