China’s exports surged in December and imports rose to a record in a stronger-than-forecast trade rebound that may lessen the need for its $600 billion stimulus program. Exports climbed 17.7 percent from a year earlier, the first increase in 14 months, and imports jumped 55.9 percent, according to Bloomberg reports. Year-on-year comparisons are affected by the tumble that began in late 2008, when the global credit crisis deepened. China surpassed Germany in 2007 to become the world’s third-largest economy and is expected to pass Japan this year, to take the No. 2 spot behind the U.S.

Thus, China was the major focus of discussion at the SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS) held recently due this country’s increasing impact on the global semiconductor industry. It was reported by Robert Fry, senior associate economist at DuPont, that China led the world's upturn in manufacturing capacity followed by Korea, Taiwan and Japan. What’s more, manufacturing-oriented Taiwan reported its biggest export increase in 14 years in December, after shipments fell dramatically a year earlier.

Several analysts at the ISS Symposium noted that China has been mainly responsible for leading the world and the semiconductor industry out of recession and into recovery. It is well-accepted that China and Asia, as a whole, were affected by the global recession much than later than when it begin in the U.S. in December 2007, which ultimately dragged the world down with it, being the No. 1 economy in terms of purchasing power.

However, the strong manufacturing emphasis of the Chinese economy is aiding its country’s overall economic recovery. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in November more than doubled its 2010 forecast for developed nations, saying that strong growth in Asia, particularly China, would help pull the "more feeble" West out of its financial malaise. OECD estimates that the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) should expand by 2.5 percent in 2010, while Europe’s growth is expected to increase to only 0.9 percent. In comparison, Semico Research predicts that the world GDP will rise 5 percent in 2010, China's GDP is expected to rise by a whopping 10.2 percent this year, after a rise of 8.3 percent in 2009.

China’s manufacturing wealth has been translating into enhanced purchasing power. According to most industry reports, China's cell phone and automotive sales are surpassing the U.S for the first time, and China has become the second largest consumer of PCs. 2009 marked the first time China's automotive sales exceeded those in the U.S. According to Dan Hutcheson, chairman and CEO of VLSI Research, China has surpassed the European Union and is on pace to surpass the U.S. in purchasing power in the next few years. 

All of this evidence concerning the impact of a strong manufacturing sector on economic growth, shows how critical it is for a country to capitalize on opportunities in clean energy manufacturing. As the pressures of greenhouse gas emissions reductions emerge throughout the world, there is an increasing market for cleantech, which includes but is not limited to: electric hybrid vehicles, solid state lighting, energy-efficient products, elements involving: smart grid, solar, wind, biomass, hydro, and geothermal power. The Obama Administration is taking the clean energy manufacturing opportunity seriously and designated one of the largest overall portions of Recovery Act funding in this general category. Since then, the U.S. Congress has initiated several bills dealing with clean energy research and development and manufacturing roadmaps, so that the country does not fall behind in the global race for market share.

Moreover, U.S. states also have the opportunity to attract industries in this area by approving legislation offering tax incentives for cleantech manufacturing. Arizona has been able to attract a global leader in solar cell manufacturing, Suntech, based in China, through its first major bill focused on tax breaks for renewables manufacturing. In addition, there is an increasing trend for states in adopting feed-in tariffs to subsidize the cost of more renewable energy offered by utilities; this in turn will also attract alternative energy supply chains to some degree.

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