> but I wonder why some people are so ready to defend
> a neo-liberal regime like China.
There's nothing even remotely neoliberal about any of this:
----------------- http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/business/energy-environment/31renew.html "China Leading Race to Make Clean Energy" By KEITH BRADSHER
...The government spends heavily to upgrade the electricity grid, committing $45 billion in 2009 alone. State-owned banks provide generous financing.
China’s top leaders are intensely focused on energy policy: on Wednesday, the government announced the creation of a National Energy Commission composed of cabinet ministers as a “superministry” led by Prime Minister Wen Jiabao himself.
Regulators have set mandates for power generation companies to use more renewable energy. Generous subsidies for consumers to install their own solar panels or solar water heaters have produced flurries of activity on rooftops across China. ------------------
-- DRR