VZCZCXRO3139
PP RUEHAST RUEHCN RUEHDH RUEHGH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD
RUEHSL RUEHTM RUEHTRO RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #2089 2030643
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 220643Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5321
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAEPA/HQ EPA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS BEIJING 002089 
 
STATE FOR SECC/STERN, EAP/CAMPBELL AND NORRIS, OES/MIOTKE, OES/EGC, 
EAP/CM, EEB/ESC 
 
STATE PASS USTR FOR LINSCOTT AND STRATFORD 
COMMERCE FOR KASOFF AND MELCHER 
ENERGY FOR SANDALOW AND YASHIDA 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: ENRG KGHG ECON SENV CH
SUBJECT:  Energy Secretary Chu Visits China's ENN Energy Company and 
Tianjin University 
 
(U) This cable is Sensitive but Unclassified (SBU) and for official 
use only.  Not for transmission outside USG channels. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Secretary of Energy Steven Chu met ENN Chairman 
Wang Yusuo on July 17 at ENN Headquarters in Langfang City, Hebei 
Province. Founded in 1989, ENN is an integrated energy company that 
is investing heavily in clean energy technology. China's largest 
private energy firm, ENN has active research and development 
projects in a number of high growth areas, including solar energy, 
coal gasification and algae-to-diesel technology. In the final stop 
of his trip, Secretary Chu visited Tianjin University in Tianjin, 
where his grandfather once served as the longest-standing president 
in the university's history. After he received a briefing on the 
university's clean energy research projects, Secretary Chu delivered 
remarks to students on the threat of climate change to China, and on 
the importance of the United State and China working in 
collaboration to develop energy solutions.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) After welcoming Secretary Chu to ENN Headquarters, Chairman 
Wang introduced ENN's major business and research areas. During the 
exchange that followed, Secretary Chu expressed his support for coal 
gasification technology as a way to replace coal peaking power. 
Chairman Wang responded that China shared this thinking, which 
matched well with ENN's polygeneration technology. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) After the meeting, Secretary Chu received a briefing on 
ENN's R&D strategy from Zhang Hongmei, ENN Director of Technology 
Strategy and Development, before touring ENN's solar manufacturing 
facility and science and technology center. ENN Solar Energy works 
in collaboration with Applied Materials to produce the largest 
thin-film solar module currently available, and ENN plans to 
establish overseas R&D centers to improve its innovation 
capabilities.  Secretary Chu also viewed the laboratories and 
demonstration units for ENN's major research areas, including 
Underground Coal Gasification (UCG), coal-to-gas and algae-to-diesel 
technologies. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) On the final leg of his trip, Secretary Chu visited 
Tianjin University, where his grandfather served as the longest 
standing university president. First, Secretary Chu had a working 
lunch with Tianjin University President Gong Ke and other senior 
scientists and faculty.  After providing general facts about the 
university, President Gong briefed the Secretary on the university's 
clean energy research areas. This included work on biofuels, smart 
grids and solar heating. During the question and answer period, one 
faculty member raised concerns about the difficulty of engaging in 
collaborative projects with scientists in United States as opposed 
to those in Europe due to funding restrictions. Secretary Chu 
responded that he supports deeper energy cooperation with China and 
would look in to these barriers. 
 
¶5.  (U) To conclude his visit, Secretary Chu delivered remarks to a 
group of 500 Tianjin university students. During his speech, 
Secretary Chu emphasized the threat of climate change to China, and 
also discussed the importance of technological cooperation in 
jointly addressing the global climate challenge and furthering 
economic recovery in both the United States and China. 
GOLDBERG