Chinese customs destroy about 662 kilograms of illegal ivory and ivory products at Beijing Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center on May 29, 2015 in Beijing. (Photo : VCG)
There is a silver lining in China's plan to shut down ivory production in the country amid mounting pressures from environmentalists to put an end to elephant poaching.
According to the New York Times, there are two major things from which China can benefit once it starts its ivory trade ban this year.
First, it reinforces President Xi Jinping's fight against corrupt government officials, who have been reportedly using ivory as bribes.
Second, the shutdown enables China to "burnish its image as a global guardian of the environment" amid uncertainties over the U.S.' capacity to address various environmental issues.
Peter Knights, executive director of environment protection organization WildAid, said that China had finally come to realize that taking action on key environmental issues can legitimize its post as a global superpower.
"With power comes responsibility," said Knights in an interview with the NYT. "They know it's not worth damaging China's international image to be involved in this business."
Despite calls from various international groups to halt the production of ivory products, China had been adamant in its stance.
Over the past decade, ivory trade has led to the killing of more than 10,000 elephants, most of which smuggled from Africa to help fund armed groups there.
Environmentalists welcomed China's decision, calling it a huge win for elephants.
"China's announcement is a game changer for elephant conservation," Carter Roberts, president of the World Wildlife Fund, said in a statement via The Washington Post. "The large-scale trade of ivory now faces its twilight years, and the future is brighter for wild elephants."
The Chinese government said that it would begin halting ivory trade in March. By the end of the year, the country targets to phase out the operation entirely.
"This is great news that will shut down the world's largest market for elephant ivory," Aili Kang, Asia director at the Wildlife Conservation Society told TWP. "Ivory traffickers have just lost one of their biggest markets."
