The role of law and the rule of law in China’s quest to build an ecological civilization

Abstract

Decades of rapid industrialization have caused a dramatic decline in environmental quality in the People’s Republic of China, which has prompted Chinese officials to call for redirecting China’s modernization efforts toward the construction of an ‘ecological civilization’ (shengtai wenming 生态文明). The many environmental laws that China has enacted since 1979, which borrow heavily from Western precedents, are a vital part of this effort. Unfortunately, these laws have been plagued by both compliance and enforcement problems. Cultural factors are largely to blame. The many Western-style features of China’s environmental laws depend for their effectiveness on the cultural dimensions of a strong rule of law, which are in tension with essential elements of China’s ancient legal tradition. China’s environmental laws would be more effective allies in its quest to build an ecological civilization if they were aligned more closely with that tradition in at least four ways.