중국의 대외 환경정책변화에 관한 연구

Abstract

오늘날 국제사회는 세계화의 급속한 진전으로 국가 간의 상호의존도가 갈수록 높아지면서 지구환경과 자원고갈에 공동으로 대처해야 할 필요성이 커지고 있다. 이러한 환경문제에 대한 국제협력의 필요성과 함께 대두된 것이 선진국을 중심으로 시작된 국제무역 과정에서의 환경규제의 강화이다. WTO, FTA 등 무역자유화 이념에 의해 전통적인 관세장벽은 점차적으로 감소되거나 철폐되는 추세를 보이고 있는 반면에, 선진국을 필두로 한 국가들의 비관세장벽은 기술장벽(Technical Barriers), 환경장벽(Green Barriers)의 형태로 국제무역과 국가 간 관계에 갈수록 중대한 영향을 주고 있다. 환경규제의 목적은 자원을 절약하고 환경보호를 통하여 지속 가능한 성장을 위한 것이다. 무역과 환경 역시 상호 대립관계가 아닌 조화로운 관계로 설정하면서 인류사회의 지속적인 성장을 추구한다는 명분을 갖고 있다. 하지만 그 실천에 있어서는 자원낭비와 환경훼손 현상이 지속되어 환경과 경제성장의 조화가 쉽지 않은 문제임을 말해주고 있다. 중국은 1978년의 국내 경제개혁과 대외 개방정책의 실시로 비약적인 경제발전을 이루었고, 세계 제2의 경제대국으로 부상하였다. 특히 2001년 12월에 WTO에 가입함에 따라 세계경제체제에 편입되어 2008년 미국 발 금융위기 하에서도 꾸준한 성장을 지속하여 현재는 G2의 일원이자 세계 제1위의 외환보유국으로 성장하였다. 하지만 중국은 경제의 고속 성장과 함께 심각한 환경오염과 자연자원의 비합리적인 개발로 인한 많은 환경문제에 직면해 있다. 특히, 국제무역에서의 선진국들의 환경규제 정책으로 중국이 많은 피해를 입게 되면서 대책 마련을 위해 노력하고 있다. 중국은 초기에 선진국들이 환경규제를 통해 개도국의 주권행사와 경제발전을 가로막는 도구로 사용한다고 인식하고 새로운 형태의 무역장벽을 선진 산업 국가들의 정치 및 경제적 지위 강화수단이라고 보고 경계를 늦추지 않았다. 하지만 최근 중국에서는 중국이 지속 가능한 발전을 실천하려면 국제환경규제 강화의 현실을 인정하고 산업구조를 개선해야 한다는 주장이 제기되고 있다. 기존의 연구는 중국이 경제발전을 우선시하고 경제적 이익을 최고로 삼고 국가발전전략을 선택하였기에 환경오염문제를 중국 국내문제로 생각하는 경향이 많았다. 하지만 중국의 2001년 WTO(세계무역기구) 가입 이후, 환경장벽으로 인한 무역구조의 변화는 환경정책의 변화를 불러왔으며, 환경정책의 변화는 중국 국내에만 국한된 정책이 아닌 환경외교정책으로 연결되는 양상을 보이게 되었다. 이러한 중국정부의 환경과 무역에 대한 인식변화는 다른 선진국에 뒤쳐지지 않으려는 대외환경전략으로 볼 수 있으며 실제로 최근 중국은 강경하고 엄격한 수출입규제강화 정책을 속속 제정하고 있다. 중국 정부는 향후 국제관계 속에서 국제환경 관련 규범들을 국가목표에 포함 시켜 경제대국만이 아니라 정치적 그리고 환경보호 선진국으로 전환을 시도하고 있다. 본 연구는 중국이 국제무역에서의 환경규제에 대해 어떻게 인식하고 있는지에 대한 의문에서 출발하여, 중국의 대외 환경정책과 국제환경규제에 대한 중국의 대응을 분석하였다. 본 연구는 중국의 글로벌 환경정책, 특히 무역 관련 환경조치에 있어서 중국 “정부”라는 정책 제정의 주요 행위자와 정책의 대상인 기업 이외에 국제시스템이라는 큰 틀이 존재한다고 본다. 국제 환경의식과 국내의 경제발전 욕구 등을 동시에 반영되는 시기에 진입한 중국은 이제 경제발전 속도를 조금씩 늦추고 환경보호와 개선을 위한 정책이 속속 나와야 하는 시점이라고 할 수 있다. 이러한 틀 속에서 중국 정부는 공식적인 환경정책의 제정 혹은 수정, 중국기업을 통한 국제환경규제 참여 등 적극적인 행위를 보여주고 있다. 그리고 동시에 환경외교를 통해 국제시스템에 자신의 주장을 반영시키고자 한다. 결론적으로 중국의 국제무역 환경은 많이 개선되었으나, 국제사회의 무역 관련 환경(Environment) 규제의 강화는 중국 국제무역과 경제의 큰 걸림돌로 작용하고 있다. 오늘 날의 국제사회는 모든 분야에서 글로벌 기준이 적용되는 시대이다. 중국정부는 향후 국제환경협력이라는 국제 레짐(Rigime)과 글로벌 거버넌스(Governance)라는 큰 틀 속에서 새로운 전략과 정책을 마련하면서 국가의 목표와 정체성을 끊임없이 새롭게 설정할 것으로 보인다. | As international community today has become more dependent on the interdependence between countries due to rapid advances in globalization, there has been a growing need to cope with environmental problems and resource depletion cooperatively. Along with the need for international cooperation in dealing with environmental problems, there has arisen a move to tighten controls on environmental pollution mostly in advanced countries. While traditional tariff barriers such as WTO and FTA are increasingly on the decline or lifted owing to trade liberalization, non-tariff barriers proposed by industrialized countries are exerting an increasingly significant influence in the form of Technical Barrier and Green Barrier. The aim of environment regulation is to make sustainable growth possible by saving resources and conserving environment. The relationship between trade and environment should not be that of the mutual confrontation but cooperative one, contributing to sustainable growth of human society. However, considering a wasteful use of resources and damage to environment in practice, it is certain that harmony between environment and economic growth is hard to achieve. China has achieved a dramatic economic growth and emerged as the second largest economic power in the world through its domestic economic reform in 1978 and foreign open-door policy. Especially, China entered the system of world economy by joining WTO in December, 2001. Even under the U.S. financial crisis of 2008, it continued to grow to become a member country of G2 and the biggest holder of foreign currencies in the world. However, China is now facing a lot of environmental problems due to severe environmental pollution and irrational exploitation of natural resources, along with its rapid economic growth. Especially, as many advanced countries got to regulate environment, China got damaged a lot, struggling to take measures. From the start, China noticed that environmental regulations by advanced countries were used as a tool to hamper sovereignty and economic growth of developing countries, and viewed new forms of trade barriers of developed countries as a means to strengthen their political and economic status. However, in recent years, it has been argued that China has to acknowledge the reality of strengthened international environmental regulations and improve its industrial structure in order to achieve sustainable growth. Former studies mostly regarded environmental pollutions as Chinese domestic problems, since China prioritized economic growth and profits as a strategy for national development. However, since its joining WTO in 2001, China has undergone changes in environmental policy because of changes in trade structure caused ny environmental barriers. Moreover, changes in environmental policy has not been limited only to domestic China. Rather, they have tended to lead to environmental foreign policy. These changes of awareness on environment and trade by Chinese government are seen as strategies of foreign environmental policy. In fact, China has made sturdy and rigid export and import restrictions in recent years. Including international environmental regulations in national aims, Chinese government is now trying to turn into a politically and environmentally advanced country, as well as an economic power. This study starts from questions on how China recognizes environmental regulations in international trade, and analyzes how it responds to international environmental regulations. This study suggests that there is a large frame called international system in Chinese global environmental policy, in addition to "government" as a major agent of the making of policies and corporations as the targets of policies. It is about time for China, which is now in need of reflecting international environmental awareness and domestic desire for economic growth, to slow down the pace of economic growth and put forward policies for environmental protection and improvement. Within this frame, Chinese government is trying to make or revise official policies regarding environment, participate in international environmental restrictions, and at the same time make its voice heard in international system by way of environmental diplomacy. Conclusively, international trade conditions have significantly improved, but enforced environmental regulations of international community are a big barrier against China's international trade and economy. International community today applies global standards to every area. Chinese government is expected to make new strategies and policies and reset the targets and identity of the nation within the large frame of global regime and governance of international environmental cooperation.; As international community today has become more dependent on the interdependence between countries due to rapid advances in globalization, there has been a growing need to cope with environmental problems and resource depletion cooperatively. Along with the need for international cooperation in dealing with environmental problems, there has arisen a move to tighten controls on environmental pollution mostly in advanced countries. While traditional tariff barriers such as WTO and FTA are increasingly on the decline or lifted owing to trade liberalization, non-tariff barriers proposed by industrialized countries are exerting an increasingly significant influence in the form of Technical Barrier and Green Barrier. The aim of environment regulation is to make sustainable growth possible by saving resources and conserving environment. The relationship between trade and environment should not be that of the mutual confrontation but cooperative one, contributing to sustainable growth of human society. However, considering a wasteful use of resources and damage to environment in practice, it is certain that harmony between environment and economic growth is hard to achieve. China has achieved a dramatic economic growth and emerged as the second largest economic power in the world through its domestic economic reform in 1978 and foreign open-door policy. Especially, China entered the system of world economy by joining WTO in December, 2001. Even under the U.S. financial crisis of 2008, it continued to grow to become a member country of G2 and the biggest holder of foreign currencies in the world. However, China is now facing a lot of environmental problems due to severe environmental pollution and irrational exploitation of natural resources, along with its rapid economic growth. Especially, as many advanced countries got to regulate environment, China got damaged a lot, struggling to take measures. From the start, China noticed that environmental regulations by advanced countries were used as a tool to hamper sovereignty and economic growth of developing countries, and viewed new forms of trade barriers of developed countries as a means to strengthen their political and economic status. However, in recent years, it has been argued that China has to acknowledge the reality of strengthened international environmental regulations and improve its industrial structure in order to achieve sustainable growth. Former studies mostly regarded environmental pollutions as Chinese domestic problems, since China prioritized economic growth and profits as a strategy for national development. However, since its joining WTO in 2001, China has undergone changes in environmental policy because of changes in trade structure caused ny environmental barriers. Moreover, changes in environmental policy has not been limited only to domestic China. Rather, they have tended to lead to environmental foreign policy. These changes of awareness on environment and trade by Chinese government are seen as strategies of foreign environmental policy. In fact, China has made sturdy and rigid export and import restrictions in recent years. Including international environmental regulations in national aims, Chinese government is now trying to turn into a politically and environmentally advanced country, as well as an economic power. This study starts from questions on how China recognizes environmental regulations in international trade, and analyzes how it responds to international environmental regulations. This study suggests that there is a large frame called international system in Chinese global environmental policy, in addition to "government" as a major agent of the making of policies and corporations as the targets of policies. It is about time for China, which is now in need of reflecting international environmental awareness and domestic desire for economic growth, to slow down the pace of economic growth and put forward policies for environmental protection and improvement. Within this frame, Chinese government is trying to make or revise official policies regarding environment, participate in international environmental restrictions, and at the same time make its voice heard in international system by way of environmental diplomacy. Conclusively, international trade conditions have significantly improved, but enforced environmental regulations of international community are a big barrier against China's international trade and economy. International community today applies global standards to every area. Chinese government is expected to make new strategies and policies and reset the targets and identity of the nation within the large frame of global regime and governance of international environmental cooperation.