Business opportunities for foreign firms related to China's environment

China Quarterly

Volumn , Issue 156, 1998, Pages 1016-1041

  Tremayne, Bruce ^a   De Waal, Penny ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY; INDUSTRIAL INVESTMENT; SERVICE SECTOR;

CHINA;

EID: 0032460614     PISSN: 00094439     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/s0305741000051432     Document Type: Article

References (26)

1. Ecotec Research and Consulting Ltd, Global Environmental Markets, An Update (London: JEMU DTI Export Publications, May 1997).
2. The recent World Bank report (The World Bank, China 2020: Clear Water, Blue Skies (Washington, DC: World Bank, 1997)) does, however, draw a positive correlation between the current fines and fees systems and reduced pollution intensity in five cities.
3. However in the case of the Huai River it is important to note that the action was prompted in the wake of a disaster situation and that there is international finance available to support we costs of upgrade under the Huai River Project.
4. Reportedly 80% of the 1,036 factories in Henan province which were required to meet discharge standards by the end of 1997 have not reached the treatment targets, and 60% of the 1,036 have not started treatment projects at all (China Environment News, 17 June 1997).
5. Case examples are discussed at length in Shelley Clarke and Felicity Thomas, Pollution Control in the PRC: An Investors' Guide (London: Environmental Resources Management, 1997).
6. Ibid.
7. According to the Protocol of Levy Ecological Compensation in Yulin and Tongchuan, Shaanxi province, which became effective from 1 January 1997, 11 industries which engage in mining, mineral resources supply and processing must pay ecological environmental compensation amounting to a certain percentage of the local price of the products. A total of 90% of the levied fees will be used for environmental protection (China Environment News, 20 February 1997).
8. The World Bank, China 2020: Clear Water, Blue Skies.
9. For instance, large increases predicted in industry spending may be based on an assumption that a new standard will be fully enforced, while this is unlikely to occur in practice. Similarly, anticipated macro-investment plans, such as provincial or municipal five-year plans, may also be based on requirements to meet targets which may contain a shortfall in terms of actually available finance.
10. U.S. Embassy, Beijing, Commercial Section, Impact of Foreign Bilateral Development Assistance on the Competitiveness of U.S. Firms in the Chinese Environmental Market (Beijing: U.S. Embassy, 1996).
11. Ecotec Resources and Consulting Limited, Global Environmental Markets, An Update.
12. For example, from 1 October 1997, China enforced its safety quality licensing system for imported boilers and pressure vessels as mandatory. All importers must register for a licence at a fee of US$15,000 plus expenses (70 companies have registered since 1995).
13. National Environmental Protection Industry Survey Project Office, Quanguo huanjing baohu chanye jiben qingkuang diaocha (National Survey of the Status of the Environmental Protection Industry) (Beijing: The Project Office, 1995).
14. Large-scale enterprises are defined as having fixed assets of greater than 50 billion yuan (US$6 million).
15. A catch-all term which includes recycling and reuse of waste materials among other things.
16. Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation, Revised Guidance Catalogue for Foreign Investment in Production (Beijing: MOFTEC, 1998).
17. United Nations Development Programme.
18. Examples in the water sector include DHV (Holland), Kruge (Denmark), Chiyota and Tsurumi (Japan), and ITT Flygt (Switzerland).
19. As a rule of thumb 18% IRR is preferred as a minimum by foreign investors whereas the Chinese imposed maximum rate at project approval stage in China is currently 15% IRR.
20. U.S. Department of Commerce, China Industry Sector Analysis: Potable Water Technologies (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1993).
21. Christine Huang, Wastewater Treatment in Guangzhou, Guangdong (Beijing: U.S. Embassy Commercial Section, 1996).
22. List as identified in U.S. Trade Promotion Co-ordination Committee, China Environmental Technologies Export Market Plan (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1996).
23. Huai River Basin Pollution Prevention Plan, Editorial Group, Huaihe liuyu shui wuran fangzhi jihua (Huai River Basin Pollution Prevention Plan) (Beijing: The Editorial Group, 1997).
24. National Climate Change Co-ordinating Group, 3rd Working Group, Zhongguo wei nuan wen shi qi ti pai fang suo xu de ji shu zhuan rang qing dan (List of Technologies to be Popularized to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions in China) (Beijing: The Working Group 1996).
25. It should be noted here that mass marketing techniques are not as yet considered to be particularly effective in China with sales still dominated by personal relationships and networks.
26. Such centres must be set up in the name of the Chinese company and require approval from MOFTEC.