NPRA ’10: US must engage China to meet goals – Cohen

29 March 2010 16:24  [Source: ICIS news]

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (ICIS news)--The US must engage with China and tone down the rhetoric on currency actions, Taiwan and climate change in order to achieve its objectives, former US secretary of defence William Cohen said on Monday.

“We must work with China and be engaged. Don’t treat them as an enemy or they will become an enemy,” said Cohen to delegates at the International Petrochemical Conference (IPC).

“If we put a finger in their chest to force them to do something like revalue their currency, they’re going to do it,” he added.

With engagement, China can be "plugged into" the international forum to achieve common objectives, said Cohen.

"Today there are no ‘winners take all’, and the US and the world cannot achieve any of its major goals like those on climate change without China," he said.

As China seeks to meet its growing energy needs, the US and western countries must also seek to develop its energy resources and capabilities at home, Cohen said.

“Without energy, nothing happens. We have to develop the whole panoply of energy resources domestically. We in the US need to be devoted to clean energy, but over time,” he said.

Hosted by the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA),  the IPC continues through Tuesday.

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By: Joseph Chang
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