China View: Beijing’s Pollution Problem And The Downsides Of Rapid Development

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Rapid industrialization and urbanization were key factors in China’s accelerated economic growth and development. Following the implementation of China’s Reform and Opening-up policy in 1978, industries developed at an unprecedented rate. As a result, the country’s GDP increased dramatically between 1978 and 2013. However, in the process of promoting rapid economic development, environmental problems were widely ignored and neglected.

Rapid industrialization resulted in the deterioration of environmental health and heightened levels of pollution. This continues to have a devastating impact on society and poses future risks on economic and social development. Air quality has worsened over the past few decades as industrialization and the use of fossil fuels has increased.

Water sources are also experiencing widespread deterioration due to wastewater and toxic waste discharges from factories. As a result of urban expansion and extensive industrial development, the percentage of arable land has continued to decline. Due to these rising concerns, the government has aimed to strengthen environmental protection efforts and curb the production of harmful pollutants.  

Following the implementation of China’s Reform and Opening-up policy in 1978, the country experienced massive levels of industrialization and economic growth. This policy included the establishment of trust and investment companies, promotion of foreign direct investment, and increased privatization

During this period, China shifted from a predominantly agrarian economy, in which agriculture contributed nearly half of China’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 1965, to an industrializing economy in which industry contributed to more than 52% of GDP.

As industrialization continued to progress, natural resource usage intensified, which resulted in increased levels of pollution and resource depletion. China also became heavily reliant on the burning of fossil fuels to feed its burgeoning industrial sector. Can China address pollution while depending on fossil fuels?

Coal accounted for 69.6% of the country’s energy consumption and nearly 70% of its energy production in 2005. In addition to industrialization, urbanization has also played a pivotal role in increasing economic development. However, with the rise of cities came rising demand for cars which has had negatively impacted urban air quality. In some cities, emissions from automobiles account for more than 60% of air pollutants. The higher demand and use of cars in Chinese cities have also contributed to rising sulfur dioxide (SO2) and soot emissions.

Industrialization and urbanization have increased China’s environmental pollution and has resulted in the rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), SO2 emissions, and other harmful pollutants. Heavy reliance on low-quality coal and inefficient boilers were responsible for 32.7% of the nation’s total air pollution in 1987.

Water quality has also declined significantly in China over the last several decades. The expanded development of energy and metal production has led to increased water contamination. Wastewater from the livestock and poultry industry has also become an increasingly prominent source of water pollution. Deterioration in water quality has also exacerbated water shortages and access to clean water.

In recent years, arable land resources have continued to decline. The over-utilization of arable land resources during China’s period of rapid industrialization has negatively impacted soil quality. More than one-third of China’s remaining arable land has experienced degradation, acidification, and salinization. Arable land in Nanjing decreased by 57.24% from 1985 to 2010 exemplifying this issue of land erosion. Large areas of arable land near factories, power plants, and mining areas were also found to be contaminated by industrial pollutants.

In response to growing pollution and environmental health concerns, the Chinese government has implemented policies that aim to curb pollution and enhance environmental quality. To mitigate air pollution, the government has implemented a series of measures that focus on curbing emissions from industry, vehicle, and power generation.

This includes the anti-pollution campaign launched in 2013 that focused on controlling particulate matter (PM2.5), which is emitted from the burning of gasoline, diesel fuel, and wood. This plan included increased monitoring, enforcement, stricter emissions standards, and incentives for cleaner technologies. As a result of this campaign, the average PM2.5 concentration dropped by 50%.

The government also introduced a Three-Year Action Plan in 2018, which aimed to significantly reduce air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. Air quality continued to improve and PM2.5 levels continued to fall from 2020 to 2022. However, since 2018, the annual reduction in PM2.5 levels has slowed and in 2023 these levels started to rise again. This is part due to the country’s continued dependence on coal. By 2023, China’s coal production reached a record 4.66 billion metric tons, up 2.9% from 2022.

“In the last quarter of 2023, China’s thermal coal power generation climbed 7.3 percent year-over-year to 1,584 TWh, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the nation’s electricity generation.”

-Yanzhong Huang, Director of Global Health studies at Seton Hall University

Due to water availability concerns, local governments have focused on improving the quality of surface water through projects such as the rehabilitation of Suzhou creek in Shanghai and the Qinhuai river environmental improvement project in Nanjing. Expanded wastewater treatment combined with stringent control on the flow of wastewater has helped reduce levels of pollution in rivers and lakes.

However, water pollution levels in China’s major cities remain high. In Beijing, 39.9% of water is heavily polluted and unusable. In Tianjin, only 4.9% of water is usable as a drinking water source. One reason for this is that local governments have struggled to enforce restrictions on polluting industries.

To address declining land arability, officials have turned to local companies and researchers in an effort to convert contaminated soil into fertile farmland. This includes efforts by Beijing professor Hu Shuwen, who has been successful in transforming over 133,000 hectares of saline-alkali land into usable cropland through soil desalination.

In September 2024, the government published further guidelines on arable land protection, aiming to implement a stricter protection system. To boost land quality, the document also plans to endorse modern farming practices to improve cultivation, resilience to drought and flooding, and promote high and stable crop yields.

China’s rapid industrialization spurred economic development and helped it become a major global power. However, it also created serious long-standing environmental problems. Air pollution, water contamination, farmland erosion has important economic, social, and environmental implications. China’s existing energy consumption structure and its continued reliance on fossil fuels must be changed to alleviate the country’s pollution problem.

 The government should formulate relevant policies to guide industries to gradually shift away from fossil fuels, which can be accomplished through economic incentives or strict legal punishments. The government should also continue to promote the use of clean energy. It has already made progress in developing alternative power sources such as solar and hydroelectric power so continued investment in clean power generation will help with this shift. Investments have also been made in the automotive industry in the development of electric vehicles and creation of lithium-ion battery factories.