Happy Lunar New Year from the USC US-China Institute!
Local Environmental Politics in China: Explaining Policies Implementation Gap and assessing its implications
USCI's postdoctoral fellow, Ran Ran, will examine China's environmental policies.
Environmental deterioration, particularly since the booming economic development in recent 30 years, has generated tremendous social economic, public health, and security problems in China which have had complex political implications not only in domestic but also in the international realm. A paradoxical problem is: on the one side, Chinese authorities show great awareness of environmental problems and provide a high-quality framework for pursuing sustainable development by constructing a comprehensive and modern set of environmental policies. However, on the other side, many of the environmental policies have produced outcomes with little concrete effect. This research defines the difference between the central government’s official environmental policies and these policies’ practical outcomes at the local levels as the “environmental policy implementation gap”. Based on fieldwork in three cities in China and documentary analysis, this research seeks to explore the dynamics of the environmental policy implementation gap at local levels in China, and its implication for Party-State legitimacy and “authoritarian resilience”.
Featured Articles
We note the passing of many prominent individuals who played some role in U.S.-China affairs, whether in politics, economics or in helping people in one place understand the other.
Events
Ying Zhu looks at new developments for Chinese and global streaming services.
David Zweig examines China's talent recruitment efforts, particularly towards those scientists and engineers who left China for further study. U.S. universities, labs and companies have long brought in talent from China. Are such people still welcome?