This article seeks to determine why the illegal wildlife trade is still flourishing in China despite the country’s adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). It focuses on the 1989 international trade ban on African elephant ivory. Taking a normative social constructivist approach, the article illuminates the motivations for, and processes and consequences of, accommodating novel norms in domestic situations. In addition, China is compared with Japan to ensure both methodological rigour and wide empirical coverage. It is argued that, although species protection has been adopted as a legitimate transnational norm, it has not been sufficiently socialized into Chinese (or Japanese) society. Rather, related local issues and social, cultural and economic factors play crucial roles in driving ivory demand and trade. Thus, despite the adoption of a relevant regulatory framework, illegal wildlife trade has become a serious problem in today’s highly commercialized Chinese (and Japanese) society. This problem can be solved only by conforming to international conservation norms and implementing stringent regulations and effective governance.