China's disregard for the environment shows no sign of improving China continues to struggle to balance the demands of growing its economy and lifting more of its 1.3 billion-plus people out of poverty, with the need to protect what is left of its environment. Decades of loosely-regulated industrialisation has rendered vast swathes of China's land and waterways toxic. One-third of the Yellow River is not only incapable of supporting marine life but is so deadly it can't be used even for industrial purposes. The pollution that belches from coal-fired power plants and an ever-increasing number of cars has resulted in air quality in Beijing and other cities plunging. Fields across the country are contaminated by the discharge from factories, while China's seas are also suffering. The massive oil spill in the Bohai Sea off the east coast last summer affected an area of 2400 square miles. That's despite an increased recognition by China's leaders that there is an urgent need to conserve the environment. Every year, a raft of new regulations designed to enhance and enforce environmental protection are unveiled. The problem is that there is a huge disconnect between central and local governments. In China, local officials are judged first and foremost by their success at improving the GDP of their regions. And no official seeking promotion wants to shut down a factory that is making money, even if it is spewing out pollution. It is likely that the desire to increase economic output lies behind the failure of the authorities in Guangxi Province to monitor the metal-producing factories that line the Longjiang River. Worse still, is the possibility that local officials knew cadmium was being discharged but turned a blind eye to it. Until the rewards for protecting the environment equal those given for boosting provincial economies, it is a scenario that will be repeated again.