초록 열기/닫기 버튼
This paper aims to shed light on the international politics behind the global waste trade and describe it from the Chinese perspective. In 2017, China, responsible for importing and disposing of 56 per cent of the world’s solid waste, announced a halt to waste imports, creating a global stir. Developed countries, like the U.S. and the UK, which had been major exporters of domestic waste to China, faced challenges in managing their waste. Consequently, waste exports shifted to developing countries such as Thailand and Malaysia. This resurgence of global waste governance, a key issue in the North-South conflict of the 1990s, revived debates on the unjust and unreasonable trade structure between developed and developing countries, often termed waste colonialism. China’s potential gains from this situation are threefold. First, it underscores China’s role in global environmental governance as a ‘responsible great power.’ Second, China’s comparatively more active engagement in climate change and global environmental governance than the U.S. gives it an advantage in the strategic competition in the bilateral relations. Third, the status of a ‘responsible great power’ and its advantage in the U.S.-China competition lay the groundwork for strengthening South-South cooperation in areas such as environmental governance and green industries.
