To accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in China, China started to develop Innovation Demonstration Zones on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda to provide replicable solutions to achieve SDGs in other parts of the country and beyond. China plans to set up around 10 Innovation Demo Zones by 2020. In 2018, the Chinese government approved Taiyuan, Guilin, and Shenzhen as the first batch of the zones,targeting different category of development bottlenecks. Through policy, institutional and technological innovation, these zones are endeavoring to realize sustainable development and achieve SDGs at home and providing references to others.

The demonstration zone in Taiyuan adopts the theme of the transformation and upgrading of resource-based cities, seeking to find systematic solutions for water and air pollution. The zone in Guilin focuses on the sustainable use of landscape resources, with an emphasis on systematic solutions for the ecological restoration and environmental protection of rock-desertification in Karst areas. The demo zone in Shenzhen themes on creating new ways and guidance for sustainable development in mega cities, seeking to systematically close the gap in resource endowment, environmental carrying capacity and social governance. With the development of these zones, references are expected to be provided to the solution to similar development problems by other cities and even other countries.

Both government and social actors participate in the building of the demonstration zones. A Joint Inter-Ministerial Meeting Mechanism has been set up, headed by the Ministry of Science and Technology and joined by over 20 ministries. At the local government level, similar horizontal linkages are established among different agencies, which are instrumental in the planning, implementation and assessment of the development plan of the zones. International organizations (UNDP, Unido and ADB), research institutes (Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Society for Sustainable Development), universities, enterprises, and NGOs took an active part in providing advise on the building of the zones.