Over the past few decades, the People’s Republic of China (China) has arguably experienced the largest economic expansion of any country in history, and this has been largely as a result of its efforts to launch and develop Special Economic Zones. Rapid industrialization, however, has had devastating effects on the environment and on public health, particularly in most industrialized cities in China.

The Chinese government implemented a series of programs to stimulate green transition of industries and the entire economic value chain. Increasing participation in the programs created added incentives, as the growing number of SEZs generated greater competition among the SEZs to attract investment. Also, there have been some challenges in China’s SEZ programs. Overlapping mandates between the three green SEZ programs and the lack of clear coordination mechanisms among participating ministries represent a few of these challenges.