SDGs Progress in cHINA
By GAO Lu, YOON Hea Joon, and Bedson Daniel MARIBA
Edited by SNU ARIC
Overview
Many of China’s most pressing domestic policy priorities—chief among them poverty alleviation and pollution control—are highly aligned with the goals set in the 2030 Agenda.
China attaches great importance to the 2030 Agenda and has integrated its implementation with the country’s “13th Five-Year Plan”, set up a cross-sectoral coordination mechanism consisting of 45 government agencies to promote the task. It has made positive progress on many sustainable development goals and helped other countries to achieve sustainable development.
Because of China’s sheer size across all measures—population, production, consumption, etc—the global success of the 2030 Agenda will depend significantly on successes achieved in China and with China internationally.
Our focus : Comparing China with South Korea and Japan
As countries at different stages of development and with different types of nature, China, South Korea and Japan have a crucial position in the geopolitical, economic and ecological patterns of Northeast Asia. The three countries account for about 1/5 of the world's population, 1/5 of GDP, and 1/5 of trade(Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2020).
The prospects for cooperation between China, South Korea and Japan are very promising. In 1999, the three countries held a summit meeting in the ASEAN+3 consultative body, and since 2008, the trilateral summit has been regularized and more than 70 councils are being operated in various fields (Kim & Park, 2020).
Indicators Selection
China’s domestic indicators are, by and large, consistent with UN indicators contained in the UN’s global indicator framework. We select some of them according to data accessibility and the importance of indicators.
SDG 1 : No Poverty
End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Target 1.1 By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.9 a day.
In recent years, China has been promoting poverty eradication with unprecedented intensity. China has lifted more than 700 million people out of poverty since 1970s, contributing more than 70% to global poverty reduction.
Adopting the current national poverty line (¥4000 per person), China has completed the task of eradicating absolute poverty in 2020, and achieved the SDG target 10 years ahead of schedule.
Adopting the current international poverty line ($1.9 per day), unlike the stagnation in Japan and Korea, China shows a significant reduction in the proportion of population below the international poverty line, reaching 0.19% in 2020.
SDG 2 : Zero Hunger
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Target 2.2 By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition.
China's national nutrition situation continues to improve, with the prevalence of malnutrition at 2.5%, maintaining the same level as Japan and Korea.
Target 2.4 By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production.
China's grain production capacity has steadily increased, with annual grain production per capita exceeding 470 kg since 2015, above the international food security standard line of 400 kg.
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Target 3.8 Achieve universal health coverage.
China's Universal Health Coverage Index has steadily grown, and the medical and health system has withstood the major test of the covid-19 pandemic.
Life expectancy of China increased from 76.34 years in 2015 to 77.3 years in 2019.
Target 3.2 By 2030, reduce under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births.
Between 2016 and 2020, China's under-5 mortality rate decreases from 10.2 to 7.5 per 1,000 live births, ranking among the top upper middle-income countries and achieving the SDG target ahead of schedule.
Target 3.3 By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other communicable diseases.
China's traditional infectious diseases such as HIV and malaria continue to be controlled at low prevalence level.
In particular, China took unprecedented measures to control Covid-19 in 2020, and for 3 months contained the spread of the pandemic within the country, which has always remained at a low prevalence level since then.
SDG 4: Quality Education
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong education for all
Target 4.1 By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.
China's basic education enrollment rate has remained high and steadily increasing. In 2020, the enrollment ratio in 9-year compulsory education reached 95.2%.
Target 4.3 By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university.
China's gross enrollment rate of tertiary education has increased to 54.4% in 2020, achieving a leap from popularization(15%-50%) to universalization(>50%). The average number of years of education for the new working-age population now reaches 13.8 years, equivalent to having entered tertiary education.
SDG 5: Gender Equality
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Target 5.1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.
The Civil Code of China, adopted in 2020, explicitly guarantees women's rights and interests such as family property.
The Gender Parity Index of China reflects the relatively good state of achievement of gender equality in education.
Target 5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.
Women's participation in legislative decision-making in China is increasing. 24.94% of female deputies to the National People's Congress in 2020, which is higher than Japan and Korea.
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
Ensure availabilty and sustainable management of water and sanitation
Target 6.1 6.2 By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe drinking water and equitable sanitation for all.
The proportion of population using safely managed drinking water in China reaches 94% in 2020, and the sanitary coverage rate increases from 35.33% in 2010 to 69.66% in 2020.
Target 6.4 By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater.
China continues to build and renovate water-saving facilities and water productivity is increasing, but there is still a gap with Japan and Korea.
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Target 7.2 By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
China prioritizes the development of non-fossil energy sources. The proportion of renewable energy sources is increasing, higher than Japan and Korea.
In terms of energy production structure, from 2016 to 2020, the proportion of non-fossil energy sources grows from 16.7% to 19.6%, and the proportion of raw coal decreases from 69.8% to 67.6%.
SDG 8: Decent Jobs and Economic Growth
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
Target 8.5 By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men.
China's unemployment rate is overall running in a reasonable range, but higher than Japan and Korea.
Target 8.1 Sustain per capita economic growth in accordance with national circumstances.
China's GDP growth is on a slowing trend. From 2015 to 2019, China's annual GDP growth rate reached 6.6%, significantly higher than the world average, maintaining a contribution of around 30% to global economic growth, with per capita GDP exceeding $10,000.
It is worth noting that during the Covid-19 period, China became the only major economy to achieve positive growth rate in 2020, which made a positive contribution to the global economic recovery.
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Build resilient in infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Target 9.2 By 2030, significantly raise industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product, in line with national circumstances.
As the world's factory, China's manufacturing value-added is higher than Japan and Korea, but the growth rate is slowing down. The reason lies on that China is committed to industrial transformation and upgrading, aiming to transition from "Made in China" to "Created in China".
Target 9.5 Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries.
China has made innovation the primary driver of its development. Spending on research and development is growing and will reach 2.4% of GDP by 2020, but is generally lower than Japan and Korea.
Target 9.1 Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure.
High-speed railroads cover nearly 95% of cities with a population of over one million, and highways cover nearly 100% of cities with a population of over 200,000. China ranks first in the world in terms of the size of internet and the scale of its users, with Internet coverage rising from 34.3% in 2010 to 70.6% in 2020.
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
Reduce inequality within and among countries
Target 10.1 By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average.
China's Gini coefficient is at a higher level than Japan's and Korea's, with little change across the time, indicating that its achievement in reducing income disparity is not satisfactory.
Target 10.a Implement the principle of special and differential treatment for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, in accordance with World Trade Organization agreements
China's zero tariff share to developing countries is lower than Japan and Korea but on a growing trend. As of 2020, China has implemented a zero tariff policy for 97% of products originating from 40 countries and 95% of products originating from 3 countries.
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable
Target 11.1 By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums.
China has built the world's largest housing security system, helping to improve the housing conditions of more than 200 million people. However, due to its huge population, the proportion of slums is still high.
Target 11.6 By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.
The negative environmental impact in cities has changed significantly in China, with PM2.5 in major cities decreasing from 69.73µg/m³ in 2010 to 48.63µg/m³ in 2019. But PM2.5 concentration remain high due to the volume of its economic production.
Target 11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces.
The green space rate of urban areas in China increased from 38.6% in 2010 to 42.1% in 2020, promoting urban transformation and green development.
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Target 12.2 By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
China's material consumption per unit of GDP is greater than that of Japan and Korea, and is on a slight upward trend, which requires an increase in production capacity.
In contrast, China's CO2 emission per unit of GDP is on a downward. In 2020, the president Xi Jinping has proposed a vision of striving to achieve carbon peaking by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060.
The decline in CO2 emissions is related to the optimization of energy structure. In the electricity-generating energy structure of 2020, compared with 2015, the share of coal has significantly reduced, while the share of wind and solar power has increased a lot and become the main force.
SDG 13: Climate Action
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Target 13.1 Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
From 2010 to 2020, the number of deaths and missing persons caused by natural disasters in China declined significantly each year. Although China suffered its worst floods since 1998 in 2020, the number of deaths and missing persons due to floods fell by 53% compared to the previous five-year average.
SDG 14: Life Below Water
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development
Target 14.2 By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts.
China has coordinated the implementation of marine ecological restoration projects, established a network of marine nature reserves, thus increased the proportion of protected waters.
SDG 15: Life on Land
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and reserve land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Target 15.1 By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements.
China attaches great importance to ecological issues and adheres to the development concept that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”. The area of nature reserves is expected to show growth.
By returning farmland to forest, China's forest coverage continues to grow to 23.04% in 2020, making it the country with the largest growth in forest resources.
Special protection actions have been carried out to promote the recovery and growth of over 300 rare and endangered wildlife species, with the Red List Index continuing to decline.
SDG 16: Peace and Justice-Strong Institutions
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive instructions at all levels
Target 16.1 Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.
China has steadily reduced serious violent crimes rate for years and significantly improved the social order through special operations such as the "crime crackdown".
Target 16.5 Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms.
China has been deeply promoting clean government, using patrol inspection measures to punish corruption accurately and effectively. The increase in Corruption Perception Index since 2015 reflects China's victory in the fight against corruption.
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
The "Belt and Road" has become an important way to develop the global partnership. The scale of China's international development cooperation has steadily increased, and is more inclined towards developing and least developed countries in Asia and Africa. By 2021, China had signed more than 200 cooperation documents with 141 countries and 32 international organizations.
Finance
China's FDI share of GDP has been fluctuating around 1%, lower than Japan and Korea. The ODA share of GNI changed from positive to negative after 2010, implying a shift in China's role from being a recipient to a giving country.
Trade
As of 2020, China has concluded 19 FTAs with 26 countries and regions. Through a series of initiatives such as assistance in building logistics infrastructure, trade facilitation and capacity building for liberalization, it has helped developing countries to enhance their trade development capacity.
Conclusion
Achievement and Shortcomings
China has made remarkable progress in overcoming poverty and hunger (SDG1 & 2). In terms of education and gender equality (SDG 4 & 5), it is also showing a relatively high degree of achievement.
However, indicators related to atmospheric conditions, Gini coefficients, and employment indicators show an unfavorable environment, which calls for an active response from the Chinese government in the future.
Looking Forward
The sudden outbreak of Covid-19 has made a huge impact on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda worldwide, with global progress on several targets facing setbacks. In this context, China has survived to maintain the implementation process of many targets while keeping the pandemic under control in the country.
China's experience can provide useful lessons for the international community's post-pandemic recovery and help put the global implementation of the 2030 Agenda back on track.
References
Jihyun Kim, & Jiyoon Park (2020), Social Impacts of COVID-19 and SDGs Policy Issues - in case of Korea, China and Japan, The Journal of Asian Studies, 23(3), 1-42.
Sachs et al.(2021), Sustainable Development Report[Website], Retrieved from URL: https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China (2021.6), China's VNR Report on Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development[Policy Report], Retrieved From URL: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/280812021_VNR_Report_China_English.pdf
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Korea (2020), Overview of Korea-China-Japan Cooperation[Policy Report], Retrieved from URL: https://www.mofa.go.kr/www/brd/m_3967/view.do?seq=364789&page=1