15 April 2008: China’s rapid ascendancy to its current high profile position on the international stage is in many ways a result of years of unprecedented economic growth. There is little doubt that this phenomenon had much to do with the International Olympic Committee’s decision to award Beijing the honor to host the 2008 summer games. This economic explosion had made China a topic of much interest to those in the international affairs community well before it won its Olympic nomination in 2001.

However, as anticipation for the approaching summer builds, newfound attention continues to expose Chinese affairs to an ever more interested international public concerned with the integrity of the Olympic Games. As of late, everything related to ‘China’ has been extremely news-worthy; from its continued economic success, to its human rights abuse accusations, the Tibet controversy, its industrial malpractices and its enormous environmental concerns. This scrutiny, however, is coming at a critical time in China’s developmental journey. Not only is it a nation in the throes of an industrial revolution, but the attention brought from the glare of the Olympics will force China to shape up and be held accountable or face humiliating consequences in front of a worldwide audience.

Take China’s environment for instance. The economic surge has been extremely effective in exploiting all of China’s resources; its air, its water, its soil, have all been sacrificed to feed China’s economic juggernaut, jeopardizing the health of the population and causing irrevocable environmental damage. Because of its rapid industrialization, lack of regulations and lack of regulation enforcement, China has become home to many of the most polluted areas on earth.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that China leads the world in premature deaths linked to indoor and outdoor air pollutants. The air in China’s industrial cities is noticeably clogged with pollution emitted form the growing number of automobiles and burgeoning factories. The problem is augmented by the rapid expansion of the country’s urban areas resulting from one of the greatest rural flights seen in history.

Runoff from mineral and metal mines throughout the country, along with unfettered industrial dumping has poisoned many vital waterways including the Yangtze, China’s largest and most polluted river system. This, in turn, has tainted the soil with dangerous toxins and made it unsuitable for any kind of cultivation, drastically affecting the food supply and overall health of millions living on the outskirts of cities and in rural areas downstream from industrial centers.

The price of China’s economic success has been at the expense of its environmental integrity. Its ferocious consumption of resources keeps economies afloat yet the effects of its outputs have become a topic of mounting international concern. This is the story we have all come to know. Since Beijing was named to host the Olympics the international media has gorged itself on stories of China’s environmental negligence. The Chinese, however, are as aware of the state of their environment as they are of their economy, and now with the whole world watching they have no choice but to make changes that reflect the global expectations of a world powerhouse.

In recent years China has made great strides to cleanse their sullied reputation. Chinese officials have made it clear that the state of their environment is of utmost importance and that immediate attention and action is necessary. In 1992, after the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development China was one of the first countries to implement a sustainable development strategy and there has been much done on the part of the government to develop, implement, and enforce environmental laws. Since 1993 the state has put into effect eight initiatives for environmental protection, 14 laws for the management of natural resources, and 35 regulations on environmental protection.

China is expected to invest $156.6 billion on environmental protection between 2006 an 2010. This investment covers areas of environmental protection including urban sewage treatment, water treatment in major river basins, eco-system conservation, nuclear radiation safety, and environmental management. Most of the investment to this point has been focused on the major urban and industrial areas of China leaving many to question the administration’s commitment to cleaning regions of less economic importance.

Beijing has understandably been given special priority. There are 14 new major wastewater treatment plants in the city, increasing its treatment capacity to 90% of wastewater produced. Its newly constructed Olympic stadium is the most eco-friendly sports arena in the world and the same technology used in its construction has been utilized throughout the city’s other Olympic facilities.

The severity of China’s environmental problems and the difficulties of initiating change in the margins of society have prompted the emerging middle class to take action in terms of promoting a more sustainable lifestyle. Nearly 2000 environmental NGOs have been established throughout the country to help disseminate information about “greener living” and promote environmental activism.  

China is not blind or idle when it comes to the challenges that face its environment. Their people are growing ever bolder, ever more determined to prove to the world that China is on the cutting edge of environmental protection policy and ready to carry the torch into the new millennium as a responsible, cognizant leader of the world. The hurdles they face as a developing industrial nation are daunting and will not be remedied as quickly as those in the developed world might want. But credit must be given where credit is due.

The Olympics have focused our attention on China’s shortcomings, yet the criticism that they receive will be used as motivation to improve, not only environmentally but socially as well. The Olympics have given China great incentive to make appropriate changes, and come summer their reputation will be determined by their willingness to adapt or their failure to take advantage of this increased publicity to improve the country.