This dissertation provides an evaluation of the environmental content of economic relations between Japan and China, analysing three channels of climate-friendly technology transfers To identify the dynamics of green technology transfers (improvement of energy efficiency, pollutant recovery, cleaning up, exploitation of renewable energy sources), the demonstration is concentrated on three vectors: trade flows, international patent families and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects of the Kyoto Protocol. The analysis of trade flows from Japan to China shows that Chinese imports of environmental goods, capital goods and high technology goods are channels of technological diffusion. In particular, the econometric estimations reveal that imports of high technology goods affect negatively the energy and carbon intensity of the Chinese GDP. The analysis of international patent family data enable to identify that technologies aiming at reducing air pollution are dominant in transfers from Japan to China. Finally, transfers of knowledge and capital goods appear in the implementation of CDM projects financed by Japanese firms and implanted in China. The empirical analysis reveals that training plans are implemented in parallel to the transmissions of environmental equipments, knowing that transfers occur mainly through wind and water projects. This dissertation reveals that the density of economic relations between Japan and China is accompanied by the diffusion of green technologies. The development gap between Japan and China as well as the presence of absorptive capacity in China fosters technology diffusion through economic flows. The positive impact of these flows in terms of environmental quality is strengthened by the Chinese Government dedicated to technology transfers and the legislation concerning foreign investment.
