Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Event Date
8-16-1987
Series
Sino-American Conference on Environmental Law (1st: 1987: Beijing, People's Republic of China)
Description
13 pages.
Citation Information
Jin, Rui Lin and Liu, Wen, "Environmental Policy and Legislation in China" (1987). Proceedings of the Sino-American Conference on Environmental Law (August 16).
https://scholar.law.colorado.edu/proceedings-of-sino-american-conference-on-environmental-law/11
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Comments
On August 16 through 18, 1987 a delegation of 10 Americans met with a 14-member Chinese delegation to compare the systems of environmental law in the two countries. The meetings were held on and near the campus of the University of Peking in Beijing, People's Republic of China.
The keynote speaker was Qu Geping, Director of the Chinese National Environmental Protection Bureau (comparable to the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). He spoke of the very high priority which has been given to environmental protection by the Chinese government.
Papers were prepared by members of both delegations. In line with the comparative orientation of the program the presentations were organized around several general topics: the general legal structure and regulatory approach; pollution control; wildlife and natural area protection; and enforcement. The development of environmental law in China did not begin in an organized way until 1979. Since then, rapid progress has been made. Environmental protection law in China parallels American law in a number of important respects, including the general regulatory approach and the requirement for environmental impact assessments. One interesting difference is the use of pollution fees by the Chinese. Another important difference is the paramount role of central planning in China and the manner in which matters like pollution control are directly incorporated into programs for economic development. Still another striking difference is the relative infancy of the Chinese legal system itself and the general lack of experience in using legal processes to implement and enforce environmental requirements.