The China standard for diesel emissions was issued in 2005 and was originally supposed to have been introduced in 2011, however China has quietly put a delay on this nationwide change. These new rules will not go into effect until January of 2013. This is crucial because trucks that burn diesel contribute to more than 70% of the nitrogen oxides in Beijing. The main reason why these changes have not happened is because of petrol companies, that have lobbied against taking such action. The oil firms are fully capable of improving quality of fuel, but are reluctant to bear the costs. In other countries these would be passed on to drivers, but in China, pump prices are determined by the government rather than the market. This also means that environmental officials will lack tools for achieving pollution reduction targets. Trucks and bus makers will also have a weaker influence to offset the impact of such setbacks.
China's policies on pollution haven't had exactly the best track record. But according to this article it makes it very clear that China barely has any concerns for the general public's health. Especially now that the general population will now have cars in the near future, it is most likely for air pollution to get worse. China needs to make a big conversion in the type of mufflers and systems to control fumes, however this article makes it clear that this new conversion will not happen very quickly because of the selfishness of the petrol companies.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2012/feb/01/china-shelves-plan-diesel-emissions
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