Is a 'green China' possible? Status of pollution in China, answer of the Chinese government and illustration of the commitment of a French NGO in south western China

Despite the gap between political statements and actual results, the authors highlight signals which might indicate that one could see emerge, if not a 'green China', a China aware that its unbridled growth cannot go on without better accounting for environmental issues. In a first part, they propose an overview of the situation of pollution in China. Then, they analyse why and how the Chinese government became aware of the necessity to struggle for the protection of the environment, and implemented a new model of sustainable growth, China becoming a major actor of the international struggle against climate change. In the second part, in order to illustrate the evolutions of the Chinese environmental policy, they address the activities of a French GNO (ID, Initiative Developpement) in collaboration with the Chinese government for the protection of the environment in two Chinese regions (Yunnan and Guizhou). After a presentation of these activities and of related projects, the authors also discuss the ambivalent relationships between the GNO and the Chinese government: a sustainable and serene collaboration with local and regional authorities, and in increasing control of environmental GNOs by the central government