China’s Sustainable Debt Market Hits Key Milestones

Cumulative sustainable bond issuance top USD555.5bn by end-2024

Highlights: 

1. China’s sustainable bond market reached USD555.5bn in cumulative aligned issuance by end-2024, entering the top four globally.
2. Green bonds remain dominant, while social and sustainability-linked bond volumes surged, reflecting stronger market diversification.
3. Backed by policy reforms, taxonomy development, and cross-border alignment initiatives, China is strengthening transparency and global investor appeal.   

Beijing/London, 4 July 2025: The Climate Bonds Initiative’s (Climate Bonds) latest report reveals by end-2024, China’s total cumulative issuance reached USD555.5bn, ranking top four globally and becoming one of four markets to surpass the half-trillion mark.  

The flagship China Sustainable Debt State of the Market Report 2024 was launched today at the China Green Finance Committee Annual Conference, held in Huzhou, China. It provides an in-depth overview of China’s green, social, and sustainable, sustainability-linked and transition bond markets, known collectively as the GSS+ bond market up until the end of 2024. This report is co-produced with CIB Research and supported by Standard Chartered Bank.  

Green Continues to domain  

Green is the dominant theme among Chinese issuers, reaching 80% of cumulative aligned volume by the end of 2024 (USD442.4bn). In 2024, China issued USD68.9bn in aligned green bonds across onshore and offshore market, making it the third largest source of aligned volume after USA (USD84.7bn), and Germany (USD73.3bn), despite a decline of 18% compared to 2023. 

Low-carbon energy and transport remained top Use-of-Proceeds (UoP) categories, together accounting for 52% and 30% respectively. Meanwhile, UoP earmarked for adaptation and resilience (A&R) saw a substantial increase to USD519.1m from USD164.1m.   

Chinese issuers continued to favour shorter-dated green bonds in 2024 with 89.9% of aligned volume having a maturity of five years or less. Only six deals across the entire year had a tenor longer than 20 years, highlighting the limited appetite for long-dated green instruments in the domestic market. 

Transparency efforts improved, with 61% of labelled green bonds by deal count backed by second party opinions (SPOs) in 2024, signalling closer alignment with international standards.  

S&S bonds saw strong growth, while SLBs market rebounded 

Aligned S&S volume originating from China surged by 316% to USD15.7bn in 2024 from USD3.8bn in 2023, with the aligned deal count growing by 200% to 66 in 2024 from 22 the prior year. This was China’s strongest year for aligned S&S deals in the post-COVID-19 era. 61.9% of the total aligned volume included affordable infrastructure among the eligible UoP categories, followed by healthcare (5%), education (3.7%), and employment (2.9%). 

After a stagnant 2023, China’s sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) market recovered in 2024, with insurance rising to USD7.1bn across 82 deals, up from USD5.7bn in 2023, and ranked China second after Italy (USD10.4bn). Cumulatively, China has issued 213 SLBs totaling USD22.7bn, ranking third globally. 

GBA: A key region for sustainable finance 

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), while accounting for just 0.6% of China’s land mass, contributed 11% of national GDP in 2023, underscoring its role as an economic powerhouse. From 2022 to 2024, 52 issuers launched 163 aligned GSS+ bonds, totaling USD69.5bn.  

Hong Kong SAR led issuance in the region, with USD20.9bn across 30 aligned deals recorded by Climate Bonds from 2022-2024. In May, 2024, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), supported by Climate Bonds, launched the Hong Kong Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance. Hong Kong’s green bond programme is explored in greater depth in Climate Bonds’ upcoming Hong Kong Sustainable Debt Market Briefing, 2024. 

Policy push accelerates market growth

Since 2024, China has introduced stricter disclosure rules, clear guidelines for UoP, and enhanced emissions reporting. The PBoC has also piloted transition finance frameworks across key sectors like power, steel, building materials, and agriculture, helping high-emission industries decarbonize. 

China’s efforts to attract international investors include streamlined issuance for green panda bonds, a new sovereign green bond framework, and the launch of the Multi-Jurisdiction Common Ground Taxonomy (M-CGT) with the EU and Singapore to support cross-border investments.  

Outlook and recommendations 

China’s sustainable bond market is becoming more transparent, standardised, and globally aligned. With its size and policy drive, China has the potential to lead the development of green finance across emerging markets. Realising this potential, however, will require deeper market integration and enhanced investor confidence. 

One promising path lies in broadening the use of sovereign and municipal green bonds. The strong international demand for China’s 2025 sovereign green bond shows that the appetite is there. Opening up further to global investors, through channels like Bond Connect, underpinned by clear rules and credible green definitions, will help attract long-term capital.  

Improving disclosure and setting more ambitious, verifiable SLB targets can elevate market transparency. China’s evolving taxonomy, if expanded to sectors like manufacturing and ICT, could unlock new financing opportunities. As climate risks intensify, developing innovative tools for adaptation finance will be essential to building a more resilient financial system. 

Sean Kidney, CEO, Climate Bonds Initiative, said: 

“China’s sustainable bond market is becoming more standardised, transparent, and aligned with global practices—even amid a shifting global macro environment. Landmark developments, including the launch of its first green sovereign bond, the expansion of green Panda bonds, and active engagement in international standard-setting, are boosting market credibility and investor confidence. Climate Bonds looks forward to continuing our support for China’s role in advancing global sustainable development and accelerating the green transition across emerging markets.” 

Shi Lu, Head of Coverage, Standard Chartered China, said: 

“As the pace of internationalisation of Chinese enterprises and financial institutions has accelerated in recent years, we have seen an increasing number of Chinese companies raising funds in the international market through sustainable finance instruments. While aligning with international sustainability standards and attracting international investors, they have also enhanced transparency in the field of sustainable development. Standard Chartered remains committed to mobilising sustainable finance across our market footprint, and we will continue to collaborate deeply with financial institutions and corporate clients to provide more innovative sustainable financial solutions, offering professional support to help these increasingly globalised Chinese companies and financial institutions achieve their sustainable development goals.” 

Lu Zhengwei, Chief Economist of Industrial Bank Co., Ltd (CIB), Chairman of the Academic Review Committee, CIB Research, said: 

“Since 2024, China’s sustainable bond market has shown steady growth alongside emerging shifts. The country is sharpening its frameworks for green and sustainable bonds to drive higher market quality. Meanwhile, the issuance of its first green sovereign bond and progress on green Panda bonds and the Common Ground Taxonomy reflect momentum toward deeper, two-way market openness.” 

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For more information, please contact:   

Xiaoyan Shen 

Senior Communications and Marketing Specialist, Climate Bonds Initiative  

Xiaoyan.shen@climatebonds.net 

About Climate Bonds Initiative: The Climate Bonds Initiative is a global not-for-profit organisation working to mobilise global capital for climate action. Climate Bonds Standard and Certification is a science-based, multi-sector certification scheme for investments – and now companies/entities – that address the challenge of climate change.  

About CIB Research: CIB Research was founded on June 1, 2015, in Shanghai. It was founded to support banking transformation, promote technological innovation, and serve the real economy. Through high-quality research, CIB Research empowers banks to navigate economic cycles and contributes to the high-quality development of the banking industry and the construction of new-type think tanks. CIB Research has three research sections: strategies, markets and industries, and it does professional research on the macro economy, green finance, the financial industry, currencies & commodities, fixed income, and different industry segmentations. This supports banks in setting strategies, selecting target industries, and capturing market opportunities. 

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