As part of the 14th Five-Year Plan covering the period of 2021-2025, a new development plan for China’s circular economy (CE) was released on July 7, 2021. It involves several initiatives, including motivating green product design, recycling, remanufacturing, and renewable resources. In addition, a series of numerical targets to be achieved by 2025 have been defined. Such ambitious goals require support from previous experience as well as new visions and strategies.
According to the research presented in our previous white paper “China’s Circular Economy Policies: Review and Reflection”, there has been a significant improvement in environmental aspects in China, including industrial reuse of water and solid waste. Meanwhile, several issues are also identified in the implementation of the past Five-Year plans, such as coordination challenges, uneven and unsustainable development, and a lack of fundamental research. These findings are used to propose which aspects of China's CE transition should be retained or optimized in the future. This white paper addresses the way forward in China's CE transition, what challenges will appear, and what kind of efforts will be required.
Read the white paper to learn more.