China-based Trina Solar, an integrated manufacturer of solar photovoltaic products, has signed a sales agreement with Essco Wholesale Electric, the southwest U.S. subsidiary of Sonepar USA, a full-service commercial, utility and residential electric distributor with locations throughout the USA.

The Washington, D.C.-based law firm Steptoe & Johnson LLP,has opened an office in Beijing, to provide advice to international companies on the legal and regulatory developments that affect their businesses.

The U.S.-based high-tech research and development company, Convergence Technologies Limited, has announced that it is extending its vapor chamber lawsuits to include Dynatron Corporation and Hewlett-Packard in China.

China-based SORL Auto Parts, a manufacturer and distributor of commercial vehicle air brake systems as well as related auto parts, has said that it has hosted foreign delegations from Brazil, India, Russia, and the USA in recent weeks to tour its factory.

Baoding-based Yingli Green Energy Holding Company, a vertically integrated photovoltaic product manufacturer, has signed a sales agreement with Payom Solar AG, a leading PV rooftop system specialist based in Germany, to supply 51 MW of PV modules to Payom in 2010.

Shanghai-based NOD Pharmaceuticals Inc. has announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has approved the patent application for its nano-particle oral delivery technology.

The Nanjing-based vertically integrated manufacturer of photovoltaic products, ET Solar, is collaborating with New Home Green Materials and Learning Center, a soon-to-launch California-based chain of green home improvement superstores, to market ET's products to small to medium sized installers and contractors in the USA.

China-based solar energy company, Suntech Power Holdings, has announced at the U.S.-China Green Tech Summit that its first U.S. manufacturing plant would be located in the Greater Phoenix, Arizona area.

The Jinzhou, Liaoning-based auto components manufacturer Wonder Auto Technology has announced that its subsidiary, Jinzhou Halla Electrical Company, has signed a joint venture agreement with Korean Teawon Dianzhuang Corporation establishing a joint venture to be named Jinzhou Wonder Teawon Dianzhuang Company.

U.S.-based Applied Materials recently held a ceremony in Xi'an in Shaanxi province to celebrate the establishment of a solar power technology center.