California Governor Says China `On the Move,' U.S. Role Reduced

(Bloomberg) -- California Governor Jerry Brown said “America can't rest on its laurels” as competitive pressures from China become more intense.

“The role of America in the world has been reduced because of Trump's pullout from the Paris accord,” Brown said in a Bloomberg Television interview with Tom Mackenzie on Tuesday in Beijing. “The Chinese are on the move. They're a rising power.”

Brown, a Democrat, is traveling across China this week to forge new links on clean energy between the state and the world's most populous country and largest car market, urging it to take environmental cues from Sacramento, not the White House. President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Paris climate pact is “an insane move,” he told reporters last week on the eve of his trip to Chengdu, Nanjing and Beijing.

“They're not sitting there and making a one-to-one: Trump down, China up,” he said Tuesday of his talks with Chinese officials. “They're just saying ‘China is on the move.”'

Read More: Trump's Toughest Climate Foe Taking Clean-Air Crusade to China

Brown, 79, leads a $2.5 trillion economy that on its own would be the world's sixth-largest, narrowly trailing the U.K. after overtaking France in 2015. California was responsible for roughly a third of the country's $347 billion trade deficit with China last year, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Clean Energy

He said in the Bloomberg interview that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed “clean energy technology, trade and investment, open trading rules and a general spirit of getting things done together and in collaboration,” adding the two men spoke about Chinese investment in infrastructure projects in California.

“We can't reduce our carbon footprint unless we deal with transportation,” according to Brown. He said he is open to joint ventures with China on electric vehicles and sees more Chinese businesses coming to California as a result of his visit.

U.S. business leaders have warned that walking away from the landmark climate accord could put the country at a disadvantage in the race to develop and deploy clean energy technology.

Brown met President Xi in Beijing earlier Tuesday to discuss expanding cooperation on green technology, innovation and trade. They agreed to work together on expanding bilateral cooperation, particularly on green development, according to statement from governor's office.

Xi highlighted “the strong sub-national relationship” between California and Chinese provinces, according to the statement. Brown said California is pushing to cut emissions to 40 percent of 1990 levels by 2030 and achieve 50 percent renewable energy.

Brown signed an agreement with China that seeks to improve cooperation in electric vehicles, Wan Gang, minister of science and technology, said Tuesday at the International Forum on Electric Vehicle Pilot Cities and Industrial Development in Beijing.

Brown, along with the governors of New York and Washington state, last week formed a coalition to fight global warming in response to Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris accord. The alliance now includes 13 members.

--With assistance from Haze Fan Yan Zhang Ross Larsen and Lorenzo Totaro

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Jeff Kearns in Beijing at jkearns3@bloomberg.net, Feifei Shen in Beijing at fshen11@bloomberg.net, Tom Mackenzie in Shanghai at tmackenzie5@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeffrey Black at jblack25@bloomberg.net, Kevin Costelloe, Brian Swint

With assistance from Jeff Kearns, Feifei Shen, Tom Mackenzie