US urges China to stay open to tech imports

The market for clean energy technologies in China is worth billions to foreign companies

The US government has appealed to China to continue working with foreign technology investors to combat global warming, and warned that China could significantly harm foreign companies by focusing on developing its own clean tech policies.

US commerce secretary Gary Locke made the plea in a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, according to Reuters.

Locke reportedly warned that, although developing clean energy and other technologies could help China nurture "a stronger innovation ecosystem", it could "significantly disadvantage foreign companies interested in bidding for contracts worth billions and billions of dollars annually".

"We know that the Chinese have made some modifications on their latest proposals for indigenous innovation. [But] other economies still have concerns about that, and we'll be discussing that with the Chinese," Locke is reported as saying.

"It's more cost-effective for companies and countries to seek the best technology as opposed to buying something that is not quite as good, and a few years later having to completely revamp or purchase new technology."

Locke was speaking ahead of a trip to Beijing, where he will join treasury secretary Timothy Geithner and other officials for the annual US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue.