A review of the 14th Asian Automotive Environmental Forum (AAEF) 2025 and the 2nd China Automotive Recycling Industry Development Conference
Held from October 21–23 in Tianjin, China, the 14th Asian Automotive Environmental Forum (AAEF) 2025, alongside the 2nd China Automotive Recycling Industry Development Conference, brought together about 360 delegates from across Asia and beyond to discuss the future of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs), circular economy policy, and international collaboration. Hosted by the Automotive Recycling Industry Committee for the China-Asia Economic Development Association (CARIDC), the event underscored how Asia is positioning itself at the forefront of the global green transition.
A regional platform with global resonance
President Zhang Ying of CARIDC opened the event by reminding delegates that “the automotive industry’s ecological landscape is being redefined.” Her call for cooperation, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together”, captured the conference’s spirit of international cooperation and alliance. The theme “Green and Recycling Development” set the tone for three days of dialogue on low-carbon mobility, battery recycling, and sustainable materials.
Support came from associations across Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Australia, and Europe, with dignitaries such as Xie Boyang, Counsellor of China’s State Council, and Qiu Guohong, former Chinese Ambassador to South Korea, linking the forum’s goals to broader economic and environmental policy. Both urged closer coordination between governments and industries to accelerate the decarbonisation of transport and manufacturing.
Mapping progress in China’s green transformation
Keynote speaker Xu Changming of the State Information Center provided a macroeconomic overview, noting that China’s automotive sector now produces and sells more than 24 million vehicles annually, with new-energy vehicles (NEVs) accounting for nearly half of that total. He predicted NEV penetration could remain around 50% within five years, underscoring the need to develop robust new energy vehicle battery recycling and green materials recovery systems to handle the coming wave of retired EVs.
Li Yuke, Deputy General Manager of China Resources Recycling Group Motor Vehicle Co., Ltd., a national-level industry representative enterprise, echoed that urgency. He described the gaps in dismantling capability and the under-utilisation of reused parts, calling for improved regulatory frameworks and investment to build a “high-value, low-carbon, green recycling” industrial chain. His remarks stressed the importance of the recycling industry, which has now become the core of China’s strategic layout for the green circular industry of auto recycling and dismantling.
International cooperation in action
From Japan, Sosho Kitajima of the Japan Automotive Recyclers Association (JARA) shared the country’s two-decade experience under its Automobile Recycling Law, highlighting the success of its pre-paid recycling fee and electronic traceability system, credited with cutting illegal dismantling by 97%. Kitajima proposed that China could promote the green automotive recycling and circular system along the Belt-and-Road route, while launching initiatives for environmental protection, carbon reduction, and the transfer of recycling technologies.
Korea’s Won Jongsu urged the creation of a permanent Asian resource-circulation network capable of meeting EU-style standards such as the forthcoming Battery Passport. He pointed to opportunities in cross-industry collaboration, linking recyclers with plastics, electronics, and digital-tech sectors, and showcased a Vietnam-Korea recycling zone as a model for regional cooperation.
Malaysia’s perspective, delivered by MARii’s Azlihafiz Bin Muhammad and MAARA’s Chan Poh Huat, centered on policy alignment. Kuala Lumpur will introduce ELV regulations in 2026, alongside generous incentives for EV adoption, aiming to position Malaysia as a regional sustainability hub.
Australia’s David Nolan of the Auto Recyclers Association of Australia (ARAA) looked ahead to 2030, warning that AI, electrification, and new traceability obligations will reshape the sector. Yet he also highlighted potential rewards, including carbon credits for reused parts and expanded trade in high-quality recycled components.
Technology, traceability, and data
A notable undercurrent running through the presentations was digital transformation. Gu Yatao from Yunnan’s Renewable Resources and Used Car Association showcased the province’s digital platform, which integrates used-car and ELV data, processes millions of transactions, and maintains dismantling records. Similarly, Alipay’s Dong Chaochao unveiled a new “reverse invoicing” model co-developed with CARIDC to simplify financial compliance for recyclers and support transparent, tax-compliant operations, exemplifying how fintech meets sustainability.
Certification and standardisation also gained prominence. CATARC Huacheng’s Fu Ning detailed forthcoming certification schemes for remanufactured parts and power-battery reuse, while Huayou Cobalt’s Chen Xionghui mapped the company’s global network for lithium-ion battery recycling. His forecast, that huge volumes of EV batteries will enter the waste stream within a decade, underscored the importance of early infrastructure investment and international partnerships.
Agreements and initiatives
The conference was not merely talk. Three major cooperation agreements were signed:
China’s automotive recycling economy system has been progressively refined and has evolved into a “Green Automotive Circular Solution” with international reference value, which is now being extended to Asia and other relevant countries.
Toward an Asian Automotive Recycling Economy Community
In its closing session, the forum launched the Initiative on the Asia-Pacific Automotive Recycling Industry, committing members to build an “Asian Automotive Recycling Economy Community” founded on collaboration, shared benefits, and unified innovation. The baton for the next forum, the 15th AAEF in 2026, was passed to the Korea Automotive Recyclers Association (KARA), which plans to host the event in Hanoi, Vietnam.
A new chapter for a circular Asia
The Tianjin forum revealed both the scale of Asia’s challenge and the momentum already building. As President Zhang Ying concluded, the event marked “not an endpoint but a new beginning for Asian automotive recycling cooperation”. With electrification accelerating, material flows globalising, and policy frameworks tightening, Asia’s recyclers are poised to become key architects of the world’s circular automotive economy.
If the industry can sustain the spirit of partnership seen in Tianjin, bridging finance, technology, and policy, then the vision of a low-carbon, resource-efficient future may be closer than it seems.
