China and CITES: Strange Bedfellows or Willing Partners?

Abstract Using the lens of international norm dynamics, this article explores increasing contestation around the global norm to protect endangered species from over exploitation. Focusing on China’s recent announcement that it may lift its 25-year moratorium on the use of rhino horn and tiger bone in traditional Chinese medicine, and calls from some African states for increased international trade in rhino, this article explores current threats to the norm. As international discourse around the norm moves from debates about its applicability to fundamental challenges to its validity, the norm is weakening. To protect the norm, it has become necessary to adopt less traditional approaches to the interpretation of the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) by member states. Going forward, CITES debates about how best to protect endangered species should emphasise both conservation and animal welfare concerns.