Abstract: Controlling greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change have become a focus of the international attention. As a country with huge emissions of greenhouse gases, China is facing pressures from abroad. For the next decades, if China follows the evolution route of developed countries, China’s hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) productions, consumptions and emissions will grow rapidly. HFCs emissions in China could contribute a great potential reduction (avoided emissions) if China adopts substitutes with low global warming potentials and implements emission control measures. It is considerably beneficial to include controlling HFCs emissions into China’s overall strategy of greenhouse gas emission control. As for controlling HFCs emissions, China faces several opportunities, such as having established relatively complete compliance mechanism, and promoting energy conservation and technological innovation; while China also faces several challenges, such as fast growth of HFCs consumptions and emissions, and limitations of alternative technologies for HFCs.

Key words: climate change, HFCs, control strategy, opportunity, challenge