Motives and barriers of the remanufacturing industry in China

Realizing the importance of remanufacturing for sustainable development due to the large scale of the economy and its increasing pressure on the environment, the Chinese government has been strongly promoting its remanufacturing industry since around 2008. The objective of this paper is to identify the motives and barriers for remanufacturing in China. According to the survey conducted among remanufacturers in China, environmental and ethical responsibility, customer orientation and strategic advantage are the three most important motives, while customer recognition is the most serious barrier at present. This survey also shows that there are many differences between car part and machinery remanufacturers in China. For example, car part remanufacturers are more motivated by subsidies, at the same time, they are also more restricted by legislation, while lack of sales channels is a more serious barrier for the machinery remanufacturers. The differences exist partly due to the Chinese remanufacturing environment, for example the policies from different government departments that regulate the related industries. Suggestions for improving the remanufacturing industry, in particular from the policy makers' perspective, are provided according to the survey results.