China is looking to replicate the success of its special economic zones through the setting up of a series of low carbon centres over the next 12 months.

The zones, which have powered China’s burgeoning economy over the past 30 years, were set-up to attract foreign investment and led to a huge surge in Chinese exports.

Beijing is now hoping that the model can be used to establish the country as global leader in low carbon production.

However, after China was accused of derailing any meaningful deal on climate change at the recent Copenhagen summit, it’s clear that the plan has some way to go to convince doubters that the country is serious about tackling global warming.

And despite China’s widespread campaign to clean up its factories over the past two years, the country’s continued reliance on coal – China and the US boast 44% of the world’s coal reserves – dictates that Beijing still has giant strides to make.

“If emissions aren’t reduced from power plants, global warming cannot be avoided,” said Jonathan Lewis, a climate expert at the Clean Air Task Force. “The solution can be led by the US and China.”

China is, though, investing huge sums in renewable energy.

The country has a 30% share of the global market for photovoltaic solar panels and some of its major manufacturers are emerging as leading players on the global stage.

And with regulators expected to announce the location of the low carbon centres early in the New Year, China seems intent on hitting back at the critics who have panned the country’s efforts on climate change.

Although whether these centres can ever match the success of the special economic zones that led to one of the biggest economic booms in history must be in doubt.

It’s now sixty years since Mao Tse-tung’s distinctive foghorn voice signalled the birth of the People’s Republic of China. The ensuing decades, and Mao’s Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, have brought with them unspeakable hardship for the Chinese population, as well as unimaginable wealth to an economy that has, more than any other, dug the world’s financial system out of one of the biggest holes in its history.

However, despite the manifest problems faced by the country since Mao’s original proclamation in 1949, China now faces one its most pressing challenges since it opened itself up to foreign trade in the 1970’s. And as one of the world’s major economic powers, businesses and governments across the globe are now looking to China to start leading the way in an area which, it’s fair to say, its previous record is far from unblemished.

While the country has long been a global sourcing leader, it has traditionally lagged behind the pack when it comes to sustainability. The majority of the focus in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics last summer – alongside the country’s human rights record – concentrated on the carbon emitted by China’s enormous manufacturing base.

And although there are signs that the country is taking action to tackle the issue, China is still in the early stages of a journey that the world needs them to complete sooner rather than later.

The Beijing authorities first bowed to huge pressure from the international community at the 16^th National Congress of the Communist Party, and the ensuing five years have seen the country’s leaders take some positive (albeit tentative) steps towards cleaning up their act. A goal of reducing energy consumption per unit of sales by 20% by 2010 – alongside bringing down other key environmental indicators – was unveiled in 2007, bringing so far mixed results.

A recent interview Sustainable Sourcing carried out with a key figure on the ground in Beijing revealed that China still has a long way to go in its sustainability efforts, and is still playing a desperate game of catch-up with the rest of the developed world. And with the country’s authorities desperate to keep China’s economic growth rate above the magic number of 8%, sustainability is – despite protestations to the contrary – likely to take a back seat to maintaining exhaustive levels of production.

In short, sixty years on from Mao’s famous speech, it still remains to be seen if the world’s desperate need for China to embrace sustainability will result in the ongoing red revolution going green. Although China’s endless capacity for surprise could prove us wrong.

Wal-Mart’s supplier clampdown in China is already delivering results, after the company’s former CEO threatened to withdraw business from those companies that failed to meet the firm’s strict environmental criteria.

Addressing more than 1000 suppliers in Beijing in October 2008, H. Lee Scott Jr., left the company’s Chinese partners in no doubt that failure to go green would seriously jeopardise their future involvement with the company.

“Our goal is for supplier factories to meet or exceed all social and environmental laws and regulations,” he said, adding that adhering to these standards was “not optional”.

The company’s Chinese suppliers – from whom Wal-Mart buys almost $9bn worth of goods on an annual basis – were given until 2012 to clean up their act. And the threat appears to be paying dividends.

According to Business Week, one company, Changshu City-based Jiangsu Redbud Dyeing Technology has already cut its coal consumption by a tenth, and is now working towards bringing its toxic emissions down to zero.

Problems, however, remain. One of the major drivers of Wal-Mart’s strategy was the need for the company’s top 200 factories to become 20% more energy efficient by 2012, a target that could prove a step too far, according to Andrew Winston, consultant and author of the book Green to Gold.

“Many Western companies can’t track their own energy consumption,” said Winston. “Getting Chinese companies to track these kinds of operations data takes (Wal-Mart) many steps forward.”

Wal-Mart is already practicing what it’s preaching, with its new stores in the country using now using 40% less energy than its older stores. It’s suppliers will, though, doubtless be expending more energy trying to keep up with Wal-Mart’s increasingly tough demands. But if they succeed then it won’t just them going green – the company’s competitors will also be turning the colour in envy.