| Summary: | This research aims to set up a comprehensive index system to evaluate the
sustainable development level of the industrial sector in China and to determine
the key influencing factors that hinder the sector’s sustainable development. To
achieve these research goals, we build a theoretical model with 26 indexes selected
from resource, environment, economy, and society subsystems. An empirical
analysis is conducted through Principal Component Analysis and Structural
Equation Modeling. Results indicate that the sustainable development level of
China’s industrial sector became positive in 2007 and peaked in 2012. The
environment subsystem has the largest effect on the sustainable development level.
The sustainable development level is also greatly influenced by solid wastes,
production of non-renewable resources, energy consumption per unit of gross
domestic product (GDP), and industrial research and development (R&D)
expenditure. The basic conclusion is that the sustainable development level of the industrial sector in China can be enhanced through improving the utilization
efficiency of resources, increasing the contribution of technology progress to GDP,
and developing renewable resources.
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