> That hasn't happened, sadly. Why do you say that? From the news I've read over the past 10-20 years, my understanding is that China has steadily increased it

> That hasn't happened, sadly. Why do you say that? From the news I've read over the past 10-20 years, my understanding is that China has steadily increased its emphasis on environmental protection and regulation, for example regarding food safety, air quality, and even nuclear safety (nuclear plants are becoming more expensive to build there, though claims of the industry's death have been extremely premature). Most recently, for example, part of the reason for banning imports of recyclables is because they were piling up and contributing to pollution. It's just that in absolute terms, and relative to the standards of rich industrial countries, China has a lot more ground to still cover. As with domestic news, the fact that you read and hear about these situations is often better understood as evidence that things are getting better, not worse, reflecting a positive shift in attention and emphasis. Especially in a country like China where authorities have far more control over both domestic and foreign reporting--compare the difficulty of substantive reporting on the Ugyhurs.