... Christina Larson, a journalist who has written extensively on China and Southeast Asia, say framing green-tech innovation as a race is not only simplistic but ultimately counterproductive.

Larson is a contributing editor at Foreign Policy and Washington Monthly. Her articles also have appeared in The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe and The New Republic. She is a Swartz fellow with the New America Foundation.

Miller-McCune.com caught up with her between trips.

Miller-McCune.com: You’ve taken issue with people who have suggested the United States should worry about recent increases in investment by Asian countries in developing a green-tech industry. Why do you think framing it as a “race” is a bad idea?

Christina Larson: I take issue partly with framing it as a race and partly with the assertion that China is winning the race. I think as context, there was a great article in The Washington Post by two veteran China reporters that looks at the way in which China is being used as an all-purpose boogeyman. It’s very politicized. I think when we talk about clean and green technology, there are so many facets of the industry that it’s really difficult to say one country could be winning....