G/TBT/W/579  
 
10 December 2018  
(18-7778) Page: 1/1 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
CHINA — CATALOGUE OF  SOLID WASTES FORBID DEN TO IMPORT INTO C HINA  
STATEMENT BY CHINA T O THE COMMITTEE ON T ECHNICAL BARRIERS TO  TRADE  
14 AND 15 NOVEMBER 2 018 
The following communication, dated 7 December 2018, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of China . 
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1.  Ever since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the CPC Central 
Committee, with Xi Jinping at it s core, has been pushing for ecological progress , pro-actively 
practicing the values of "sustainable development" and "green development" in order to meet the 
Chinese people's ever -growing need for a beautiful eco -environment, aiming to solve significant 
outstanding environmental problems. Advancing the reform of the solid waste s import administration 
regime is one of the most important steps that the Chinese government has taken to implement the 
New Development Ideas, safeguard the eco -environment safety and population health.  
2.   In accordance with the internationally recognized pr inciples each member has the obligation to 
handle and dispose of the wastes it has  generated  on its own.  China, as a developing member with 
the largest population, must make the inevitable choice of restricting and prohibiting imports of solid 
waste s, whil st improving its own domestic solid waste s treatment and disposal. Current scientific 
studies indicate that the residues resulting from the recycling and disposal of solid wastes and their 
carried wastes may pose various risks to human, animal and plant li fe and health, as well as to the 
environment. China still allows the normal trade flow of raw materials processed from solid waste s, 
but the import of solid waste s must be strictly controlled and regulated in order to reduce the risks 
to human, animal and plant life and health as well as to the eco -environment caused by solid wastes 
to the maximum extent possible. In coordination with the reform and adjustment of the domestic 
solid wastes regulation, the strict control and regulation of the solid wastes imp ort will also enhance 
effective recycling and utilization, treatment and disposal of solid wastes at home. Since solid wastes 
have already significantly increased the burden on China's eco -environment and had huge negative 
impacts on human, animal, and pla nt life and health, China considers that merely reforming the 
domestic regulation of solid wastes would not be sufficient for achieving our purpose of safeguarding 
the ecological safety and population health to the maximum extent possible.  
3.  In the process o f adjusting relevant policies, the Chinese government has adequately taken into 
account voices at home  and abroad , and adjusted the Import Waste Management Catalogue in 
different batches.  China has also set a sufficient transition period for the relevant i ndustries, and 
has fulfilled our transparency obligations under WTO rules. Over the past decades, enterprises from 
other WTO members have exported large quantities of solid waste s to China and derived huge 
financial gains. We earnestly hope that those memb ers could also actively fulfill their international 
social responsibility and make contributions to the global environmental protection.  
4.  At present, not only China, but also every WTO member should follow the fundamental principle 
of disposal and absorbing  the wastes it has generated on its own. Only on the basis of this principle, 
can we reach a better consensus on managing solid waste pollution and search for a solution to this 
problem. At the same time, abiding by this principle will also contribute to t he promotion of the 
global green low -carbon circular development, and the creation of a clean and beautiful world.  
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