An Evaluation of China’s Green Economy Journey

Abstract: China’s commitment to reaching the carbon peak by 2030 and attaining carbon neutrality by 2060 signifies its plans to promote the growth of an environmentally-friendly, low-carbon, and circular economy in the foreseeable future. China’s go-green journey has been under scrutiny, and many doubts that these are mere fake goals. This paper seeks to evaluate China’s journey of transition toward a green economy and provide comprehensive insights on how China put the green economy from theory into the practical ground. While revisiting the journey, it is found that although the term “green economy” has not been the central term of the government’s policies until around 2016, the policies that aim to promote a green economy are well-established. These policies are more commonly termed as ecological civilization policies which are rooted from the framework of “ecological civilization” — a framework promoting economic growth while reducing environmental pollution at the time. These policies could be implemented through different aspects, e.g., green finance, green technology innovations, etc., to co-create enabling conditions for a green economy. Based on the documentary research done on existing literature, scholars and industry experts are optimistic about China’s progress so far. However, a development gap was found between provinces, hence it is suggested that more has to be done by the central and provincial governments to facilitate a balanced and even development of a green economy across the provinces.

Key words: green economy, sustainability development, ecological civilization, green innovation, green finance

JEL code: Q5