China reshaping green value chain initiatives: between global and Southern standards

Abstract

The paper contributes to the growing debate about how China drives change in institutions and norms of global governance. It analyses the case study of China’s approach to transnational voluntary sustainability standards as concrete tools of Western-sponsored green value chain initiatives, between integration and contestation. Engaging international political economy scholarship, the paper shows that China participates in such initiatives by reshaping their focus away from contested market-based approaches to more internationally consensual state-led ones. This stance indicates that China’s reshaping of international norms and institutions conveys claims made by Global South alliances. These alliances are increasingly important for China, not only politically and militarily but also economically and for the success of key initiatives, like the Belt and Road Initiative.

Keywords:

• China
• Global South
• international political economy
• global governance
• green value chains
• rising power
• norms

Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank the interview respondents. Also, we thank Paule Moustier for her insights and comments.

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare. They agree to the publication of the figure presented in the article.

Notes

1 As explained in the section on methods, with the term ‘Chinese’ we refer to Chinese actors directly linked with the central state.

2 Such as the EU Farm to Fork Strategy (2020) and the European Commission’s proposal for a regulation for deforestation-free products (2021).

3 For example, during the 2019 Macron–Xi Jinping summit (France Diplomacy, 2019) .

4 In 2007 and 2009, China, India, Brazil, South Africa, and Mexico were invited to two conferences designated the G8 + 5, gathering together the 15 most polluting countries in the world.

5 In 2018, 80% of Chinese supplies of petrol passed through the Strait of Malacca (Lim 2018).

6 The Green Food Council is an agency of the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, in charge of developing and certifying food-related sustainability certification, such as ‘organic food’ and ‘green food’.

Additional information

Funding

The research was conducted within a PhD project fully funded by CIRAD.

Notes on contributors

Flavia Fabiano

Flavia Fabiano is an international political economics researcher at INRAE. She has recently completed a PhD project about the rise of China and the evolution of sustainability norms in the palm oil value chain. Her research interests concern local and transnational governance norms and institutions for more sustainable food systems.

Benoit Daviron

Benoit Daviron was an economist at CIRAD, now retired. His main competencies concern the organisation of international trade and tropical products, food conventions and international norms in the agricultural sector.