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China’s Ecological Civilization: From Contradiction to Synthesis

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Visions and Strategies for a Sustainable Economy

Part of the book series: Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity ((GISP))

Abstract

The primary purpose and contribution of this paper is to examine China’s environmental reality and the evolution of China’s environmental policy after the country’s 1978 economic reform. I argue that in attempting to build an ecological civilization, China’s environmental policy has evolved from contradiction to synthesis. Echoing my other essay on China’s alternative political economy (which is defined by the dominant, evolving, and developmental role of the Chinese state in economic and social processes), I argue that the Chinese state has been and will be shaping China’s environmental landscape more responsively and effectively now and into the future.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Each Chinese citizen is classified as either rural or urban by birth in the Household Registration Book, a legacy from the Socialist China. For details, see Chapter 2.

  2. 2.

    As classified by China’s Household Registration System.

  3. 3.

    It is assumed that rural Chinese can always rely on peasantry in rural China for a livelihood, and thus can never be actually out of work.

  4. 4.

    Computing LFS unemployment rate for the entire working age population, regardless of rural or urban status.

  5. 5.

    The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is a premier academic research organization affiliated with the State Council of People’s Republic of China.

  6. 6.

    According to the Environmental Sustainability Index composed by the Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center at Columbia University.

  7. 7.

    “Three Rivers” refers to the Huai, Hai and Liao Rivers; “Three Lakes” refers to the Tai, Dianchi, and Chao lakes.

  8. 8.

    Adam Segal and David Kang described “techno-nationalism” as “the desire of Asian states to free themselves from dependence on western technologies.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA

    Vincent Huang

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  1. Vincent Huang
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Correspondence to Vincent Huang .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Winston-Salem State University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    Nikolaos Karagiannis

  2. Greensborough, VIC, Australia

    John E. King

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Huang, V. (2022). China’s Ecological Civilization: From Contradiction to Synthesis. In: Karagiannis, N., King, J.E. (eds) Visions and Strategies for a Sustainable Economy. Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06493-7_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06493-7_13

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-06492-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-06493-7

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