Rural–urban inequality and the practice of promoting sustainability in contemporary China

This article focuses on the rural–urban inequality and its impacts on the meanings and practices of sustainability in Chinese context, based on a qualitative analysis of 30 semi-structure interviews with key practitioners. This research understands sustainability to be ‘simultaneously an ideological stance, a point of convergence for political struggles, and a measure of performance for development activities’ (Sneddon in Progr Hum Geogr 24(4):521–549, 2000). The main argument suggests that an appreciation of the need to reduce the rural–urban inequality can add new meanings to the Chinese interpretation and practice of sustainability. In Chinese context, a sustainable future is not about maintaining the current social and environmental status for future generations, but rather, it refers to improving environmental quality and promoting social and environmental justice in the future. That is, creating a better future through transforming the Chinese society from a polluted and rural–urban divided society with low-level suzhi population into a green, civilised and thriving one is the core of its sustainable development. Theoretically, this work indicates that the ways of building links between rural and urban can be multiple and dynamic. And more broadly, this research uses a Chinese case study to indicate that complex spatial relationships and interactions should be taken into considerations in sustainability studies.