PAGE seeks to put sustainability at the heart of economic policies and practices to advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It supports nations and regions in reframing economic policies and practices around sustainability to foster economic growth, create income and jobs, reduce poverty and inequality, and strengthen the ecological foundations of their economies.

As the second largest economy in the world, China has positioned itself as a forerunner of sustainable development, guided by the new national development vision known as “Ecological Civilization”. In September 2014, the Chinese Government expressed its interest to join PAGE, starting at the provincial level in Jiangsu, the second richest province in the country.

Jiangsu has demonstrated a strong commitment to green economy in recent years by fostering green and high-tech industries, shifting towards energy saving and resource efficient production and consumption models, redefining the eco-redlines of conservation zones, and enhancing the policy monitoring, coordination and evaluation of green development progress. The latest master development plan, the 13th Five-Year Development Plan (2016-2020) of Jiangsu Province, has formally established these areas as policy priorities.

Since 2015, PAGE has been supporting the province with macro-level green economy policy monitoring and sectoral policy advisory as well as capacity building and exchange activities in the areas of green industrial development, green trade and green jobs. In doing so, PAGE supports China, specifically Jiangsu in their contribution towards SDGs 4, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13 and 17.