This book is written for local food producers, consumers, researchers, and policymakers who support sustainable development. By exploring the pre-set functions of Geographical Indications (GIs), this book proves that it is imperative that GIs contribute to sustainable development, e.g., the preservation of local biophysical resources and cultural heritage, climate change mitigation and rural revitalization. This is a multidisciplinary research project involving law, circular economy, and systemic design, with the conclusion which is based on deductive reasoning and exemplified by selected cases. Focusing on EU law and Chinese law on GIs, this book puts forward suggestions for further improvement of GI legislations in the EU and China from a functional perspective concerning values, the subject matters, and protection measures so that GIs can contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals. It also provides guiding rules for solving the identified conflicts contained in the EU-China Agreement on GIs. This is the first book that explains the product and origin link of GI using circular economy theory in addition to the terroir theory. This book can guide local producers to design their production model in a sustainable way and help policymakers to turn GIs into a sustainable development tool.

Jianmei Gao is a lecturer at Shanghai International College of Intellectual Property, Tongji University, China. She obtained her doctoral degree in law at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, and her research was funded by China Scholarship Council and Vrije Universiteit Brussel. She was awarded the title of Pujiang Scholar by Shanghai Government in 2022. She has hosted three projects concerning geographical indications supported by China Scholarship Council, Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality. She obtained two masters’ degrees: one is in Intellectual Property Law and the other is in Sustainable Innovative Design. Her research interests cover geographical indication, traditional knowledge, trademark, agricultural policy, circular economy, and their interaction with sustainable development.