China has undertaken the greatest number of projects and reported the largest emission reductions on the global clean development mechanism (CDM) market. As technology transfer (TT) was designed to play a key role for Annex II countries in achieving greenhouse gas emission reductions, this study examines various factors that have affected CDM and TT in China. The proportion of total income derived from the certified emissions reductions (CER) plays a key role in the project owners' decision to adopt foreign technology. Incompatibility of CDM procedures with Chinese domestic procedures, technology diffusion (TD) effects, Chinese government policy and the role of carbon traders and CDM project consultants all contribute to the different degrees and forms of TT. International carbon traders and CDM consultants could play a larger role in TT in China's CDM projects as investors and brokers in the future. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.