Green design (eco-design) is a critical entry point for the circular economy, as up to 80% of a product’s life-cycle resource consumption and environmental impact are determined at the design stage. Moving beyond incremental efficiency to designing for durability, reuse, and recyclability is essential to reduce industrial resource use and emissions at scale. Since 2013, China has built a foundation through pilot programmes and standards, establishing 451 green design demonstration enterprises, and developing around 200 evaluation standards. The “2024 Guiding Opinions” call for scaling up green product design, prioritizing resource efficiency, low-carbon and circular approaches, and full value chain integration.

In April 2026, the five ministries, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Education (MoE), Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) and State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) issued new Guidelines on green design, aiming to develop a shared industry consensus. The policy:

• Defines 11 key directions for green design, including durability, harmlessness, lightweighting, energy efficiency, water conservation, material efficiency, noise reduction, space efficiency, recyclability, reusability, and zero-carbon design;
• Introduces sector-specific guidance across 15 industries (automobiles, construction machinery, machine tools, bearings, wind power equipment, hydrogen energy equipment, photovoltaic, lithium batteries, household appliances, packaging, detergents, textiles, biomanufacturing, methanol, and tires);
• Emphasizes enabling measures such as AI integration, standard-setting, talent development, and international exchange.