This paper is produced as part of the Sustainable China Trade Project. The project is a joint effort of IISD and the Development Research Centre of the State Council of China, with research jointly conducted by Chinese and international experts. It seeks to help define the characteristics of a sustainable trade strategy for China—a strategy that helps contribute to environmental, social and economic improvements, primarily in China but also globally. Such an outcome is in line with the scientific concept of development first put forward at the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2003, and with many of the goals of the 11th Five-Year Plan. The Sustainable China Trade Project is generously supported by the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation.
An earlier version of this paper was published by AccountAbility in April 2009 under the same title.