China's Response to the Challenge of Environment and Health

China's Response to the Challenge of Environment and Health
Introduction to the report: Assessing Chinese Government Response to the Challenge of Environment and Health by Charles W. Freeman III and Xiaoqing Lu

Presenters

Charles W. Freeman III, Chairholder, CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies
Xiaoqing Lu, Research Associate, CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies

Discussant
Trevor Houser, Partner, Rhodium Group, and Visiting Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics

In recent years, as in many countries, the risks to human health posed by environmental degradation are escalating in many parts of China. Public demonstrations against industrial polluters have become increasingly common in many Chinese cities. Yet, despite a deteriorating environmental health record and growing public concern, the nexus between environment and health has received scant attention by Chinese policymakers. Inadequate political capital and economic resources to devote to the problem have resulted in a lack of comprehensive, official data on the real health impact of pollution in China.

The new publication of the CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies, Assessing Chinese Government Response to the Challenge of Environment and Health, co-authored by Charles W. Freeman III and Xiaoqing Lu, examines the health impact of pollution in China and the government response to the issue. It highlights the key barriers to effective environmental health governance in China, including inadequacies in bureaucratic coordination, public participation, and international partnerships. Based on recent developments, most notably China's National Environmental Health Action Plan (2007-2015), the report suggests that increasing domestic and international attention has driven Beijing's governance efforts in the right direction. In conclusion, the authors present a set of recommendations to improve China's response to the emerging challenge of environmental health, an issue that has major social and political consequences for the leadership in Beijing.