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A Chinese route to sustainability: Postsocialist transitions and the construction of ecological civilization

Author

Listed:
  • Chen Liu
  • Lily Chen
  • Robert M. Vanderbeck
  • Gill Valentine
  • Mei Zhang
  • Kristina Diprose
  • Katie McQuaid

Abstract

This article explores the concept of sustainability in a postsocialist context through an analysis of official discourses relating to sustainability in more than 700 articles published in the Chinese‐language newspaper People's Daily in 2015. The Chinese conception of sustainability, which emerges as a top‐down model built upon traditional ideologies and Chinese socialist legacies, inclusive of economic growth, environmental sustainability, social justice and quality of life. This Chinese official discourse of sustainability places less emphasis on individuals' rights and more on the state's interests, and is encompassed in the Chinese concept of the “ecological civilization.” This article argues that if we are to build a full picture of the internationalized idea of sustainability we need to adopt a more international approach to thinking about the issue, drawing upon the sustainability‐related discourses constructed from different national contexts using local languages and rhetoric.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen Liu & Lily Chen & Robert M. Vanderbeck & Gill Valentine & Mei Zhang & Kristina Diprose & Katie McQuaid, 2018. "A Chinese route to sustainability: Postsocialist transitions and the construction of ecological civilization," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(6), pages 741-748, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:26:y:2018:i:6:p:741-748
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.1743
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    Cited by:

    1. Xiaojun Zhang & Weiqiao Wang & Yunan Bai & Yong Ye, 2022. "How Has China Structured Its Ecological Governance Policy System?—A Case from Fujian Province," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-22, July.
    2. Yingfei He & Guoliang Zhang & Lijuan Chen, 2020. "Analysis of News Coverage of Haze in China in the Context of Sustainable Development: The Case of China Daily," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, January.
    3. Hengrui Zhang & Jianing Zhang & Zhuozhuo Lv & Linjie Yao & Ning Zhang & Qing Zhang, 2023. "Spatio-Temporal Assessment of Landscape Ecological Risk and Associated Drivers: A Case Study of the Yellow River Basin in Inner Mongolia," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-15, May.
    4. Mingkai Liu & Changxin Liu & Xiaodong Pei & Shouting Zhang & Xun Ge & Hongyan Zhang & Yang Li, 2021. "Sustainable Risk Assessment of Resource Industry at Provincial Level in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-15, April.
    5. Wei Li & Zhenbang Ma & Ruisi Luo & Yiying Hong & Sijian Wang & Xing Ma & Qiong Bao, 2025. "Balancing Poverty Alleviation and Ecosystem Vulnerability Reduction: Implication from China’s Targeted Interventions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-29, March.
    6. Feng Dong & Yuling Pan & Xiaojie Zhang & Ziyuan Sun, 2020. "How to Evaluate Provincial Ecological Civilization Construction? The Case of Jiangsu Province, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-20, July.
    7. Petr Jehlička & Huidi Ma & Tomáš Kostelecký & Joe Smith, 2024. "Chinese food self-provisioning: key sustainability policy lessons hidden in plain sight," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 41(2), pages 647-659, June.
    8. Haiyan Meng & Yi Hu & Zuoji Dong, 2024. "The Spatiotemporal Decoupling Relationship between Economic Development, Energy Consumption, and Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Xinjiang Province from 2006 to 2020," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-17, July.
    9. Yilong Li & Yu-Ting Tang & May Tan-Mullins & Christopher D. Ives, 2023. "Exploring the Potential Opportunities of China’s Environmental Agenda, Ecological Civilization, on Global Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-25, March.
    10. Jiangmin Yang & Desheng Xue & Gengzhi Huang, 2020. "The Changing Factors Affecting Local Environmental Governance in China: Evidence from a Study of Prefecture-Level Cities in Guangdong Province," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-17, May.
    11. Jianxue Chai & Lihui Zhang & Meng Yang & Qingyun Nie & Lei Nie, 2020. "Investigation on the Coupling Coordination Relationship between Electric Power Green Development and Ecological Civilization Construction in China: A Case Study of Beijing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-29, October.
    12. Zhi Chen & Jinfeng Yang & Peigong Li & Stavros Sindakis, 2024. "Navigating the Knowledge Economy: Unraveling the Impact of Executive Policy Cognition on ESG Performance in China’s A-Share Listed Companies," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(4), pages 15788-15832, December.
    13. Wei Zheng & Hongliang Qiu & Alastair M. Morrison, 2024. "The effects of knowledge of tourist civility and Taoist values on tourist civility intentions based on an extended theory of planned behavior," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(6), pages 6017-6032, December.
    14. Peter Ferguson & Linda Wollersheim, 2023. "From sustainable development to resilience? (Dis)continuities in climate and development policy governance discourse," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 67-77, February.

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