United States officials have teamed up with China to help keep auto emissions in check as cities like Los Angeles and Beijing struggle with smog.
Vice president Joe Biden, who recently visited China, has announced that the U.S. will help Chinese officials to draft new emissions guidelines, HighGearMedia.com reported. The draft will be called China VI, and some of the guidelines will require Chinese cars to use filters that catch more pollutants.
The U.S. is No. 2 in the world when it comes to emitting greenhouse gases, although it is dwarfed by China's numbers.
The current China IV regulations are working to cut emissions from 350 to 50 parts per million. Scheduled to be implemented in 2017, China V will focus on reducing the number even further to 10 parts per million. The China V regulations will compare to U.S. standards, which cap emissions at 10 parts per million.
China has struggled increasingly with emissions, especially in major cities like Beijing, which has implemented a driving schedule and even closed highways to cut back on smog.
As the country's middle class expands, demand for cars has jumped. In 2012, there were around 120 million privately owned vehicles in China, but by 2020, that number is expected to hit 200 million.
Besides the pollution issue, the increase in cars is clogging the country's highways. In 2010, Beijing saw the worst traffic jam in history--62 miles of cars lasting for 12 days, according to Forbes.
In an effort to control both smog and crowded highways, China has cut back on new car sales, reducing the quota by 40 percent. The country with an estimated 1.3 billion population is expected to report 17 million in car sales this year, which is 2 million more than is expected in the U.S.
With some 200 cities with populations of more than 1 million, China will likely see strong auto sales even after the restrictions are put in place.
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