MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY MASTER THESIS CHINESE IMPORT POLICY TOWARDS CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND LESSON TO VIETNAM Specialization: International Trade Policy and Law PHAM THI THUY DUNG Hanoi – 2020 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY MASTER THESIS CHINESE IMPORT POLICY TOWARDS CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND LESSON TO VIETNAM Major: Economics Specialization: International Trade Policy and Law Code: 8310106 Full name: Pham Thi Thuy Dung Student ID’s number: 1806060002 Supervisor: Dr. Ly Hoang Phu Hanoi – 2020 i DECLARATION I hereby declare that this master thesis is the scientific research of my own which made on the basis of the theoretical studies, field report and under the direction and supervision of Dr. Ly Hoang Phu. The research contents and results of this thesis is completely honest.
These data and documents for the analysis, review and evaluation were collected from various sources which are fully listed in the reference list. I am fully responsible for the content of this master thesis as well as this declaration. Hanoi, 14 March 2020 Author Pham Thi Thuy Dung ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT During the completion of this master thesis, I received the guidance and valuable help from the lecturers, siblings and friends. With great respect and deep gratitude, I would like to express sincere thanks to: Dr.
Ly Hoang Phu, who wholeheartedly helped, supported and encouraged me from the initial to the final level of this dissertation. He provided me with comprehensive guide from choosing the topic, outlining the thesis and editing this research. Professors and lecturers, who not only spread profound knowledge and information in the fields of economy and law but generated strong motivation for me while I was taking this course as well. Last but not least, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my family, my colleagues and my friends, who have always by my side encouraging, supporting, contributing valuable ideas and giving me favorable conditions for me to complete this scientific research.
iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION. i LIST OF FIGURES. vii LIST OF MAPS. Objects and Scope of research .6 CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY .3 Implementation of CE at different scales .1 CE at micro level .2 CE at intermediate level .3 CE at macro level .4 Opportunities and challenges to move towards a more CE .5 Linkages between international trade and circular economy .1 Potential impacts of the circular economy transition on trade flows.
The importance of import policies toward circular economy .3 Trade in waste and scrap .4 Trade in secondary raw materials .5 Trade in second-hand goods .6 Trade in goods for refurbishment and remanufacturing .7 International co-operation on circular economy value chain .34 CHAPTER 2: CHINESE IMPORT POLICY TOWARDS CIRCULAR ECONOMY .1 Overview of Circular Economy in China .1 CE at micro level .2 CE at intermediate level .3 CE at macro level .2 Introduction to Chinese importation. Import policy towards CE .1 Chinese operation green fence policy.2 Chinese waste import ban policy .3 “Zero Waste” Cities Construction Pilot .1 The positive impact .2 The negative impact .62 CHAPTER 3: SOME LESSONS TO VIETNAM .1 Overview of CE in Vietnam .2 Some good practical applications .2 Current Vietnamese import policies in transition to CE .2 Non-tariff measures. Evaluation of CE adaption in Vietnam in terms of import policy. Lessons to Vietnam in terms of adapting CE .92 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Abbreviation Full name ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations CE Circular Economy DFE Design For Environment EMF Ellen MacArthur Foundation EU European Union EPR Extended Producer Responsibility LCA Lifetime cycle assessment MSWM Municipal Solid Waste Management PP Pollution Prevention TUR Toxic Use Reduction ISO International Organization for Standardization IRP International Resource Panel NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement SME Small-and-Medium-Size Enterprise VGCL Vietnam General Confederation of Labor UN United Nations UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization WB World Bank WTO World Trade Organization WRAP Waste and Resources Action Programme vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1: Global Imports of Aluminum Scrap by Country and Year (in metric tons) .1: China’s Global Merchandise Trade: 1979-2018 ($ billions) .2: China’s Major Merchandise Trading Partners in 2018 .3: Major Chinese Merchandise Imports in 2018.4: Import China Taxes (%).1: Summary of Waste Management Status in the ASEAN Countries .2: Preferential import duties on various commodities .3: Some of specific legislation for recyclable materials and products .71 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: The circular economy - an industrial system that is restorative by design .2 Some of the elements of a circular economy mentioned above and others in relation to each other .3: Sources of value creation for the circular economy .4: Linkages between international trade and the circular economy .5: Plastic Waste Import Quantity (in million kilograms) .6: Plastic Waste Import Value (in million US$), cumulative, 1988-2017 .1: Circular economy development in China .2 : Import processing model .3 : Contract processing model .4 Volume of plastic waste exported by European Union (EU-28) to China from 2015 to 2017 (in million tons) .5: Imports of plastic waste by some countries between January 2016 and November 2018 (in tons per month).63 LIST OF MAPS Map 1.1: Circular economy activities around the world.1: 11 pilot “zero waste” cities in China .57 viii ABSTRACT In the last few years, the circular economy has received considerable attention worldwide because it offers an opportunity to optimise and promote sustainable production and consumption through new models based on continuous growth and limitless resources.
This concept has been adopted in some countries such as Denmark, Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden, Japan, China, and Germany while it is being considered by others including England, Austria, and Finland. Although applications of a circular economy have been identified in many developed countries, a few of studies exist that investigate practices in developing countries. However, the implementation of each country may vary, with specific priorities. This paper aims at analyzing the concept of circular economy (CE) and some international experience of implementing CE.
An in-depth exploration of current practices in developing countries such as China would enhance the circular economy’s significance and would help understand its wider level of implementation. With this concern, this study provides an analysis of experiences of China in adapting circular economy in terms of import policies. In order to analyse the effectiveness as well as shortcoming of applying of import policy towards circular economy of Chinese government, a critical review and analysis of the literature was conducted. It also identified the implementation structure of the CE in China which CE was proposed as a national strategy that developed to address environmental issues and resource scarcity after a period of intensive economic development.
In the end, the experiences in transition to CE will be drawn in case of Vietnam. Research Rationale The fundamental need for an alternative to the traditional linear model of growth has led to the emerging debate about circular economy (CE), described as an economy with closed material loops. The circular economy is a new way of creating value, and ultimately prosperity. It works by extending product lifespan through improved design and servicing, and relocating waste from the end of the supply chain to the beginning—in effect, using resources more efficiently by using them over and over, not only once.
It has received considerable attention worldwide because it offers an opportunity to optimise and promote sustainable production and consumption through new models based on continuous growth and limitless resources. Scholars have produced rich studies in regard with the CE from its fundamental concept to its practical implementation. At the country and regional level, in 2008 China was among the first to adopt a circular economy law promoting the recovery of resources from waste. In that same year, the G8 environment ministers agreed on an action plan for the 3Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle.
Following on that, the 2015 G7 Summit Leaders’ Declaration underscored the need for “sustainable supply chains” that protect workers and the environment. Then, in late 2015, the European Union adopted an ambitious Circular Economy Package, including goals for food, water and plastics reuse. “The message is that while you are protecting the environment you can boost your economic development and provide new growth and new jobs,” said the then European Commissioner for Environment Janez Potočnik in support of the EU Circular Economy Package in 2014. Indeed, there is a strong business case to be made for a circular economy.
Nike, Google, and H&M are already implementing aspects of the circular economy in their global business. Dutch technology company Philips refurbishes medical quipment such as MRI systems. Chilean pump technology company Neptuno Pumps remanufactures energy-efficient pumps from reused and recycled pump 2 material, and its common practice for automotive manufacturers is to use recycled plastics in components under the hood and for vehicles’ internal parts. Mexican brewer Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Heineken México and American computer company Dell, as well as smaller companies such as Serbian rolling-element bearing manufacturer FKL Temerin are also leaders in adopting circular economy principles.
By designing products with resource recovery in mind, they can protect themselves from price changes in the raw-materials market by creating a more reliable source of raw materials, as well as maintain longer-lasting relationships with consumers by ensuring contact throughout a product’s life cycle. It can be said that Circular economy has become one of China’s important strategies to realize scientific development and build ecological civilization at present. As in China circular economy was put forward as a new economic pattern, the international community generally holds that this is an innovative move for China’s economy to realize leap-forward development and hopes to learn more about the theory, policy and practice relating to China’s circular economy. This research aims at studying the import policies of Chinese government to facilitate the transition to circular economy, which have not been investigated further until now.
From the above reasons, the author selected the topic "Chinese policy towards circular economy and lesson to Vietnam". Literature Review The selection of published studies was performed according to several integrated criteria: (1) chronological order (from 1990 to 2019), (2) topics of interest (circular economy origins, principles, implementation at different scales (micro, e. company or consumer level; intermediate, e. eco-industrial parks level; macro, e.
city, province, region, nation), (3) comparison to present economic growth and alternative patterns (steady state economy), (4) problems and challenges. The literature search was performed in all web of science databases and Science direct, by means of keywords such as “circular economy”, “circular economy an cleaner production”, “circular economy and eco-industrial park”, “circular economy and zero waste”, “circular economy and international trade”, 3 “circular economy and sustainability”. In a like manner, only a small number of published studies designer discuss CE indicators, therefore calling for additional research. Until now, discussions on the CE have paid minimal attention to developing economies other than China.
Very few other developing countries are included in existing macroeconomic models of the effects of shifting to a CE. This section shall make a general assessment on several typical and prominent researches. Firstly, in term of circular economy concept, there are some useful research. ‘‘The circular economy: historical ground’’ (José LuÍs Cardoso, 2019) shows historical origins of the concept of the circular economy and affirms the vitality of the concept of the circular economy increasingly involve the business sector.
In addition, ‘‘The Circular Economy: A review of definitions, processes and impacts ’’ (Vasileios Rizos, 2017) reviews the growing literature on the circular economy with the aim of improving our understanding of the concept as well as its various dimensions and expected impacts. On the basis of this review, it attempts to map the processes involved and their application in different sectors. The paper suggests that research on the circular economy is currently fragmented across various disciplines and there are often different perspectives and interpretations of the concept and the related aspects that need to be assessed.