ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the China's heavy industrial region, Liaoning Province, as a case study to explain why the discharge of urban industrial wastewater in urban Liaoning has decreased over the last decade. It reviews the relevant environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) research in Chinese cities. It then analysis the EKC results between economic development and industrial wastewater discharges in Liaoning Province using data from the last few years. China is attempting to improve environmental conditions, which can change numerous opinions about the superpower country. The EKC shows the relationship between economic development and environmental pollution by simulating the evolution of per capita income and the extent achieved by environmental pollution indicators. The EKC demonstrates that economic development affects the level of environmental pollution. With economic growth, environmental quality initially deteriorates and then gradually improves. China implemented the open-door policy, which is a strategy that prioritized efficiency and promotes the non-balanced development of the regional economy.
