A headline you don't see very often: "U.S. wins when China invests in green." The comment comes from a message communicated by Mathew Kahn, an economics professor at UCLA, speaking at Fortune's Brainstorm Green conference:
The United States wins because Chinese investment provides a market for U.S. companies in the alternative energy space. Plus, Chinese investment helps advance clean energy, bringing it closer to cost competitiveness with fossil fuels.
"This is not a zero sum game," said Kahn, speaking on a panel about China's . "This makes the United States better off."
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The Chinese government poured $120 billion into renewable energy last year while the U.S. invested just $20 billion, according to numbers cited at an earlier Fortune panel. China recently overtook the United States as the world's top market for attracting private capital for renewable energy investments.
All that money has left many concerned that the United States is losing the so-called clean energy race to China, and the jobs that go with it.
"China is where the large scale action is happening today," said fellow panelist Li Lu, head of the investment firm Himalaya Capital Management. "China is on the cutting edge of implementing leading technology and infrastructure."
All the panelists agreed that support from the Chinese government is essential for sustaining the renewable energy industry in that country.
How about an even stranger headline? "Green buildings inspire eco-friendly shoes."
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