Abstract: There is coupling relationship between regional economy and environmental system. On the one hand, the economy system explored and processed resources from natural system, and discharged pollutants back to the natural system. On the other hand, natural ecological environment system provides resources and space for social economy activities, and feeds back with the natural disaster or environmental pollution. It is important to explore the relationship between economic development and environmental pollution. Given more existing researches focusing on the time scale, it is necessary to carry out the quantitative assessment research on the interaction between economic sub-system with environmental sub-system on the spatial scale. In this paper, the comprehensive assessment indicators for regional social economy system and environment system were constructed firstly. Then, the coupling degree and coordinating degree between regional economic development and environmental pollution was calculated. Based on the research on spatial patterns of coupling and coordinating degree of 350 prefectural units, it can be found that the economic and environment development in most prefectural units are still at a lower level of coupling and coordination. There are significant disparities in coupling and coordinating degree between eastern coastal areas and western inner areas. According to the coupling and coordinating value, Chinese territory could be divided into four types, i.e., economy-environment harmonious area, economy-environment gearing area, economy-environment rivaling area and low coupling degree of economy-environment area. Based on the industrial sector structure analysis of four types of area, it can be found that there is a spatial corresponding relationship between the regional industrial sector structure and the coupling-coordinating level. In the economy-environment harmonious area, high-level manufacturing industries of electrical machinery, electronic equipments account for major proportion in total industrial output value. As for economy-environment gearing area, its industrial value is concentrated on manufacture of machinery and equipment and a few polluting departments such as metallurgy, chemical industry and production of electric power. Economy-environment rivaling area is the agglomerating area of polluting industrial sectors, such as iron and steel industry, petrifaction industry, mining of coals, building material industry and production electric power. So, it is also the high environment risk area of China in future. In low coupling degree of economy-environment area, its industry is concentrated on producing and processing of primary products.

Key words: regional economic development, environmental pollution, coupling and coordinating degree, spatial pattern, industrial sector structure, China