Yang Hongwei: Advancing the Academic Interpretation of Xi Jinping's Thought on Ecological Civilization
As an essential component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Xi Jinping’s thought on ecological civilization is the fundamental adherence and action guide for the construction of a Beautiful China. Promoting its specialized academic interpretation and systematic construction is not only an urgent requirement for deepening theoretical research, but more importantly, it is the key to enhancing its ideological leading power and practical guiding force. Academic interpretation implies moving beyond the levels of policy explanation and empirical summary to penetrate the philosophical foundations of the thought. It requires clarifying its core concepts, logical structure, theoretical origins, and innovative contributions, thereby transforming it into an academic system characterized by rigorous logic, high explanatory power, and broad recognition.
We must delve deeply into philosophical foundations and theoretical points of origin. Academic interpretation requires us to look through the surface-level expressions of the thought to reach its philosophical core. This necessitates a systematic exposition of the ontology, epistemology, axiology, and methodology contained within it. For example, how should we understand the core concept of a "life community of man and nature"? It transcends the long-dominant Western dualism of "anthropocentrism" versus "ecocentrism," drawing upon the holistic cosmological view of "the unity of heaven and man" [1] found in Chinese culture. Furthermore, based on fundamental Marxist principles—such as nature being man’s "inorganic body" and the "metabolism" between man and nature—it creatively develops an ecological holist philosophical paradigm. This paradigm establishes the ecological axiology of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," emphasizes an epistemological basis of respecting and mastering the laws of nature, and points toward methodological principles of systemic and dialectical thinking. We need to conduct rigorous philosophical inquiries and systematic construction regarding these fundamental issues, clarifying the philosophical connotations and mutual relationships of core categories such as the "life community," "ecological value," "green development," and "ecological justice." Only in this way can we lay a solid, self-consistent philosophical foundation for the entire theoretical system and form an ecological civilization theoretical paradigm with distinct Chinese characteristics, style, and spirit [2], avoiding superficial interpretations that rely on slogans.
We must promote interdisciplinary integration. Ecological civilization is itself a complex, dynamic "giant system" involving both natural ecosystems and socio-economic systems. Its construction practice covers almost all fields of human activity, including economy, politics, law, society, culture, and technology. The rich connotations contained in the "Ten Persists" [3] of Xi Jinping’s thought on ecological civilization are beyond the capacity of any single discipline to bear or analyze in depth. Advancing academic interpretation must break down the state of "isolated islands" caused by rigid traditional disciplinary barriers and gather multi-disciplinary wisdom for collaborative innovation. We should meticulously design an interdisciplinary research agenda centered on the core tenets of Xi Jinping’s thought on ecological civilization. For instance, ecological economics should deeply study the scientific connotation and realization mechanisms of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," exploring key topics such as Green GDP accounting, the realization of the value of ecological products (such as GEP accounting [4]), green finance, and the circular economy to provide solid economic support and quantitative tools for green development. Environmental politics should focus on how the institutional advantages of ecological civilization are effectively transformed into governance efficacy, studying the mechanism of the Party's comprehensive leadership over ecological civilization construction, the political logic and efficacy of the Central Ecological and Environmental Protection Inspection system, central-local relations in environmental governance, and collaborative governance models involving multiple subjects (such as the River and Lake Chief systems and the Forest Chief system [5]). Ecological jurisprudence needs to systematically construct a theoretical system for "protecting the ecological environment with the strictest systems and the most rigorous rule of law," researching the codification of environmental law, environmental public interest litigation, ecological compensation, compensation for ecological environmental damage, and the prevention of environmental risks to build a legal shield for ecological civilization. Ecological sociology should attend to the social foundations and cultural soil of ecological civilization construction, studying themes such as the cultivation of public environmental consciousness, the promotion of green lifestyles, the development of environmental social organizations, and environmental risk communication and social stability. The key to achieving this integration lies in establishing high-level interdisciplinary research institutions, forming a "blockchain" of scientific research, and setting up major cross-disciplinary research projects focusing on complex issues like "dual carbon" [6] pathways, biodiversity conservation and sustainable utilization, and regional collaborative governance. Through deep dialogue, collision, and fusion across multiple disciplines, we can comprehensively, multidimensionally, and profoundly reveal the systematic and complex nature of Xi Jinping’s thought on ecological civilization, catalyzing original theoretical growth points.
We must systematically summarize and sublimate the rich experience of Chinese practice. The most distinctive character of Xi Jinping’s thought on ecological civilization lies in its practicality. It originates from a profound insight into the severe challenges of China’s ecological and environmental problems, took shape during the magnificent practice of ecological civilization construction, and has been continuously tested, enriched, and developed throughout this process. Academic interpretation must never be detached from the Chinese land, created behind closed doors, or fall into pure speculative games. On the contrary, it must be deeply rooted in the vivid practice of China’s ecological civilization construction, systematically summarizing, theoretically refining, and sublimating the "practical wisdom" contained therein into academic models and theoretical paradigms with universal explanatory power. This requires us to establish an effective mechanism for distilling "typical cases into theoretical models." We must conduct in-depth dissection and academic analysis of landmark success stories—such as the ecological miracle of Saihanba turning from desert to forest, the "Thousand Villages Demonstration and Ten Thousand Villages Renovation" Project [7] leading rural ecological revitalization in Zhejiang, the systematic governance and ecological restoration of river basins like the Mulan River in Fujian, the construction of the national park system, the joint prevention and control of air pollution in key regions, and the construction of waste sorting and "waste-free cities." What were the key factors for the success of these cases? Which universal ecological and social laws were followed? Which core concepts of Xi Jinping’s thought on ecological civilization were creatively applied? At the same time, we must attach great importance to the supporting role of data, integrating multi-dimensional and long-term data resources—such as ecological environment quality monitoring, resource and energy consumption, green industry development, the execution of environmental policies and regulations, and public environmental satisfaction—to build a scientific, authoritative, and dynamic comprehensive database of China’s ecological civilization construction. This will provide solid support for theoretical research and a scientific basis for policy formulation and effect evaluation. Academic achievements must ultimately serve practice. We must effectively transform the refined theoretical models, discovered universal laws, and constructed evaluation systems into core content for cadre training, vivid teaching materials for national education, and decision-making references for policy optimization, achieving the law-based guidance of theory over higher-level practice.
We must deeply participate in global academic dialogue. Ecological and environmental problems are common challenges facing all of humanity, and ecological civilization is a new form of human civilization development. Xi Jinping’s thought on ecological civilization belongs not only to China; the foundational solutions it contains for solving the global ecological crisis have universal world significance. Therefore, it should be placed within the broad context of global ecological trends and sustainable development theories. Through in-depth comparative research, precise academic translation, and active international dialogue, we should clarify its unique contributions and universal values, making it an academic paradigm widely recognized, understood, and respected by the international academic community. The primary task is to solve the problem of precise academic translation and explanation of key concepts. Core propositions such as a "life community of man and nature," "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," and "mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts are a life community" [8] contain profound Chinese cultural and philosophical meanings. Translating these accurately and vividly into an academic language that the international academic community can understand while avoiding "cultural discounts," supplemented by easy-to-understand academic explanations, is foundational work. We should focus on clarifying the unique advantages of Xi Jinping’s thought on ecological civilization in solving the "development versus protection" dilemma commonly faced by developing countries. We should promote the full absorption and reflection of the core tenets of the ecological civilization and life community concepts within the research reports and assessment frameworks of authoritative international agencies, such as the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Through these efforts, China’s practical experience, institutional innovations, and theoretical reflections in the field of ecological civilization can be effectively transformed into academic discourse and public knowledge products with international influence. This will enhance China’s right to speak and power to set rules in global ecological and environmental governance, contributing Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to the ecological crisis facing humanity.
Advancing the academic interpretation of Xi Jinping’s thought on ecological civilization is a systematic project of profound significance and arduous tasks. It requires us to forge this thought into an academic theoretical system with profound philosophical insight, solid disciplinary support, rich practical verification, and broad international recognition. Only then can this thought—shining with the light of truth—establish its rightful place in the halls of academia, and its powerful vitality, explanatory power, and leading force be more fully demonstrated.