California-China Cooperation on Climate Policy and Clean Technology Development: Assessing the Role of Subnational Government Memoranda of Understanding (SNG MOUs)

Beginning mid-way through China's 12th Five Year Plan, international climate politics saw the rapid proliferation of a theretofore relatively unseen type of agreement: the subnational government memorandum of understanding (SNG MOUs). Dozens of these SNG MOUs on climate policy exchange and clean technology development have appeared over the last five years in the relationship between California and Chinese state offices. Yet, surprisingly, while the role of these SNG MOUs in the California-China collaborative context has expanded, their impact has yet to be evaluated. Therefore, this thesis uses the California case to help answer the question: “what is the role of MOUs between U.S. SNGs and Chinese counterparts as they engage in cooperative efforts on climate policy and clean technology development?”

This thesis relied on quantitative and qualitative approaches. First, relying on published documentary materials, I identified and collected all climate and clean energy MOUs that exist between California and China, compiling key details such as dates, signatories, titles, and jurisdictions. Second, I interviewed expert stakeholders to the SNG MOUs to understand the expert views on their role and value. Third, I used cleantech industry commodity trade statistics, case studies of policy exchange, and evidence of signatories’ promotional patterns as measures of the SNG MOUs’ effects.  

My findings show that environmental politics have been a key driver of the SNG MOU proliferation, and that Chinese officials have seized overlapping climate goals with California to enter into dozens of MOUs with the state to heighten the perception of their environmental efforts. These environmental efforts, and the perceptions thereof, aid the Chinese signatories in achieving their mandatory environmental targets, thus improving their chances for upward political mobility within the party-state. For California, state officials have yet to systematically account for the trade and policy successes and failures pursuant to SNG MOU goals, nor have they embraced the political value of these agreements in the eyes of their Chinese counterparts. 

These findings however should neither cast doubt on the sincerity of California’s interest in cooperating with China on climate policy, nor the tangible emissions and economic benefits which this cooperation yields. Rather, California’s neglect of SNG MOU minutia is because the documents themselves exist disproportionately to serve Chinese political goals. So, while one can say that California is being “charged” the cost of an MOU to engage in earnest collaboration, it is a small price to pay. The outcome of these varied interests is that the role of MOUs is largely symbolic to California policymakers and stakeholders, hosting benign enumeration of shared goals but are largely ineffectual. Whereas, in China these MOUs have become a valuable tool for tangible political gain for those provincial governors and ministry-level officials who sign on to them. 

While the findings of this paper stand in contrast to the official California state view of the MOUs, this thesis sees an opportunity for the state to re-frame its understanding and participation in SNG MOUs to achieve greater climate, economic, and political benefit. To do so, California state offices should recognize that the proliferation of MOUs has occurred because of their asymmetrically high political value to Chinese partners, yet this political-value has not come at the cost of all success relative to MOU trade and policy goals. Therefore, this thesis suggests that the knowledge of MOUs’ full range of value, from actionable to optics, should be leveraged by U.S. subnational governments to help further climate cooperation, to the betterment of all.