WASHINGTON - THE Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) will help China develop more energy-efficient buildings under a new programme sponsored by the US State Department.

The programme, announced on Wednesday, calls for PNNL researchers to oversee a pilot program in two Chinese cities, to help officials develop stricter building codes that promote energy efficiency. Half of the world's new construction is expected to occur in China in the next decade.

At a news conference at the State Department, US and Chinese officials hailed the programme as a way to combat global warming and increase cooperation between China and the United States - two of the world's largest energy consumers.

'We expect Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's work on this project to yield significant and tangible results, fostering both economic and environmental benefits throughout the Asia-Pacific region,' said Ms Paula Dobriansky, undersecretary of state for democracy and global affairs.

'The United States and China have a symbiotic relationship. We have a shared responsibility and a shared opportunity to help solve the global energy and environmental challenges,' added Mr Mike Davis, PNNL's associate laboratory director for energy and environment.

The State Department awarded PNNL a US$518,000 (S$789,000) grant for the programme. The laboratory, located in the state of Washington, is a division of the US Energy Department.

Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat who represents the state, called the programme timely, given the huge amount of construction under way in China.

'China is now the world's largest construction site, and the types of buildings they build will determine global energy use for decades to come,' she said.

Washington state already sells China software, airplanes and coffee and is poised to sell even more products and services to increase energy efficiency, said Cantwell, a member of the Senate Commerce Committee.

'The Pacific Northwest has a long history pioneering the development and deployment of green building technologies which could allow us to become a primary supplier to China's nascent but potentially enormous green building market,' she said.

The programme, formalised on Wednesday with a memorandum of understanding signed in the State Department's ornate Treaty Room, marks the first time State has designated a national lab to help China gain compliance with stricter energy efficiency standards.

'This moves China and the US away from a global scrabble for oil to a global greener future,' Ms Cantwell said.

China, which has the world's second-highest building energy use behind the United States, has announced an ambitious goal to make new buildings 50 per cent more energy efficient by 2010.

Because buildings can last up to 50 years or more, designs implemented today can affect emissions for many years, said Meredydd Evans, a PNNL senior energy expert.

PNNL and its partners will train Chinese building inspectors, designers, construction companies and others to develop strict building standards and test market-based incentive programs to support code enforcement, Mr Evans said.

The two Chinese cities have not been selected, but officials expect one to be in the country's northern section and another in central China. -- AP