Leveraging Extended Producer Responsibility to Advance China's Circular Economy: A Review of The Theory of Extended Producer Responsibility and Its Practice in China

Extended producer responsibility concerns not only the social responsibility of enterprises but also the implementation of China's national strategy for building an ecological civilization. China therefore attaches great importance to ecological civilization and is committed to building a Beautiful China. The report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China underscored the significance of ecological and environmental protection and green development, and set out the strategic direction of "promoting green development and fostering harmony between humanity and nature." As the main actors of economic and social development, enterprises—particularly manufacturing enterprises, whose production processes exert substantial environmental impacts and demand considerable resources—bring with them a range of risks of environmental degradation. Enterprises bear an inescapable responsibility for environmental protection, and their social responsibility extends to coordinating the relationship between economic development and environmental protection. The extended producer responsibility system is therefore an important pathway for advancing the overall development of China's circular economy.