China Policy Journal Volume 1, Number 1, Fall 2018 | Page 23

China Policy Journal
Figure 6. GDP growth rate in China from 1980 to 2014
(Source: China Statistical Year Book)
liability of related information strongly
affect the system and policy conduction.
Obstruction from dischargers,
governmental interference, and noncompliance
operations mask the actual
pollution situation and hamper the
fee-collection work Also with institutional
barrier, the information cannot
be transferred fluently and accurately.
The disconnection caused by information
asymmetry indicates the absence
of information platforms across governmental
authorities, dischargers, and
benefit-related parties.
4.2.3. Supervision and Cooperation
Despite the reform, the water-pollutant
discharge-fee system still has a long way
to go in achieving efficiency, equality,
and effectiveness in pollution control.
The fee system takes an adaptive-management
approach, the power and effectiveness
of which are reflected in the
actual implementation. The pollution
discharge-fee program lacks supervision
and a cooperation mechanism
across executive authorities. Not only
the fee-expenditure direction but also
the fee-system operation needs supervision
from other departments or a third
party. Supervision and cooperation
are antithetical and mutually complement
each other. The supervisory participation
from each side is significant
for strategic cooperation. The question
of how to connect different units and
promote the departments’ synergy becomes
the challenge that needs to be
addressed in order to fill the gap. Such
synergy requires that the prospective
management faces dynamic indicators,
including industry change, policy adjustment,
and technical improvement.
Therefore, it not only needs to meet the
rigid demand of pollution control but
also better conduct the fee system’s implementation.
Moreover, institutional
barriers lead to both external and internal
conflicts during the system’s operation.
Such problems and disconnections
reflect the passivity of pollution
control, which also largely increases the
cost of the fee system’s implementation.
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