Early adoption of China VI vehicle fuel standards in Jing-Jin-Ji and surrounding areas

In the Air Pollution Control Action Plan2 released in 2013, China’s State Council set a goal of improving air quality in 2017, including a reduction in the urban concentration of particulate matter (PM) by 10% compared with 2012. The plan set specific goals for densely populated Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, collectively known as Jing-Jin-Ji.

To achieve the plan’s targets, Beijing published the Beijing VI vehicle gasoline and implemented them starting January 1, 2017. In March 2017, Beijing, Tianjin, and the 26 other cities jointly published the Work Plan for Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution in Jing-Jin-Ji and Surrounding Areas. The publication serves as an implementing document for the Air Pollution Control Action Plan.

The work plan emphasizes the importance of fuel quality and requires that China VI-qualified vehicle fuel, including both gasoline and diesel, be available in the “2+26” cities by the end of September 2017, 15 months in advance of the national schedule.

In addition to upgrading vehicle fuel, the cities banned general-purpose diesel oil. They required the substitution of China VI diesel for non-road equipment, paving the way for phasing in China IV non-road standards beginning in 2019.