China Environmental Technologies

China is currently estimated to be the world’s largest market for environmental technology products and services, boasting a market size of more than $260 billion in 2022. While there are many market opportunities spread throughout the country, China’s environmental protection industry is primarily concentrated in Guangdong, Shandong, and Jiangsu. As the largest economy and energy consumer in China, Guangdong province remains the largest environmental technologies market in China, followed by Shandong and Jiangsu.

In 2022, Guangdong’s environmental protection industry brought in approximately $29 billion in operating income, ranking number one in the country for the fourth consecutive year, boasting an average annual growth rate of 5.7% over the past five years and accounting for 1.6% of Guangdong’s overall GDP. Further, Guangdong’s environmental technologies industry revenue accounted for nearly 10% of the total $310 billion in Chinese operating income for the environmental technologies and goods sector in 2022, with trade in services bringing in more than 90% of revenue and trade in goods drawing in less than 10%.

Among the environmental technologies industry subsectors, solid waste disposal, recycling and water and wastewater treatment solutions accounted for the overwhelming majority of products and services in Guangdong, generating more than 86% of the province’s total environmental technologies operating income. Despite Guangdong’s large geographic footprint, most of the province’s environmental companies are concentrated in Guangzhou, Foshan, Shenzhen, Dongguan, and Zhongshan.

One specific area that presents a unique market opportunity for U.S. exports is in the environmental monitoring industry sub-sector. Within this sub-sector, the core components of online monitoring devices – such as semiconductors, injection valves, and optical gas sensors – rely heavily on imports, and foreign companies from the United States, Japan, Germany, and Switzerland account for more than 80% of the Chinese domestic market of these components and processes. In addition, the atomization rotator used for waste incineration flue gas purification mainly relies on imported products and equipment from the United States, Denmark, and Belgium. As for other specialized materials, there is currently no Chinese manufacturer of reverse osmosis membranes in Guangdong, an innovative and key filtration product used in water treatment and recycling systems. For this reason, U.S. and Japanese companies continue to dominate China’s market for these types of water and wastewater treatment products and solutions.

For more information, please contact office.Guangzhou@trade.gov.