Green trade trend: sustainable development path for China’s hazardous goods exports

Abstract
This paper explores the challenges and opportunities faced by China’s hazardous goods export industry under the global green trade trend, analyzes the current status and problems of China’s hazardous goods exports, and proposes paths and strategies to achieve sustainable development. The study believes that through technological innovation, standard improvement, industrial chain coordination and green trade policy guidance, China’s hazardous goods exports can achieve environmentally friendly transformation and enhance international competitiveness.

Keywords: green trade; hazardous goods exports; sustainable development; environmental regulation; Made in China

I. Introduction
As global environmental problems become increasingly severe, green trade has become the mainstream trend in the development of international trade. As a special commodity, the environmental risks in the production, transportation and disposal of hazardous goods have attracted much attention. As a major producer and exporter of hazardous goods in the world, China is facing increasingly stringent international environmental regulations and green trade barriers. How to achieve sustainable development of hazardous goods exports while ensuring trade growth has become an important issue that needs to be solved urgently.

II. Current status and challenges of China’s hazardous goods exports

1. Export scale and structure
   China is one of the world’s major exporters of hazardous chemicals, batteries, electronic waste and other hazardous goods. In recent years, the export volume has maintained a steady growth, but the product structure is still dominated by low-end products, and the proportion of high value-added products is low.
2. Main challenges
   International green trade barriers have intensified: EU REACH regulations, US TSCA, etc. have raised the market access threshold

Domestic environmental protection standards are not in line with international standards: some standards lag behind the requirements of developed countries

Weak corporate environmental awareness: Small and medium-sized export enterprises lack the motivation for green transformation

Insufficient supply chain environmental risk control: There are shortcomings in the full chain environmental management from production to transportation

III. International experience in the sustainable development of hazardous goods exports

1. EU’s green chemicals strategy

Promote the “toxic-free environment” strategy

Establish a complete chemical life cycle management system

Implement strict classification, labeling and packaging (CLP) regulations

2. US Responsible Care Program
   Industry self-regulatory environmental management plan

Emphasis on corporate environmental responsibility and transparency

Promote technological innovation to reduce the use of hazardous substances

3. Japan’s green supply chain management

Build a closed-loop management system from raw materials to waste

Promote green procurement standards

Develop hazardous goods alternative technologies

IV. Sustainable development path of China’s hazardous goods exports

1. Improve the policy and standard system
   Accelerate the construction of a hazardous goods management standard system in line with international standards
   Improve green tax and subsidy policies to encourage enterprises to transform green
   Establish an environmental risk assessment mechanism for hazardous goods exports
2. Green transformation path for enterprises
   Application of clean production technology: Promote green synthesis processes and reduce the use of toxic and hazardous substances
   Explore the circular economy model: Develop a hazardous goods recycling and reuse system
   Build a green supply chain: Full-chain environmental management from raw material procurement to terminal disposal
   Build a green brand: Enhance the international competitiveness of products through environmental certification
3. Driven by technological innovation
   Increase investment in the research and development of green alternatives
   Develop safe transportation and disposal technologies for hazardous goods
   Apply digital technology to improve the level of environmental risk management
4. International cooperation and capacity building
   Actively participate in the formulation of international hazardous goods management rules
   Strengthen green technology cooperation with developing countries
   Establish a transnational environmental emergency response mechanism
   V. Conclusion and recommendations
   The sustainable development of China’s hazardous goods exports requires the concerted efforts of the government, industry and enterprises. The government should improve the policy framework and standard system; industry associations should strengthen self-discipline and guidance; enterprises need to internalize environmental costs and actively embrace green transformation. By building a three-dimensional mechanism of “policy guidance-market drive-technological innovation”, China’s hazardous goods exports can achieve a transformation from cost advantage to green competitive advantage and occupy a more advantageous position in the global green trade pattern.

Future research can further explore: 1) Quantitative evaluation system of hazardous goods green trade; 2) Application of digital technology in hazardous goods environmental risk management; 3) Green trade cooperation mechanism for hazardous goods under the framework of the “Belt and Road” initiative.