* Full list of cited regulations at the end of this chapter.

China is the world’s second-largest country in terms of the quantity of green bonds and green finance, with USD 155 billion issued in 2022 and USD 3.5 trillion outstanding as of the end of the first quarter of 2023.

China has built up its massive green financing market for building and other sectors through a regime comprised of the following major national regulations:

• 2016 Guiding Opinions on Creating the Green Finance Framework*
• 2021 Green Bond Support Catalog*
• 2022 IPSF Common Ground Taxonomy - Climate Change Mitigation*
• 2023 Green Industry Catalog*
• 2023 Notice on Accelerating the Coordinated Development of the Green Building Industry and Green Finance*

To obtain the lower-cost benefit of green financing, a building project must meet the green building requirements stipulated by the above regulations and the financing documents of the lenders concerned. Sustainable real estate/green building projects have always been one of the most active business sectors in receiving green financing support.