![]() ![]() Yet, literature also suggests the WB to be a positive force for international CE and environmental impact mitigation (Wen et al. The WB interrupts the global waste trade by stopping China’s import of 24 kinds of solid wastes, including plastic, paper, and other types of low-grade scrap (World Trade Organization 2017). The global waste trade, which turns ‘unwanted waste’ into ‘resources’ has thus become a CE practice (Gregson et al. A prominent international narrative for addressing pressing environmental problems of extraction, resource use and waste management, CE aims to turn ‘waste’ from a problem into a solution (Mckinsey Center for Business and Environment 2016). To enable fruitful CE cooperation, we suggest three critical points for reflection and negotiation: (1) overcome ‘student–teacher’ roles rooted in linear development that run counter to CE ideas (2) reconsider the focus on international and national waste diversion, instead of local waste prevention, that propels global waste markets sustained by increasing waste volumes and (3) evaluate both the benefits and impediments of (new) trade relations for a CE cooperation that contributes to environmental and social sustainability.Ĭhina’s 2018 Waste Import Ban (WB), which (re)cast the global waste trade in the global environmental spotlight, has become an emergent focus in circular economy (CE) debates (The Economist 2018 Qu et al. Our results show a political gridlock in China-EU CE coordination: the main narratives on the WB diverge on the very roles and rules of CE cooperation, scales of implementation, and the assessment criteria for environmentally and socially sustainable CE(s). Based on 72 expert interviews, 52 documents and participant observation, we study political WB narratives and corresponding perceptions of ‘Chinese’ and ‘European’ agency in the China-EU case. ![]() While the WB gained global attention, limited research addresses its political implications for international CE. China and the European Union (EU) signed the first international circular economy (CE) agreement shortly after China issued the ‘Waste Ban’ (WB) on the import of 24 categories of solid waste. ![]()
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