This study reviews the evolution of China's environmental regulations and provides a literature review of the effect of environmental regulation on green innovation in China. This study provides a three-stage summary of the evolution of China's environmental regulation framework: the first stage is the initial and exploratory period of environmental legislation; the second stage is the formulation and implementation of environmental policies; and the last stage is the strengthening of multidimensional environmental regulation framework. By reviewing the evolution of China's environmental regulation framework, as well as reviewing past literature, this study finds that (1) China's environmental regulation has developed into a multidimensional framework that incorporates government command and control, market incentives, and public participation, exhibiting typical Chinese characteristics. (2) Environmental regulations are a primary driver of green innovation in China, but the findings of empirical studies are controversial because past studies have focused on different policies, regions, and industries. (3) Future research could examine the optimal combination of green innovation-oriented environmental regulation policies, the multidimensional synergy of environmental regulation framework, and the impact of policy and regional heterogeneity on enterprise behavior.
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