China’s drive to develop a low-carbon, resource-efficient economy is a top priority of the government, placing pressure on the industrial development zones (IDZs) to respond to a growing and diverse set of policy levers. The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), with the support of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), is working with Chinese industrial and economics zones to identify key policy trends that will affect competitiveness and to provide insight to help better manage the transition to a low-carbon, resource-efficient economy. This synthesis report provides an overview of the two phases of the project, which a specific focus on the low-carbon drivers of IDZs, an overview of the research results, policy trends and drivers of low-carbon development in IDZs and Priority areas for action.