The Politics of Environmental Policy in the People's Republic of China

Policy Studies Journal. Vol. 20. No. 4.1992 (628-642)

The Politics of Environmental Policy in thePeople's Republic of China

Lester Ross

The People's Republic of China (PRC) has made substantial progress indeveloping environmental legislation and a complementary regtdatorystructure. These gains are directly related to the economic reforms andopening to the outside world that began in the J970s, which irUroduced agreater emphasis on efficiency and more awareness of the costs associ-ated with pollution and environmental degradation. However, the eco-nomic growth and devolution of power unleashed by the rôrms have alsocreated new environmental stresses and to sorr\e extent reduced theregulatory capability of governmental authorities. As a result, someenvironmental stresses are increasing even as progress is made on otherfronts. FoUticalparticipation is restricted and environmentalisstdes onlyoccasionally acquire political salience. However, international pressureon the PRC to conform its conduct to international environmental normsis likely to increase, which is likely to cêct domestic policymaking.

The Early Years: Production Before Protection

The People's Republic of China (PRC) was slow to direct attention toenvironmental protection in comparison to the industrialized democracies (althoughnot in comparison to Eastem Europe and many Third World countries), but has madesignificant strides in law and policy in recent years. The first semblances of anenvironmental policy did not emerge until the 1970s, before which (and to some extenteven afterwards) the regime's economic development strategy fluctuated between acentrally planned, largely single-minded pursuit of economic growth and a moredecentralized insistence on communal egalitarianism. Under central planning, particu-larly at its height during the early to mid-1950s, the State Planning Commission (SPC)was dominated by the heavy industry and, to a lesser extent, other production-orientedministries which emphasized expanding output rather than raising efficiency orpursuing social goals. Under the communal mode, as exemplified by the abortive GreatLeap Forward of 1958-59, production targets were increased on virtually every frontwithout regard to resource constraints.

In both instances, economic policy rested on rcsource-intensive growthstrategiesoriented towardsStalinist style heavy industry,thenational defense industry,or expanding agricultural production by bringing new lands in to cultivation and raisingyields through multiple cropping and the intensive application of fertilizers andpesticides. These resource-intensive growth strategies were not counterbalanced bynoticeable concem for the environment in a policy process that was altematelydominated in leftist phases by Maoist ideologues, and at other times by output- orientedstate planners and production ministries. This was tme even for ecologically related

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policy sectors such as forestry and water resources management Thus, tree plantingprograms faltered for years because of a misallocation of resources in favor of limberproduction and tree planting as opposed to forest management, unrealistically lowprices for wood products, and the immense rural demand for energy from biomass (Li,Kong, He, & Ross, 1988, pp. 205-221; Richardson, 1990, pp. 170-186; Richardson,1966, pp. 55-60). Similarly, huge invesunents in dam construction and agriculturalreclamation promoted hydroelectric power and flood control at the expense of fishery,inland shipping, and other interests, resulting in a loss of wetlands, a contraction in thesystem of navigable waterways, and the silting of waterways, while much of thepopulace was left without access to a safe and reliable water supply (Smit, 1984, pp.

62-68).Nor was there much opportunity in the PRC's repressive society for the

legitimate expression of countervailing dissent from officials, intellectuals, ordinarycitizens, or even scientists who have been founts of environmentalism in morepluralistic societies. Critics of official policy, such as the noted economist Ma Yinchuwho, as President of Beijing (Peking) University in 1957 had the temerity to endorsepopulation planning in order to ease the pressure of population on limited resources,were disgrêd and removed from positions of influence (Bemstein, 1982, pp. 50-51;Hou, 1990, pp. 155-156).

The Reform Era

This situation changed beginning in the late 1970s with the introduction ofeconomic and, to a lesser extent, political reforms amid rising awareness of the socialcosts of pollution and ecological destmction. This should not be taken to mean thatrefomi-minded officials among the leaders of the Communist Party had suddenlybecome environmentalists, although the leadership had already authorized the fu tnotable pollution control programs in 1972 directed at air pollution in Shenyang, thecapital of Liaoning, and water pollution in the Guanting Reservoir north of Beijing.Rather, such officials gradually recognized that an overemphasis on centrally plannedheavy industry and a disregard for market prices had distorted the PRC's economicstructure and incentives. They therefore resolved in varying degrees to deemphasizeheavy industry in favor of light industry, expand foreign trade and investment, andincrease the role of market forces and producer incentives, fu-st in agriculture andsubsequently in other sectors of the economy. These refonns unleashed a sustainedeconomic expansion, particularly in the southeast and other areas of coastal Chinawhere central planning was relaxed to the greatest extent.

Environmental protection benefited indirectly from the decline in the role ofheavy industry in favor of the less polluting light industry and service sectors, a modestrise in efficiency as enterprises started to focus more on profits than output, and greaterlatitude for the expression of unorthodox values, including environmentalism. Envi-ronmental protection also benefited directly from increased funding, although theexpanding economy also resulted in higher levels of pollution in some instances, suchas air pollution from motor vehicles and pollution from mral indusuy.

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Naturally, the economic reforms encountered considerable o^wsition frommoreconservativeofficials,state-owned heavy industry.and inland areas. Someof theopposition was circumvented by delaying the most controversial aspects of therefomis, such as price reform and bankruptcy. Other sources of opposition were wonover by diffrising the opportunities to "get rich" more widely. In other instances,however, the conservatives have only gradually been persuaded to accept the reformsor been eased out of office, aprocess that has proceeded in fits and starts and is not yetcomplete.

Administration and Legislation

With regard to environmental protection, the PRC created a nationwideadministrative structure centered on the National Environmental Protection Agency(NEPA), which now has local bureaus down to the county level throughout thecountry. Although still lacking ministerial status comparable to that of most otherdepartments of govemment, especially the production-oriented ministries such as theMinistry of Chemical Industry and the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry, NEPA'sposition within the govemmenl has improved since the late 1980s as it has obtainedstronger backing from the powerful State Science and Technology Commission(SSTC), the SPC, and, indeed, the Communist Party. The SPC in particular hasestablished a section with responsibility for environmental protection. NEPA alsoprovides the secretariat for the State Environmental Planning Commission (SEPC), aninteragency body under the State Council which helps to coordinate policy and solverelatively cumbersome interagency disputes.^ As a consequence, environmentalprotection has been accorded progressively greater prominence in the Five-Year Plansfor Economic and Social Development.'

Environmental legislation also has been enacted to enhance goal setting andpolicy implementation in the post-Mao era. Formal legislation is recognized as anecessity in virtually all fields of public policy now that the Communist Party no longeris capable of moving the country by stringent political controls and ideologicalorthodoxy, although enforcement typically is sporadic and subject to influence by localand other economic and political interests. Several major statutes have been enacted,including the final version of the Environmental Protection Law (1989), the AirPollution Prevention and Control Law (1987), the Water Pollution Prevention andControl Law (1984), and the Marine Environmental Protection Law (1983), as well asother statutes goveming natural resources, such as the Forestry Law (1984), the WaterResources Law (1988), and the Water and Soil Conservation Law (1991).'' Many setsof regulations to implement environmental law as well as emissions and technologystandards also have been issued on a variety of subjects.'

These statutes and regulations proscribe certain behaviors and mandatevarious procedures, including such modem regulatory instruments as environmental

impactassessments.dischargepermitsandeffluentcharges, for reducingthe incidenceand magnitude of future environmental problems.*

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Growing recognition of the importance of environmental protection now alsoaffects elite circulation and career advancement to a modest extent. The CommunistParty and the State have revised their criteria for evaluating the perfomiance andpromotion of officials. Provincial and municipal officials in particular are nowevaluated in part on the basis of their individual perfomiance and that of theirJurisdiction on environmental nomis. Moreover, a vice-governor, a vice-mayor, or avice-magistrate in each jurisdiction is assigned responsibility for environmentalprotection. Officials in general also now devote more attention to environmentalmatters in part because the political refonns have accorded citizens greater latitude toexpress their opinions, particularly on lifestyle and social issues such as noise and airpollution. For example, citizens who resorted to direct action to halt particularlyegregious pollution harms were treated leniently and even exonerated in a number ofinstances because countering pollution was deemed a justification for their otherwiseillegal behavior that previously could have been deemed counter revolutionary (Ross& Silk, 1986). Not giving citizens a pretext for taking the law into their own hands mayindeed have been one reason for the development of the legal system noted in thepreceding paragraph, although the legal system also is used as an instrument ofrepression. Moreover, environmentalists who are perceived to be threats to theregime' sexistence or whoexpress their views too publicly at times when conservativesdominate elite politics still arc subject to repression. Thus, He Bochuan, whose book,published in translation as China on the Edge: The Crisis of Ecology and Development(He Bochuan, 1991), created a sensation among Chinese on both sides of the TaiwanStraits, has been forced to keep a very low profile after the Tiananmen Incident of June4,1989 when hundredsof citizens were killed. Similarly.the journalist Dai Qing, who

is among the leading critics of the proposed Three Gorges project discussed later in thisarticle, was detained without trial for eleven months for her efforts to mediate conflicton Tiananmen Square in the spring of 1989.

The new policy infrxistnicture and somewhat heightened environmentalconsciousness have coincided with the deemphasis on heavy industry and greaterattention to efficiency resulting from the ongoing economic reforms. As a rcsult, therate of increase in reported pollution loadings has slowed substantially, despite rapidincreases in economic growth and indusuial output (Table 1).

However, the validity of such data on pollution trends is limited by rudimen-tary monitoring and an inadequate data base. Moreover, such statistical series do notrcport pollution by township and village enterprises (TVEs) which have flourishedunder the economic rcfomis (NEPA, 1991,p.l). Such enterprises officially accountedfor only 5.4% of the gross value of industrial output in 1990 (State Statistical Bureau,1991, p. 395). However, this figure is almost certainly an underestimate. Moreover,the TVEs have been increasing production at an annual rate in excess of 20% a year.Therefore, the failure to report pollution by TVEs presents a significant omissionwhich suggests that some of the apparent improvement in pollution control actuallyconsists of a shift of pollution from urban to mral areas, where such enterprises arefound in large numbers, rather than an absolute reduction in pollution. The nationalgovemment belatedly has begun to recognize theproblem and, as a fu-st step, has startedto assemble data on resource consumption, pollution loadings, pollution incidents, and

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regulatory compliance by TVEs {The Bulletin of Main Pollution Source ConditionInvestigation of the National Small Town Industry, 1991).

Problems and Politics

Allhough there has been considerable pogress in terms of policy develop-ment and even some measurable accomplishments, many problems have yet to be fullyaddressed and new ones continue to emerge. The following are among the moreimportant such problems.

Economic Inefficiency and Pricing InationaUtyFor many years the PRC operated under a somewhat limited but nevertheless

rigid state planning system with suingent price controls for key commodities. Thesystem produced great waste and discouraged efficiency because it diminishedincentives for innovation and economical use of materials. Moreover, those industrieswhich suffered fTom artificially depressed fixed prices for their products, such as coaland water supply, could not afford to make investments that would benefit theenvironment, such as eoal washing, treatment of mine wastes, water purification, andwastewater collection and treatment systems.

Since the Third Plenum of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Commu-nist Party in 1978, the PRC has made enormous progress in economic development byrelaxing ihe dead hand of command planning in favor of somewhat more fiexibleguidance, or indicative planning, and especially by market measures, and also byexpanding foreign u^de and invesunent. Prices in some instances are allowed to findtheir own levels, and in others are permitted to fioat within defined price ranges. Theresult has been lo discourage modestly production of unwanted goods and overeon-sumption of underpriced goods, with attendant benefit for the environment in terms ofreduced consumption of energy and other materials and reduced discharges of wasteproducts per unit output in certain industries and at certain plants.

However, the PRC still has far to go in terms of economic rationalization andprice reform, especially with regard to prices of energy and raw materials such as coaland water. Progress in this regard stalled in 1988 becauseof opposition from poliUcalconservatives alarmed by the erosion of Communist Party power and a resurgence ofinflation, both in China and in Eastem Europe, and from production ministriesdependent on guaranteed supplies of cheap raw materials. Market and price reformbegan to resume in 1990 and staited to accelerate in laie 1991 (Kristof, 1992; Chinato fh e more prices..., 1992). If such progress continues, Ihere should be substantialindirect benefits for environmental protection.

Transboundary PollutionThe PRC is a unitary rather than a federal polity in which the cenu-al

govemment alone enjoys sovereign power. The central govemment also frequentlyexercises its power to realign domestic administrative boundaries. Nevertheless, theprovincial-level administrative entities (provinces, self-governing municipalities, andthe heavily non-Han Chinese autonomous regions) and, to a lesser extent, the sub-

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provincial units in practice enjoy extensive autontMiiy. On the one hand, this limits thepotential for rq)ressive rule by the central government and fosters administrativelaboratories for policy innovation. On the other hand, it hampers the ability of centralgovemment to raise revenues or implement laws and regulations on a uniform basis.An additional demerit in terms of environmental policy is the difficulty that arises inaddressing transboundary pollution problems (e.g., effiuent from factories in upstreamindustrial centers contaminating downstream water supplies.) Such problems arewidespread throughout the country. Their resolution requires the intervention ofhigher level officials, but might also benefit from the institution of special administra-tive entities such as air pollution control districts and sewerage authorities to addresstransboundary pollution.

The Urban-Rural Dimension 'Environmental protection has focused on the PRC's urban areas whwe

industry and residents are densely concentrated.' Most of the reported gains summa-rized in Table 1 probably were obtained in the urban sector. For example, central ordistrict heating systems, based in part on town gas, have been introduced in a growingnumber of cities, particularly in northem China. Environmental regulations have beentightened on major polluters, and small industrial pollution sources located in urbancenters have been forced to close, merge or relocate oulside the cities. In addition, asnoted earlier, mayors and their cities are now evaluated in part on the basis of theirperformance on various environmental norms, which has raised their knowledge andawareness of environmental issues. These changes have had a benefieial impact on theurban environment, although much more remains to be done.

However, the PRC's rural environment has come under new stresses thathave not yet been effectively addressed. Sp)ecifically, rural economic refonns thatincluded the dismantling of many elements of the collective economy unleashed asurge of economic entrepreneurship, including rural industrialization. This phenom-enon is particularly pronounced in the coastal areas of southem and eastem Chinawhere growth is fueled by the export market, but can also be found on the peripheryof large cities throughout the country. Such factories typically lack pollution controlsand often have outmoded equipment, the higher operating costs of which are offset bylower labor costs and more abundant land and other resources.

Rural industrialization also has been spurred by the forced exodus from citycenters of small, heavily polluting factories, such as dyeing and electroplating works.These factories have relocated to rxiral areas where land and water are more plentifuland the population density is lower. Although such rural areas are better equipped tobuffer industrial pollution, they also have less extensive environmental regulation. Asa result, even a few small factories sometimes exert a deleterious impact on the localenvironment

Environmental regulation in rural areas merits much higher priority than ithas received so far. However, strengthening regulation is a difficult propositionbecause of the great bias in favor of economic growth, opposition from the rural areasto any constraints on their economic development, and the scattering of pollutionsources across wide areas. Many factories are subject to little or no regulation of any

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kind, not just in tOTtis of environmental protection, and it is urUikely that regulation canbe strengthened quickly in the contextof diminished state and Communist Party power,particularly given strong biases in favor of ec(MK)mic development Indeed, ectmomicdevelopment not only is the source of local prosperity, it also creates some of thewherewithal for both the official compensation and irregular enrichment of localofficeholders.

The reforms have also aggravated some stresses in agriculture. Higher farmprices and expanded management and property rights for farmers and herdsmengenerally have boosted output, but not without environmental [Hoblems. Grasslandsin some areas have been degraded by allowing herdsmen to increase the sizes of theirherds without regulating their exereise of grazing rights. Irrigation management hasbeen weakened in some instances. Agriculture also makes extensive use of irrigation,fertilizers, and other agricultural chemicals in very large quantities without appropriatecontrols. The result is widespread salinization and surface and groundwater contami-nation.

Population Pressure and Resource ScarcityDespite extensive population controls, the PRC's population continues to

increaseatarateofapproximately 1.4%peryear. The population is expected to reach1.25 billion by the year 2000 and continue to rise in the next century. Such a vastpopulation exists in a country with a geographical area about as large as that of theUnited States, but wiih litUe more than half the arable land and only about 80% of thewater resource.

Although such population pressure can be managed, it puts great stress on thenatural resource endowment, particularly as consumption increases. Beijing and othercities in dry northem China have suffered from insufficient water supplies for manyyears, resulting in groundwater depletion and surface subsidence, and this problem islikely lo get worse in the course of economic development because consumption ispositively correlated with income. A rationalization of the pricing system lo refiect thescarcity values of water, energy and other commodities has made only halting progressbecause of opposition from industrial users and ordinary consumers. Relocation ofindustry and population away from urban centers might help and was encouragedduring the Maoist era when the cities were considered sourees of "bourgeois ideology,"but such policy was poorly managed, unpopular, and largely unsuccessful at the time,and is unlikely lo be revived on a large scale until the disparities between the qualityof life in urban and rural areas are narrowed. Much greater emphasis instead is beingplaced on urban planning and coordination and raising efficiency in order to minimizethe burden of a large population on a limited resouree base. Improved transportationand the development of suburban industrial parks and satellite cities, such as thePudong New Area comprising about 350 square kilometers across the Huangpu Riverfrom the city of Shanghai proper, should result in more careful industrial sitingdecisions as well as improved environmental controls as new industrial facilities aredeveloped. Meanwhile, price reform will continue to be introduced on a gradual basisto raise the efficiency of resouree consumption in older uiban areas.

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Major De velopment ProjectsThe PRC has built many massive public works projects including dams,

industrial plants and new industrial cities. Historically, such projects were decided onthe basis of the slate plan with some latitude for local bargaining. Environmentalimpacts, resettlement costs, and safety considerations were all given insufficientattention. The results included such widespread problems as the drying up of lakes(e.g., Baiyangdian in Hebei), the silting of reservoirs, and the siting of such majorpollution sources as chemical plants and steel mills upwind and upstream of populationcenters like Beijing.

This situation has improved, at least for medium- and large-sized iôjects.Regulations requiring environmental impact assessments were introduced beginningin the 1980s, and greater attention to resettlanenl costs also was mandated. AlthoughIhe environmental impactassessmentprocess initially wasconfined to thepostapprovalstage and usually had little if any influence on political decision makers. Article 13 ofthe EFL now mandates that the pn^cess take place before the project is approved."Moreover, there is somewhat greater latitude for theexpression of opposition now thanin the past, albeit not as much as in the period prior to the June 1989 Tiananmenmassacre. In addition, multilateral and foreign donor countries and organizations, suchas the Worid Bank, insist upon much more elaborate and thoroughgoing analysis ofenvironmental and human impacts before agreeing to finance all or part of a project(Whitcomb, 1992, pp. 32-33).'

As a result, projects undergo closer scmtiny and potentially encounter moredissent. The most controversial project now under consideration, the Si 2 billion (1990prices) Three Gorges dam and reservoir, to be built in a scenic area of the upperChangjiang (Yangtze) River, is projected lo generate 84 billion kilowatts of electricityannually frx)m 17.68 million kilowatts of installed hydroelectric generating capacity.The proponents of the dam, known as the shang ma (literally, "mount the horse")faction, include many officials in the SPC and other macroeconomic agencies as wellas most officials in the Ministry of Water Resources and Ministry of Communications,downstream interests in Hubei and other provinces vulnerable to fiooding, navigationinterests, Yangtze River communities such as Chongqing that stand to gain easieraccess to Shanghai and the Pacific Ocean, and industries and communities to be servedby the project's hydroelectric power production (Lieberthal & Oksenberg, 1990; YaoJianguo, 1992). The downstream provinces and self-goveming municipalities,including Shanghai and Hubei, have commiued themselves to raise part of thefinancing for the project, probably through bonds to be issued by a publicly organizedjoint stock company. In addition, the localities in Westem Hubei and Chongqing mostclosely affected by the project are likely to be administratively reorganized into a newSanxia CThree Gorges) Province and a Chongqing Special Zone in that portion ofSichuan located in and around the city of Chongqing, respectively, in order to increasethe central govemment's control, geographically intemalize the decisionmakingprocesses at ihe provincial and subprovincial levels, and reduce the influence of lessclosely affected communities.

Conversely, opponents of the project are clustered in two opinion groups,which are known as the moderates and the opposition factions. The moderates criticize

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Ihe high up-front capital investment requirements and ihe high financial costs ofrelocating 700,0(X) or more people. The opposition faction has more fundamentalobjections to ihe strategy of building a massive dam on the main stem in contrast to aseries of smaller projects on tributaries as well as the main stem of the Yangtze. The(^position faction also objects to the cultural impact of raising the water level in oneof China'smost beautiful and historically significant natural features, theenvironmen-tal impacts, and the risk of catastrophic failure, as well as the economic and human costsof Ihe project, including resettlement costs (Ryder, 1990).

The proponents, led by the State Council's Office for Economic Develop-ment of the Three Gorges Area, succeeded in gaining approval of the project by theNational People's Congress in the spring of 1992. Nevertheless, opposition was sowidespread that, in an extraordinary expression of dissent, 177 of Ihe 2,608 deputiesvoted no and another 664 abstained (McGregor, 1992). Given the project's long leadtime and need for foreign financing, such visible dissent suggests that the opponentsultimately may succeed in halting the project if political controls are further relaxedunless doubts about the project somehow are alleviated.'" In particular, unless theproject can be domestically financed and engineered, opposition from overseasenvironmentalists may inhibit intemational donor agencies and even foreign privatecompanies torn participating in the Three Gorges project.

Global Wanning and Other International ConcemsThe PRC's expanded commiunent to environmental protection originally

rested on the presumption that economic development and environmental protectionwould proceed in tandem, rather than the historic pattem under which economic policyshowed little or no heed for the environment." By implication, environmentalprotection might slow the pace of economic development but need not foreclose thepoteniialfcM-growthof the economyasawhole. Consequently,Ihe impact on particularindustries would be modest and the PRC could continue to anticipate catching up lo theworld's most advanced countries. Opposition to environmental protection from theState Planning Commission, the Ministry of Finance, and the production ministrieswas ovCTCome by the Communist Party leadership with the promise that the burden ofenvironmental protection would be introduced only gradually in accordance with thePRC's financial capacity. Indeed, regulatory enforcement was adjusted according tothe fortunes of each industry (e.g., the more prosperous chemical industry was subjectto more rigorous demands than the less prosperous coal indusuy), and plants wo-erenovated, relocated, or merged rather thanclosedfor environmental or other reasons.'^

However, recent concem over ozone depletion and global wanning hasproduced pressure for intemational regimes predicated on the stabilization and/orreductionof the consumptionof particular commodities, such as chlorofluorocarbons,and of pollution loadings like carbon dioxide emissions. The PRC as well as manyother developing countries fears that the resultant intemalional regimes will bedominated by the advanced industrialized countries to protect their own interests at theexpense ofthe developing countries. ThePRC in particular produces overabillion tonsof coal a year and relies on coal for 73% of its commercial energy production, including75% of industrial fuel, 65% of chemical feedstocks, and 85% of urban residential fuel.

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Thus, the PRC's sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide emissions from coal combustionare huge, although per capita energy consumption is still less than one-thinl of theglobal average (National Report ofthe People's Republic of China on EnvironmentandDevelopment, 1991, Part II). Therefore, intemational controls on such emissionswould pose a major problem for the PRC's economy, although coal washing, moreefficient combustion, and flue gas controls can greatly reduce pollution emissions(WuDunn, 1992).

Such concems led the PRC to convene the Ministerial Conference onEnvironment and Development in Beijing in June 1991, which was attended byministers from 41 developing countries. The resulting Beijing Ministerial Declarationon Environmental and Development (the "Declaration") (Ministerial Conference ofDeveloping Countries on Environment and Development, 1991) expressed seriousconcem regarding the need for intemational cooperation to promote environmentalprotection and sustained development (Article 2), but also insisted on ihe right of thedeveloping countries to development (Article 3), the need for the developed countriesto transfer resourees to and finance environmental protection in the developing

countries (Articles 4,8-9,12-14,21-24), and opposition to interference in the internalaffairs of developing countries, and the attachment of conditions to aid or developmentfinancing (Article 6). The Declaration thus clearly expressed ihe determination of thedeveloping countries, particularly the PRC, lo drive a hard bargain for concessionaryfinancing and technology transfer at ihe United Nations Conference on Environmentand Developmenl (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992, in exchange for theircooperation on global environmental issues.

This same theme was reiterated in greater detail by the PRC in the NationalReport of ihe People's Republic of China on Environment and Development (the"National Report"). The National Report was coordinated by the SPC under thesupervision of a Leading Group, consisting of officials from the SPC, SSTC, Ministryof Foreign Affairs and NEPA. The National Report expressly stated Ihat:

There should be a clear recognition of the main responsibility for globalenvironmental degradation to date and the main obligation for its resolu-tion. II]inteniational cooperation for environmental protection must bebased on the princple of "common but differentiated responsibilities",...and the developed countries are duty bound to make more and practicalcontribution Isic] ...to intemational cooperation in this regard, whiletaking the lead in adopting environmental protection measures. Thisshould include the following two aspects:

First, to provide the developing countries with new and additionalfinancial resources to enable them to participate more effectively in theintemational cooperation for environmental protection, or to compensatethem for the economic losses incurred in implementing obligations under i

international legalinstruments. The adequacy of these financial resourcesmust be emphasized. Symbolic or limited funds provided mainly forpublicity purposes will not contribute to solving practical problems... .[S]uch financial resources... should not merely be a reallocation of thepresent flow of development assistance....Second, to provide the developing countries with requisite technologiesfor pollution control and environmentally sound technologies on prefer-

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ential and noncommercial tenns. These technologies should not beregarded as commodities in the general sense of the word, and as such, beleft to the market mechanism for their transfer. From the point of view ofresponsibility to the common interests of humanity, these technologiesshould be considered as a common wealth of all mankind, and theirtransfer as due contribution to the common cause of humanity. (NmionalReport, 1991, pp. 69-70).The PRC expressed Ihese themes at UNCED ilself, although its position on

the whole was "moderate" (Developed notions need to double funding..., 1992). India,Malaysia and several other developing countries were more outspoken.

The PRC and other developing countries achieved only limited success atUNCED relating to the terms of trade and greater economic assistance, although iheydid succeed in shaping the agenda with regard to future negotiations on these and otherissues. Moreover, the PRC has previously demonstrated a willingness to cooperate inthe resolution of global environmental problems without an explict quid pro quo. Forexample, the PRC has ratified The Basle Convention on the Control of TransboundaryMovements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (Gazette ofthe State Council ofthe PRC, 1991, p. 1100), and is a party lo The Vienna Convention for the Protectionof Ihe Ozone Layer and The Montreal Pnstocol on Substances that Deplete the OzoneLayer (Gazette ofthe State Council ofthe PRC, 1991, p. 767). Nevertheless, failureto gain access to ftnancing and technology on favorable terms may arouse oppositionfrom affected industries and jeopardize future cooperation on the resolution of globalenvironmental issues by the PRC as well as othCT developing counuies.

Conclusion

Environmental policy has developed quile rapidly since the late 1970s,largely as the result of greater elite awareness of the importance of environmentalprotection. Such awareness has been fostered by the PRC's expanded involvement inintemational affairs, notably science, politics, and economics. Expanded participationin intemational affairs is a direct result of the post-Mao refomis, which have alsocontributed lo environmental protection by reorienting the economy away from heavyindustry and by encouraging greater attention to raising efficiency. On the other hand,the reforms have also resulted in increased economic activity and rising consumption(e.g., of motor vehicles), which are placing increased stress on the environment, mostnotably in rural areas that are undergoing rapid industrialization.

With regard to environmental policy as such, many problems remain eventhough the PRC has enacted an impressive series of laws and regulations. Legislationin certain areas such as hazardous waste control has yet to be enacted, although this isnow recognized as a priority need. Rural environmental regulation is largelynonexistent Some programs thai have been instiUited, such as the creation of over 600nature preserves with still others planned, look more impressive on paper than they doin the field. Funding for environmental protection is increasing but is barely half iheamount needed, accoixiing to PRC officials (Whitcomb, 1992, pp. 30-31). Regulatorsare often prevented from taking vigorous enforcement action against polluters by

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political leaders and other agencies more concemed with economic growth thanenvironmental protection. Moreover, a lack of opportunity for free expressionprevents the growth of an indigenous environmental movement which could counter-balance the emphasis on economic growth (Hou, 1990,1^. 157-158).

Despite all of these limitations, however, ihe PRC has made substantialstrides in developing environmental policy, including sophisticated policy instrumentsand a monitoring nelwoii:, and one no lwiger encounters the public hostility orindifference to environmental protection among officials that used to be found in thePRC. Moreover, PRC officials have begun to acknowledge the harm posed to theircountry by global wanning and other environmental catastrophes. Therefore, environ-mental protection can be expected to advance funher through expanded access toadvanced science, technology, law, and management, as well as pressure from theintemational ccHnmunity.

* * *

Lester Ross is an atlomey in the New York office of the law firm of Jones,Day, Reavis & Pogue. He has a doctorate in political science firom the University ofMichigan and a law degree from Harvard Law School. His principal research areas areChinese environmental affairs and Chinese law.

Notes

An earlier version of this article was presented at the International Conference on "China'sEnvironment: Meeting Local and Global Challenges," Portland State University Intemational StudiesPtDgram and Northwest Regional Oiina Council, Portland. Oregon, May 7-8,1992. The views sel forthherein are the personal views of the author and do nol necessarily reflect those ofthe law fimi with whichhe is associated. The author is a member of the Advisory Group to the Intemational CCICED. but theviews set forth herin do not in any way reflect those of the CCICED, or the Advisory Group.

'NEPA is the lead agency in most areas of environmenul policy. There are exceptions,however. In particular, the State Oceanogr^c Administration i s the lead agency for marine environmentalprotection, the National NuclearSafety Agency has principal responsit^ty forihe reguiaUon of radiation,the Ministry of Forestiy manages most nature preserves and is principally responsible for forestmanagement, and the Ministry of Water Resources is the lead agency for water resources management.

^Premier Li Peng, while still a Vice-Premier, became the first Chaiiman of the SEPC.Following Li's elevation lo Premier, Sute Councillor Song Jian. Chaimian of the SSTC, concurrentlybecame Chairman of the SEPC.

'For the relevant texts from the Sixth (1981 -85) and Seventh (1986-90) Five-Year Plans seeRoss and Silk, 1987, pp. 291-95.

'These and other sUtutes are translated in Ross and Silk, 1987, andJorChina Laws for ForeignBusiness.

*For translations of some of the more important regulations, see the sources dted in Note 4.•Effluent charges are discussed in Ross, Cheng, Silk, and Wang, 1990. For funher treatment,

seeWorid Bank (in press).Tlesidential and industrial areas are in particularly close proximity because each unit (danwei)

generally has been responsible for providing housing and other services for its members. This feature ofsocial organization, coupled with an absence of zoning laws that allowed factories to locate upsti^m and/ori^wind of population centers, resulted in large numbers of people living very close to major pollution

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•See also Article 26 of the EPL; Environmental Impact Sutemem Management Methods,

1989.*The PRC actively sobcits foreign aid for environmenul protection. In 1992, the China

Council for Intemational Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) was esublished forthis purpose {Seeking aid for environment issue, 1992).

"Safety is now regulated more fomially by the Regulations Goveming the Safety of Dams andReservoirs. March 22, 1991 {Gazelle ofthe State CouncU cfthe PRC , 1991, p. 563).

"See then Vice PremierUPeng'ssutementaitheSecondNalionalEnvirwimentalProteclion•WoiiiCoatcKnceml9iA,ProtectingtheEnvironmen:lsAMajorTaskFacingChina.lrms\aledmRossand Silk (1987), pp. 35-43.

"For examfJe, none (rf the many mcfiey-losing state enterprises have gone bankrupt despiteenactmentoftheBankrt]picyUw(1988)(Economistswantloseemorebankrupicies 1991). However,there are signs that the Bankruptcy Uw is now being employed more widely (China bankniptdes up,1992).

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World Bank, (in press). China: Environmental strategy ptêr. Washington. DC: Author.WuDunn. S. (1992. May 25). Difficult algebra for China: Coal=growth=poUution. New YorkTimes.p. I.

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The Politics of Environmental Policy in the People's Republic of China