The concept of extended producer responsibility (EPR) has been incorporated into environmental policy by a growing number of governments. Inspired by EPR initiatives of the European Union, China has also enacted similar legislation, known as China RoHS and China WEEE. Despite high expectations, the actual influence of EPR legislation on product design changes remains ambiguous. Based on the findings of 36 questionnaires and in-depth interviews with China's electrical and electronic (EE) manufacturers, this paper explores the responses of China's EE companies to China RoHS and WEEE and makes comparisons between responses to EPR legislation in the EU and China, building on the previous work of the authors. In order to evaluate the influence of EPR legislation in motivating environmental design changes, drivers and barriers for adopting eco-design are also investigated. It is found that the impact of EPR regulations in China is low. There is little evidence that EPR has stimulated systematic eco-design. Copyright (C) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.