Implementation of the circular economic model in the Chinese practice

Abstract

The circular economic model  is a newly (re)discovered paradigm by the humanity which seems to be inevitable in order to create a sustainable resource managment for our future, in all sectors of the economy, especially in industrial production. Disciplines such as industrial ecology have already shed the light on the importance of copying or adapting nature-based ecosystems in industrial zones, parks, see e.g., the worldwide spreading eco-industrial parks. In many parts of the world, the circular economic is not only emerging as a theoretical concept, but is also being integrated into policy-making processes and practice. The circular economy can also be an alternative to traditional – linear – economic systems on a global scale. The European Union is making a strong move in this direction, as are many other countries, including the United States and China. China is one of the most committed promoters of this concept, where we can talk about the political mainstreaming of the circular economic model since the 1990s. The country is having an exponentially increasing number of pilot projects for circular economic. By implementing the circular economic  model, China is reflecting on the complex problems of the very rapid industrialization and economic growth. An extremely centralised political regime like China is using top-down methods which may not be possible to implement neither in the EU nor in the US, but it is rather the system-level thinking of circularity which must be studied, not the concrete plans and steps. This article aims to analyse why circular economy is a beneficial approach to industrial sites, why we may state that the Chinese practice is very unique and specific in a global comparison, and what might be the potential lessons or patterns other countries or regions could study and interprete. The methodology applied by the author is based on the review of recent international literature available on the best practices of circular economic, as well as concrete case studies and statistical data from China. Based on the already existing and published models, it is undebated that the Chinese practice is progressive in quantitative terms, however, there are several weak points of the pilot and demonstration projects, mainly regarding the lowel level of involvement of stakeholders (park managment and business actors) and the density of cooperation networks