China and the United States have announced the establishment of a joint clean energy research center.

The announcement was made at the Great Hall of the People by Wan Gang, minister of China's Ministry of Science and Technology, Zhang Guobao, director of The National Energy Bureau, and Steven Chu, secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy.

The purpose of the center is to promote collaboration between clean energy engineers and scientists from the two countries. In the first step, the center will focus on fields such as clean coal technology, green buildings, and vehicles.

Wan said that as major energy producers and consumers, China and the U.S. are complementary to each other in energy technology. Wan stated that the center would serve a platform and provide support to Chinese and U.S. organizations participating in the bilateral energy technology collaboration.

It is learned that both countries will invest USD15 million as initial finance for the center. And MOST, NEB, and the U.S. Department of Finance will discuss more details related to the center in the coming months.