G/TBT/W/618  
 
1 April 2019 
(19-2034) 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  
6 AND 7 MARCH  2019 
The following communication, dated 1 April 2019, is being circulated at the request of the delegation 
of China . 
 
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1.  China has been pushing for ecological progress, pro -actively practicing the values of "sustainable 
development" and "green development" in order to meet the Chinese pe ople's ever -growing need 
for a beautiful eco -environment and  aiming to solve significant outstanding environmental problems.  
Advancing the reform of the solid wastes import administration regime is one of the most important 
steps that the Chinese governmen t has taken to implement the New Development Ideas, and to 
safeguard the eco -environment safety and population health.  
2.  In accordance with internationally recognized principles, each member has the obligation to 
handle and dispose of the wastes it has gener ated on its own.  China, as a developing member with 
the largest population, must make the inevitable choice of restricting and prohibiting imports of solid 
wastes while improving its own domestic solid wastes 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 life and health, as well as to the 
environment.  China still allows the normal trade flow of  raw materials processed from solid wastes, 
but the import of solid wastes 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 ma ximum extent possible. In coordination with the reform and adjustment of the domestic 
solid waste regulation, the strict control and regulation of the solid wastes import will also enhance 
effective recycling and utilization, treatment and disposal of soli d 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 plant life and health, China considers that merely reforming the 
domestic regulation of soli d 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 of adjusting the relevant policies, the Chinese Government has adequately taken 
into acco unt 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 industries and  has 
fulfilled our transparency obligations under the WTO rules. Over th e past decades, enterprises from 
other WTO members have exported large quantities of solid wastes to China and derived huge 
financial gains. We earnestly hope that these members could also actively fulfil their international 
social responsibility and make contributions to the global environmental protection.  
4.  At present, not only China, but also every 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 rea ch 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 the promotion of the 
global green low -carbon circular development, and the creation of a clean and beautiful world.  
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