physics

US–China Clean Energy Research Center

US–China Clean Energy Research Center is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand US–China Clean Energy Research Center rather than just read about it. In short: The US–China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) was a center for joint research across multiple research institutions in China and the United States. It was the two countries' most ambitious clean energy technology cooperation mechanism.

Key takeaways

US–China Clean Energy Research Center belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect US–China Clean Energy Research Center to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of US–China Clean Energy Research Center from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The US–China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) was a center for joint research across multiple research institutions in China and the United States. It was the two countries' most ambitious clean energy technology cooperation mechanism. It used a unique intellectual property rights protection framework among international research and development projects to encourage innovation.

History Before establishing CERC in 2009, clean energy policy and technology cooperation between the US and China were generally limited to policy dialogues and technical exchanges. These dialogues and exchanges were not well-integrated into broader climate change policy discussions between the two countries. In January 2009, a US delegation traveled to the United States to discuss the concept of CERC with Wan Gang, China's science and technology minister. Wan became an advocate for CERC throughout CERC's existence. In February 2009, US energy secretary Steven Chu visited China. During that visit, Wan and Chu announced the intention to establish CERC. During the administration of United States President Obama, the US signed more bilateral agreements with China than it had during any other US administration, particularly regarding addressing climate change. The two countries signed seven clean energy agreements on November 17, 2009, during Obama's visit to China, including the agreement establishing CERC. This agreement characterized CERC as a virtual center for joint research which would be housed across multiple institutions in both China and the US. Its goals were to develop clean energy technology to diversify energy supply sources, improve energy efficiency, and improve the transition to low-carbon economies. In November 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Obama announced an agreement to extend CERC's mandate until 2020. They expressed their commitment to CERC in the same joint announcement in which their respective countries pledged new climate change targets. During the administration of United States President Donald Trump, Wan conferred with US energy secretary Rick Perry to confirm the US desire to continue CERC. CERC engagement was lower than it had been during Obama's administration. Nonetheless, CERC was one of the few US–China cooperation mechanism to continue during the Trump administration. CERC ended during the Joseph Biden administration. Academic Joanna I. Lewis writes, "CERC was highly subject to political headwinds, particularly in Washington, DC, which ultimately led to its dissolution."

Significance CERC was the most ambitious clean energy technology cooperation mechanism between China and the United States. The many technical exchanges on climate issues during the Obama era helped both sides of the relationship to understand better each other's emissions models and data, leading to increased mutual trust. CERC supported the research of approximately 1,100 researchers in China and the United States combined. According to an evaluation by the US Government Accountability Office, US participants gained "important benefits, such as the ability to speed progress in their research through cooperation with other US researchers and leading Chinese scientists and engineers and access to unique experimental platforms unavailable in the United States." The National Center for Science and Technology Evaluation of China (NCSTE) also evaluated CERC and described it as a "milestone initiative" that was "win-win." To facilitate renewable energy research and development collaboration by providing more predictability to the patent process, CERC established a novel Technology Management Plan to govern intellectual property issues arising under its projects. Within CERC, owners who brought IP to CERC retained "all right, title, and interest in their background IP" and were not required to license, assign, or transfer it. The CERC Technology Management Plan required, in the event of a dispute, that the parties should attempt to reach a mutually agreeable resolution. If none could be reached, the Technology Management Plan required submission of the dispute to arbitration by the rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. No instances of arbitration were ultimately required by CERC.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with US–China Clean Energy Research Center

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what US–China Clean Energy Research Center claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to US–China Clean Energy Research Center before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about US–China Clean Energy Research Center ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of US–China Clean Energy Research Center

In research: US–China Clean Energy Research Center appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses US–China Clean Energy Research Center in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: US–China Clean Energy Research Center is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics China–United States relations, Renewable energy in China, Renewable energy in the United States, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for US–China Clean Energy Research Center outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study US–China Clean Energy Research Center in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what US–China Clean Energy Research Center means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is US–China Clean Energy Research Center in simple terms?

Why does US–China Clean Energy Research Center matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study US–China Clean Energy Research Center?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on US–China Clean Energy Research Center.