Li Weiming: Building a Powerful Green Engine for High-Quality Development
The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee deliberated and adopted the Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development, sketching a grand blueprint [1] for our country's development over the next five years. Within this framework, the developmental goal of "achieving new and major progress in the construction of a Beautiful China" and the major deployment to "accelerate the comprehensive green transition of economic and social development to build a Beautiful China" fully reflect the consistent high importance placed on ecological civilization [2] construction by the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. It demonstrates a firm determination and strategic clarity in advancing modernization characterized by harmony between humanity and nature.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025), facing the severe impact of the pandemic of the century, a complex internal and external environment, and new problems and challenges on the road to green development, the Party Central Committee made a series of major deployments. These pushed our country to achieve a leapfrog transformation—from focusing on winning the tough battle against pollution to comprehensively advancing the construction of a Beautiful China—resulting in brilliant achievements in ecological civilization construction and green development. The quality of the national ecological environment has continuously improved; in 2024, the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in cities at the prefecture level and above nationwide dropped to 29.3 micrograms per cubic meter, a 16.3% decrease from 2020. The proportion of days with "good" air quality reached 87.2%, up 2.4 percentage points from 2020. For the first time, the proportion of surface water sections with good water quality exceeded 90%, and the water quality of the main streams of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers has maintained Grade II status for several consecutive years. Public satisfaction with the ecological environment has exceeded 90% for four consecutive years. Historical achievements have been made in the protection and restoration of ecosystems; currently, the area of ecological protection and restoration exceeds 120 million mu [3], and the forest coverage rate has steadily risen to over 25%, contributing approximately one-quarter of the world’s new green areas. The construction of a clean energy system has accelerated, with the proportion of non-fossil energy consumption increasing from 15.9% in 2020 to 19.8% in 2024. The installed capacity of renewable energy power generation has historically surpassed coal power, firmly ranking first in the world. The world's largest carbon market is operating stably, covering over 60% of the country’s carbon dioxide emissions. The "green content" of economic development has significantly increased, with the number of national-level green factories rising to 6,430, accounting for approximately 20% of the total manufacturing output value. We have built the world’s largest clean power supply system and new energy industrial chain.
The practice of green development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period fully demonstrates that ecological environmental protection and economic development are by no means in an opposing relationship, but are rather a dialectically unified and mutually reinforcing organic whole. A good ecological environment is both an important component of a better life for the people and an inherent requirement and vital support for promoting high-quality development. Practical results eloquently prove that taking the path of prioritizing ecology and pursuing green development is a scientific choice that conforms to the trends of the times and fits our national conditions; it fully aligns with the developmental goals of achieving higher quality, greater efficiency, increased fairness, and more sustainability and security. This series of practical explorations and valuable experiences not only builds a solid foundation for a higher-level and deeper green transition during the 15th Five-Year Plan period but also imbues us with confidence in continuing to follow the path of ecological priority and green development.
The blueprint has been drawn, and the time to forge ahead is now. Standing at a new historical starting point, we must comprehensively and profoundly grasp and implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee. We must adhere to Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization as our scientific guide, accelerate the comprehensive green transition of economic and social development, create a powerful green engine, and push high-quality development toward new achievements.
First, we must continuously enhance the momentum of green development. The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee proposed to "firmly establish and practice the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets [4], and, guided by the goals of reaching carbon peak and achieving carbon neutrality, coordinately promote carbon reduction, pollution reduction, green expansion, and growth." This captures the key to promoting the comprehensive green transition of economic and social development, requiring us to seek a dynamic balance among multiple objectives and achieve a benign interaction between high-quality development and high-level protection. We must unswervingly promote the deep adjustment of the industrial structure, deeply advance energy conservation and carbon reduction in key industries such as steel, non-ferrous metals, and petrochemicals, and cultivate and strengthen strategic emerging industries such as green environmental protection, new energy, and new materials. We must promote the deep integration of next-generation information technologies like artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) with green and low-carbon industries, using an increase in industrial "green content" to enhance economic "gold content" [5].
Second, we must continuously and deeply advance the tough battle against pollution and the optimization of ecosystems. This is a key task for improving the quality of the ecological environment. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, pollution prevention and control must place greater emphasis on precision, science, and the rule of law, targeting weak links for sustained assault. Simultaneously, starting from the perspective of ecosystem integrity and the systematic nature of river basins, we must continuously enhance the diversity, stability, and sustainability of ecosystems to fortify the national ecological security barrier.
Third, we must accelerate the construction of a new type of energy system. Accelerating the green and low-carbon transition of energy is the top priority for the comprehensive green transition of economic and social development. Based on our country's energy resource endowment, we must adhere to the principle of "building the new before discarding the old" [6]. While ensuring energy security, we should develop new and clean energy with greater intensity, accelerate the construction of a new type of power system, promote the clean and efficient utilization of fossil energy and the energy-saving/carbon-reduction transformation of existing coal-fired power units, and construct a modern energy system that is clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient.
Fourth, we must actively and steadily promote and achieve carbon peak. We must anchor our goals and maintain strategic resolve, accelerate green and low-carbon technological innovation, and improve systems for carbon emission statistics, accounting, and carbon emission rights trading. We must speed up the construction and implementation of a "dual control" system for both total carbon emissions and intensity, and establish a sound system of incentives and constraints covering all types of entities to ensure the carbon peak goal is achieved as scheduled, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent realization of carbon neutrality.
Fifth, we must accelerate the formation of green modes of production and lifestyles. Building a Beautiful China is a common cause for all people, and accelerating the formation of green production and lifestyles is a vital component of the comprehensive green transition of economic and social development. Through extensive social mobilization and institutional innovation, we must promote the high-end, intelligent, and green development of industry, advance the deep development of clean production and the circular economy, and vigorously advocate for simple, moderate, green, and low-carbon life philosophies and consumption patterns. We must extensively carry out national green and low-carbon actions, making green travel, the conservation of water, electricity, and food, and waste sorting a conscious action of the entire society.
(The author is the Director and Researcher of the Resource Policy Research Office of the Institute of Resources and Environmental Policy at the Development Research Center of the State Council.) Source: Economic Daily (October 31, 2025) Web Editor: Huihui