Abstract
This chapter explores changes in sustainability priorities within the Chinese informal economy under COVID-19 by exploring the views of respondents based in 71 individually owned businesses in China. Respondents were asked to score (on a scale of 1 to 5) the importance of the three dimensions of sustainability (environmental, economic and social) over the three stages of the pandemic (pre, during and post). Results indicate that companies in the Chinese informal sector tended to consider economic sustainability as essential throughout the pandemic but prioritized social sustainability to a higher level during the pandemic. This suggests that environmental sustainability would be the only dimension that is neglected during COVID-19 and, in the longer term, after the pandemic. However, when factors such as company size and market orientation are taken into account the story is more complex, and big and medium-sized informal businesses neglect environmental sustainability more than small and micro informal businesses. Export-oriented informal businesses in China and companies with a mixed market but mostly domestic-oriented show less interest in prioritizing environmental sustainability, while domestic-oriented informal businesses are regarded as the "greenest" part of China's informal economy during COVID-19 and after the pandemic.