Sino-US collaboration on clean energy technology will set a good example for other countries, US Commerce Assistant Secretary David Bohigian said yesterday.

The two countries have much to gain by working together on knocking down trade barriers and working jointly in such fields as alternative energy, he said.

"If China and the United States are not working together, the problems will only get worse when it comes to air pollution, water pollution and climate change," Bohigian, whose job mainly concerns international economic policy, said.