Greening Development in the People’s Republic of China: A Dynamic Partnership with the Asian Development Bank

By Asian Development Bank

This report traces the journey and partnership of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) over the past decade in four areas: environmental protection and ecological conservation, rural economy, green livable cities, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. It highlights how the green development partnership between the PRC and ADB has evolved over the years. Best practices, innovations, and lessons learned offer insights for ADB, its developing member countries, and other development partners. The report also presents forward-looking directions for further collaboration by the PRC and ADB in pursuit of a more sustainable future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Asian Development Bank
• Release date: Oct 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9789292690359

Book preview

GREENING DEVELOPMENT IN THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

A DYNAMIC PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

OCTOBER 2021

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO)

© 2021 Asian Development Bank

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Some rights reserved. Published in 2021.

ISBN 978-92-9269-034-2 (print); 978-92-9269-035-9 (electronic); 978-92-9269-036-6 (ebook)

Publication Stock No. TCS210335-2

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/TCS210335-2

The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent.

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Notes:

In this publication, $ refers to United States dollars. ADB recognizes China as the People’s Republic of China.

On the cover: The PRC invests in bus rapid transport systems, wind power, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable water resources management to promote green development (photos by ADB, Arthur Hanson, and the Zhaotong Yudong Reservoir Management Bureau).

Cover design by Edith Creus.

CONTENTS

TABLES, FIGURES, AND BOXES

FOREWORD

Throughout 3 decades of our collaborative journey, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have sought to balance economic progress with environmental sustainability. The country’s efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 and the renewed focus on green development in the 14th Five-Year Plan bring even greater focus on the need for collective action for nature-positive recovery.

This report shares the narrative of the PRC’s efforts to promote green development and ecological restoration as well as accomplishments resulting from its partnership with ADB.

A nature-positive recovery can provide opportunities for economic growth, societal well-being, biodiversity protection, and climate stabilization. This publication traces how, over the years, the PRC has adopted valuable experimentation and piloting to create new tools for advancing green growth, eco-efficiency, protection of nature, pollution control, and use of information technology and digitalization. These tools are now being employed for achieving synergies across sectors and for building new economic opportunities for businesses contributing to the green economy. The PRC’s policies to promote ecological restoration, rural vitalization, and green finance can address both environmental protection concerns and regional disparities.

The PRC’s cutting-edge initiatives on environment and development can provide important lessons and replicable practices not just for ADB and its developing member countries, but also for the global community. In line with the ADB–PRC partnership on rural vitalization, ADB is introducing climate-smart farming practices in the Yangtze River Basin to increase production, avoid environmental degradation, and enhance the skills of farmers to adopt sustainable agricultural technologies. ADB is also transforming cities to become greener and more livable through integrated, low-carbon