Environmental Policy as an Element of China's Internal and External Policies in the 21st Century

The observed and predicted consequences of the deteriorating environmental situation around the world attract the attention of the world community and push states to adjust their policies, seek and apply new solutions in the field of science and technology in order to adapt to the current situation. China is actively adjusting the legislative framework for enhanced control over the ecology within the country, taking a leading position in the market of renewable energy sources, while integrating them into its energy structure, and initiating domestic and international environmental projects. Existing studies focus on analyzing China's individual domestic and external environmental initiatives, assessing their effectiveness. However, the literature does not provide an overall in-depth understanding of the actual goals and effects of China's integration of environmental programs into its domestic and foreign policies. This research summarizes the overall expected and actual results of China's environmental initiatives in aspects such as ecology, economics, international relations and geopolitics. Based on the cause-and-effect analysis and case-study analysis methods, this study identifies the main trends in China's current environmental policy and determines its role in the country's internal and external strategies.