Clinton eyes trilateral partnership on clean development in China+

TOKYO, Feb. 17 Kyodo -
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday called for Tokyo and
Washington to partner with Beijing to aid clean development in China and said
the world will not be able to address global warming without the participation
of China, India and other emerging greenhouse gas emitters.

''Here is an opportunity for Japan and the United States to work in partnership
with China to help them leap-frog over the harmful pattern of development,''
Clinton told a meeting attended by around 270 students at the University of
Tokyo, part of the first leg of her four-nation Asian tour that will also take
her to Indonesia, South Korea and China.
''Japan is, as you know, a leader in clean energy and there is an opportunity
for Japan working with China to help make buildings more energy-efficient, to
help create more energy-efficient vehicles,'' she said. ''And there's an
opportunity for the United States to enter into partnerships with China.''
Clinton, accompanied by Todd Stern, the U.S. special envoy on climate change,
said she will discuss the envisaged trilateral partnership on sustainable
development in China with Chinese officials when she visits the country later
this week.
Clinton suggested that China should consider manufacturing Japanese-designed
goods and creating a domestic market for clean energy and efficiency in houses
and buildings in an effort to boost the economy without generating harmful
emissions.
China overtook the United States as the world's biggest emitter of carbon
dioxide and other greenhouse gases for the first time last year, according to
Clinton.
On the economy, Clinton said the United States and Japan -- the world's two
largest economies -- must lead other major economies in exercising a
''coordinated global response'' to address the financial crisis, while calling
for vigilance over rising protectionism.
''We cannot afford to enter a contest to erect trade and other barriers,'' she
said. ''We have to remain committed to open and fair trade.''
Clinton indicated that the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama will
reengage with the world in tackling global and regional issues, a departure
from former President George W. Bush's unilateralism typically seen in his
first four-year term.
''America is ready to listen again. Too often in the recent past, our
government has not heard the different perspectives of people around the
world,'' Clinton said, in an apparent criticism of Bush's diplomacy.
''In the Obama administration, we intend to change that,'' she said. ''And I
hope that today is the beginning of a long and productive dialogue.''
Hitomi Kurokawa, 22, a fourth-year student at the university's Faculty of
Agriculture who attended the meeting, said she was impressed by the fact that
Clinton frequently used the words ''dialogue'' and ''opportunity'' in her
speech, which made her realize that Obama's diplomacy will be based on
dialogue, not force.
''When I saw her on TV before, I had a strong and somewhat cold impression of
her,'' said Kazumi Kawamoto, 25, a second-year student at the university's
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. ''But when I actually saw her today, I
felt she was such a caring woman and she made me feel really relaxed. I did not
feel that I had met her for the first time.''
==Kyodo