China’s position on international environmental issues

China has always seen itself as a developing country. The transfer of funding and technology from developed to developing countries has been China’s key concern in international environmental issues for the past 30 years. China hopes to gain more funding, technology and other capacity building resources from developed countries so as to improve its work on environmental protection. Economic development has been China’s priority for decades. Since it first adopted its market reform and open door policies, China has clearly stated its belief that a good economy provides the foundation for better environmental protection. Although China would like to avoid the western model of “pollution first, restoration later”, it has failed to create a new path to developing the economy while protecting the environment. As the world’s second largest economy, it is time now for China to make a more significant contribution to combating global environmental issues, such as climate change and biodiversity loss.