ABSTRACT
This chapter briefly reviews the evolution and reforms of China’s public administration for environmental protection. The relationships between the central and local governments are examined from the perspectives of the chain of command and the division of labor. Policy making is the primary function of central and provincial governments, while municipality and county governments shoulder primary implementation tasks. Environmental policy making and implementation have been significantly decentralized. China’s weak rule of law also strengthened such decentralization. Human resources in the Chinese government for environmental protection as well as fiscal expenditures are heavily tilted toward local governments, while the central government receives more fiscal revenue to enable fiscal transfer. The Chinese Communist Party, through its Department of Organization, plays a crucial role in managing governmental personnel to enable effective control over local governments, while this personnel relationship is also decentralized, with each party level only controlling one level below.
