Wenzhou-Kean University holds inaugural graduation ceremony A total of 187 undergraduate students attends the first graduation ceremony of Wenzhou-Kean University on May 28. Ninety two students have received offers from the world’s top 100 universities while 38 have secured job offers. The first Sino-US joint education institute in Zhejiang province, Wenzhou-Kean University started accepting its first batch of students from around the world in 2012. provided to china daily

Ecolab Inc, a United States-based water, hygiene, energy technologies and services provider, has teamed up with the local government in Changzhou, Jiangsu province to facilitate its water treatment technology.

During the Sino-US Environmental Protection Summit in Changzhou on May 18, the two parties agreed to create a platform for resource sharing, mutual communication and knowledge sharing in order to improve sustainable development of the city.

The cooperation marks a new example for a city government to improve water treatment and environmental protection with the help of foreign technology.

Ecolab was one of the 24 firms that came to China in April 2015 as part at the US presidential delegation that aimed to further Sino-US clean energy cooperation and help US companies launch or expand businesses relating to green buildings, energy efficiency technologies, clean air and water technologies. The delegation was led by US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz.

"It was during those trips to major Chinese cities that Ecolab realized China has attached unprecedented importance to environment protection, and the demand for green technology in China is huge," said Wang Tie, executive vice-president of Ecolab.

According to Wang, Ecolab spent several billion yuan in June 2015 to gain the controlling stake in Jianghai Environmental Protection Co Ltd, one of China’s largest industrial water treatment companies.

Located in the south of Jiangsu province, Changzhou has in the past decades been well-known for its manufacturing as well as steel and chemical industries, all of which are in need of greener technology and better water treatment solutions.

"As one of the major cities along the Yangtze River, Changzhou has developed a keen focus on environmental protection and pollution control in the past few years. We expect to help the environment industry take off during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020)," said Changzhou mayor Fei Gaoyun.

Having entered the China market four decades ago, Ecolab is excited about China’s growing focus on environmental protection which is backed by the Chinese government’s plan to invest 3 trillion yuan in water-related projects in China, according to Wang.

Song Guoyou, a professor at the Center of American Studies of Fudan University, estimated that 100 billion US dollars worth of GDP would be generated by clean energy cooperations between China and the US in the future.

"The cooperation will be a win-win strategy — on one hand it helps China cut emissions and on the other, US businesses are presented with more opportunities in the country," Song said.

wang_ying@chinadaily.com.cn