With a backgroundof economic geography, or industrial geography more specifically, I'm interested in the spatial and social dimension of industrial ecology, both theoretical and practical. I worked on the Extended Producer Responsibility in e-waste managementin China, especially the response from the industry at this policy at national, regional and local level for years, now extending the research interests to the relation between the global environmental governance and the technological change in developing countries broadly. 

  2003       PhD in Economic Geography, Peking University

  1998       Bachelor of Art (2nd) in Intellectual Property Law, Peking University

  1997       Bachelor of Science in Economic Geography, Peking University

 2003-2007     Lecturer, Dept. of Urban and Economic   Geography, Peking University, Beijing,China

 2007-               Associate Professor, Dept. of Urban and Economic Geography, Peking University, Beijing, China

 2014                Visiting scholar in IIIEE, Lund University, Sweden

 2004                Henry Ruce scholar in Center of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, USA 

Ongoing Projects:

2020-2024          I'm the PI from China in a consortium led by the universities and public agencies of Rotterdam, TUD, PBL, Peking, Tongji and CityU-SRI, and local stakeholders for the NSFC-NOW (Sino-The Netherland) program on ‘Towards Inclusive Circular Economy: Transnational Network for Wise-waste Cities (IWWCs)’. This ongoing project aims to build a Sino-Dutch transnational network for the design on inclusive wise-waste cities. We will carry out the comparative research from three levels saying urban metabolism, inclusive infrastructure design & management, and community building, to comprehensively explore and evaluate the implementation effects of wise-waste cities.

2018-2022          I'm participating in the National Key Research and Development Program of China on Solid Wastes Recycling 'Product lifecycle tracking system and performance evaluation technologies’ (2018YFC1902701)

2018-2022          I'm participating in the National Key Research and Development Program of China on Solid Wastes Recycling 'Research on environmental and resource attributes of solid wastes’ (2018YFC1900101)

Completed Projects:

2013-2017          I was the PI of China’s National Natural Science Fund project on ‘Technological transition through Extended Producer Responsibility in electronics industry’ (ID: 41271548).  With participatory observation in the legislation and policy making for EPR in China, I investigated the niches for emerging new business models for post-consumer recycling fostered by the WEEE recycling funding system in China by including informal collection network into the formal recycling system.

2013-2016          I participated in the China National Key Technology Research and Development Program ‘Demonstration project on key technologies in the re-development of built-up area in rural collectively owned land’ (2013BAJ13B00). We initiated community-based program to demonstrate sustainable practices in selected urbanized villages.  

2006 – 2009        I collaborated with Prof.Wang Jici and others on the China's National Natural Science Fund project on “Industrial Clusters in China: Theory and Practices” (China NSF GRS 40535027). My focus in this project was the environmental perspective in the upgrading of the local industrial clusters in China.

2006 - 2008        I collaborated with Prof.Yu Zhou from Vassar College and others on the NSF (US) project 'Comparative Studies of China's high-tech regions in Beijing, Shanghai-Suzhou and Shenzhen-Dongguan (NSF GRS 0552237)'. I was the local coordinator for Beijing and Dongguan in Guangdong province.  I was involved in the entire the research process such as questionnaire design, field work including survey and interviews.  I also participated in various work-in-progress meetings with the group.

2005 - 2007          I was the PI of China’s National Natural Science Fund project on 'Regional comparison studies on the impacts of Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) on electronics industry in China' (China NSF GRS 40401014). I led a group of graduate and undergraduate students to conduct interviews and surveys in Pearl River Delta, Yantze River Delta and Beijing-Tianjin with companies to seek their perspectives and reactions for impact of the new international environmental regulations. I was also involved in the programs of China’s Ministry of Information Industry which was aimed at designing institutional mechanism for e-waste recycling.

2000 - 2003        I was the research assistant in China National Natural Sciences Fund Project on 'lexible Production Network of PC-related Industry and its Innovation Network', doing survey in Beijing, Dongguan, Suzhou, and Shanghai; and writing the report.

2001 - 2002        I was the research assistant in China Development Fund Project on 'Comparison on Three IT Industrial Clusters in Mainland China', doing survey and writing the report.

Xin Tong, Haofan Yu, Tao Liu (2021) Using weighted entropy to measure the recyclability of municipal solid waste in China: Exploring the geographical disparity for circular economy, Journal of Cleaner Production, 312: 127719, ISSN 0959-6526, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127719. 

Haofan Yu, Xin Tong (2021) Producer vs. local government: The locational strategy for end-of-life photovoltaic modules recycling in Zhejiang province, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 169: 105484, ISSN 0921-3449, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105484.

Huang, Huang, Xin Tong, Yi Cai and Hui Tian (2020) Gap between discarding and recycling: Estimate lifespan of electronic products by survey in formal recycling plants in China. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 156: 104700.

Xin Tong, Igor Nikolic, Bob Dijkhuizen, Maurits van den Hoven, Melle Minderhoud, Niels Wäckerlin, Tao Wang, Dongyan Tao （2018） Behaviour change in post-consumer recycling: applying agent-based modelling in social experiment, Journal of Cleaner Production, 187: 1006-1013.

 Xin Tong, Tao Wang, Yanguang Chen, Yutao Wang（2018）Towards an inclusive circular economy: Quantifying the spatial flows of e-waste through the informal sector in China, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 135: 163-171.

Xin Tong, Dongyan Tao, Reid Lifset（2018）Varieties of business models for post-consumer recycling in China, Journal of Cleaner Production, 2018, 170: 665-673.

 Xin Tong, Dongyan Tao (2016) The rise and fall of a “waste city”: changing land scape of waste in Beijing. Resources Conservation and Recycling, 107: 10-17.

Li Mo, Tong Xin (2016) Economic feasibility of recycling thin-film photovoltaic modules in Shandong province. Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Pekinensis, 52(2): 313-319. (In Chinese)

Xin Tong, Jingyan Li, Dongyan Tao, Yifan Cai (2015) Re-making spaces of conversion: deconstructing discourses of E-waste recycling in China. Area, 47(1): 31-39.

Hui Kong, Dianzhi Sui, Xin Tong, Xun Wang (2015) Paths to mixed-use development: A case study of Southern Changping in Beijing, China. Cities, 44, 94-103.

Tong Xin, Wang Wei, Li Mo (2015) Recycling of PV modular. Journal of Basic Science and Engineering, 23(suppl): 59-67. (In Chinese)

Tong Xin, Feng Ling, Tao Dongyan, Carlo Ferri (2015) Community-based tool targeting behavior change for garbage sorting activity. Ecological Economy, 32(2): 52-56. (In Chinese)

Xie Ying, Tong Xin, Cai Yifan (2015) Innovation and upgrading in manufacturing: investigation on the maker community in Shenzhen. Science & Technology Progress and Policy, 32(2): 59-65. (In Chinese)

 Shi Jin, Tong Xin, Li Tianhong (2015) Recent development of large scale urban models. City Planning Review, 39(3): 104-113. (In Chinese)

Tong Xin, Tao Dongyan, Shi Jin, Zhang Hongmou (2014) Dynamic adaptive approaches: an Application in Regional Planning. Journal of Basic Science and Engineering, 22(4): 647-660. (In Chinese)

Cai Yifan, Tong Xin（2014）The upgrading of cultural industry in global value chain: a case study on Dafen village. Human Geography, 29(3): 121-126. (In Chinese)

Xin Tong and Lin Yan (2013) From legal transplant to sustainable transition: Extended Producer Responsibility in the WEEE management in China. Journal of industrial ecology, 17(2), 119-212.

Shi Jin, Tong Xin, Zhang Hongmou, Tao Dongyan (2013) Spatial interaction of urban residence and workplace: an Urbansim application in Yichang, china. Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Pekinensis, 49(6): 1065-1074. (In Chinese)

Tong Xin, Cai Yifan, Yan Lin (2013) Generation and collection of WEEE in pilot areas of HARS: an empirical study. Ecological Economy, (269): 38-42. (In Chinese)

Xin Tong, Jin Shi, Yu Zhou (2012) Greening of supply chain in developing countries: Diffusion of lead (Pb)-free soldering in ICT manufacturers in China. Ecological Economics 83, 174-182.

Tong Xin and Wang Jici (2012) The shadow of the global network: e-waste flows to China. Economies of Recycling: The global transformation of materials, values and social relations, edited by Catherine Alexander and Joshua Reno, London: Zed Books.

Tong Xin, Yan Lin (2012) Sustainable transition and Extended Producer Responsibility. China Population, Resources and Environment, 22(8): 48-54. (In Chinese)

Tong Xin, Tong Lei (2012) The carbon emissions environmental Kuznets curve and the impact factors: empirical study on 103 cities in china. Journal of Basic Science and Engineering, 20(supplement): 119-125. (In Chinese)

Shi Jin, Tong Xin, Zhang Hongmou, Tao Dongyan (2011) Spatial integrated modeling of Beijing's office market: model calibration and simulations based on UrbanSim. Urban Studies, 19(2): 117-127. (In Chinese)

Tong Xin, Park Soon Joon (2010) EPR in China: implementation in WEEE. In Environmental Taxes in East Asia, edited by Lee Shuz, Tokoy: 昭和堂, 257-273. (In Japanese)

Shi Jin, Tong Xin (2010) The diffusion of green technology: comparison of three industrial clusters in China. China Population, Resources and Environment, 20(9): 120-126. (In Chinese)

Tong Xin and Reid Lifset (2007) International Copper Flow Network, Ecological Economics, 61(2-3), 345-354.

Tong Xin (2007) The diffusion of green innovation in industrial clusters, China Population, Resources and Environment, 17(6): 66－71. (In Chinese)

Tong Xin (2007) Tranboundary impacts of EU ROHS Directives: an investigation on electronics industry in Shenzhen-Dongguan. Ecological Economy, (187): 32－25. (In Chinese)

Tong Xin, Chen Tianming (2007) Global environmental governance and the diffusion of green innovation. China Soft Science, (201): 69－76. (In Chinese)

Tong Xin (2006) The impact of institutional factors on the development of green manufacturing technology: an investigation on lead-free soldering technology. Electronics Materials, (4): 44－47. (In Chinese)

Tong Xin, Wang Jici (2005) Comparison of innovative industry in Beijing and Shanghai. City Planning Review, 29(4): 35-39. (In Chinese)

Xin Tong (2005), Electronic Waste, Global Value Chains and Environmental Policy Response in China. New Economic Space: New Economic Geographies, edited by Heron R. L. and Harrington J. W., Ashgate.

Wang Jici, Zhu, Huasheng, and Tong Xin (2005) Industrial Districts in a Transitional Economy: The Case of Datang Sock and Stocking Industry in Zhejiang, China. Proximity, Distance and Diversity: Issues on Economic Interaction and Local Development. Edited by Oina, P at el. New York: Ashgate.

Wang Jici and Tong Xin (2005) Industrial Clusters in China. Innovation Systems and Innovation Policy in Developing Countries with a Perspective of China. Edited by Gu, S and Alcorta, L, Routledge in Association with UNU Press.

Tong Xin and Wang Jici (2004) Transnational flows of e-waste and spatial patterns of recycling in China. Eurasian Geography and Economics, 45 (8): 608-621.

Tong Xin (2004) Global mandates, National Policy, and Local Responses: Scale conflicts in China’s e-waste imports management, Proceeding of IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment & the IAER Electronics Recycling Summit, Phoenix, AZ, the US.

Xin Tong and Reid Lifset (2004) Extended Producer Responsibility in China: Where is the 'Best-practice'? Journal of Industrial Ecology, 8(4): 6-9.

Tong Xin (2003) Extended Producer Responsibility in WEEE management. China Environmental Management, (1): 1－5. (In Chinese)

Tong Xin and Wang Jici (2002) Global-local Networking of PC manufacturing in Dongguan, China. Knowledge, Industry and Environment: Institutions and Innovation in Territorial Perspective. Edited by Hayter, M and Heron R. New York, Ashgate, 2002: 67-86.

Yu Zhou and Xin Tong (2002) Between MNCs and the market: Local firms in China’s high-tech cluster in Beijing, Economic Geography, 79(2): 129-153.

Tong Xin (2002) Progress in e-waste recycling. Science & Technology Review, (170): 59-61. (In Chinese)

Tong Xin and Wang Jici (2001), Local Clustering: a case study on PC-related manufacturing in Dongguan. Acta Geographica Sinica, 56(6): 722-729. (In Chinese)

Tong Xin and Wang Jici (2001) The Changing Role of State in the High-tech Manufacturing: Comparison of three PC industrial clusters in China. Science & Technology International, (134): 17-20. (In Chinese)

Tong Xin and Wang Jici (2000) An Analysis of Global-local Innovation Network), China Soft Science, (9): 80-83. (In Chinese)

Tong Xin, Li Tianhong and Wang Jici (2000) On the Sustainable Development and the Revolution of the Ecological Industry. Science & Technology Review, (4): 6-9. (In Chinese)

Tong Xin and Wang Jici (1999) An Analysis on the Global Production Network of the Information Technology Industry. Science and Technology Review, (9): 14-16. (In Chinese )