Theoretical Learning Center of the Academic Board of the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee: Profoundly Understand the Theoretical Contributions of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization
Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization is a vital component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, representing a significant achievement in combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and its fine traditional culture. The first volume of the Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Ecological Civilization vividly presents the formation and developmental trajectory of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization. It centrally reflects the core tenets, rich connotations, and practical requirements of this Thought, as well as the Marxist stance, viewpoint, and methodology that permeate it, fully demonstrating a series of major original theoretical contributions.
I. Achieving the Advancement with the Times of Marxist Thought on the Relationship Between Humanity and Nature
The relationship between humanity and nature is the most fundamental relationship in human society, and properly managing this relationship is a crucial element of Marxism. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization persists in proceeding from the objective reality and rich practice of China’s ecological civilization construction. It inherits and innovates upon the Marxist views of nature and ecology, serving as the concentrated expression of contemporary Chinese Marxism and twenty-first-century Marxism in the field of ecological civilization construction. The first volume of the Selected Works comprehensively reflects General Secretary Xi Jinping’s profound reflections and scientific answers regarding the relationship between humanity and nature, and between protection and development. It fully embodies the enrichment and development of Marxist thought on the relationship between humanity and nature by Chinese Communists in the New Era.
Creatively applying and deepening the understanding of the Marxist dialectical unity between humanity and nature. Marxism maintains that "man lives from nature," and that nature not only provides the source of means of subsistence—such as fertile land and rivers, lakes, and seas rich in fish—but also provides the source of the means of production. Natural objects constitute the natural conditions for human survival; humanity produces, lives, and develops through interaction with nature. If humanity treats nature well, nature will provide gifts in return, but "if man, by dint of his knowledge and inventive genius, has subdued the forces of nature, the latter avenge themselves upon him." Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization inherits and develops the basic viewpoints of Marxism, creatively proposing concepts such as "harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature" and "humanity and nature form a community of life." It emphasizes that "the ecology is a unified natural system, an interdependent and closely linked organic chain." It requires "adhering to a systems perspective and proceeding from the integrity of the ecosystem to promote the integrated protection and restoration of mountains, smalllands, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts" [1]. It emphasizes that "Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature," and "places emphasis on the simultaneous promotion of material civilization and ecological civilization, following a path of civilized development characterized by productive development, prosperous lives, and sound ecology." With dialectical and systems thinking, Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization profoundly reveals the holistic nature of the relationship between humanity and nature. With rigorous logic and innovative viewpoints, it enriches and develops Marxist thought on the relationship between humanity and nature, endowing it with new connotations of the times.
Creatively applying and deepening the understanding of the Marxist dialectical unity between production and ecology. Marxism values the intrinsic value of nature and insists on the unity of economic and ecological value, believing that "labor becomes the source of use values, and also of wealth, only if a man from the outset behaves towards nature, the first source of all instruments and objects of labor, as an owner, treats her as belonging to him." Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization conducts a scientific analysis from the dual dimensions of natural productive forces and social productive forces. It creatively proposed the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" [2] and the new development philosophy, which includes the concept of green development. It revealed scientific conclusions such as "protecting the ecological environment is protecting productive forces, and improving the ecological environment is developing productive forces" and "new quality productive forces are themselves green productive forces." It profoundly elucidates the dialectical unity between high-quality development and high-level protection, broadening the entirely new path for the development of productive forces and enriching the Marxist understanding of the dialectical unity between production and ecology.
Creatively applying and deepening the understanding of the laws governing the development of human society. Marx and Engels believed that "the more the original isolation of the separate nationalities is destroyed by the perfected mode of production, by commerce, and by the division of labor between various nations naturally brought about by these, the more history becomes world history." Today, the global nature of human interaction is deeper and more extensive than at any time in the past, and ecological and environmental issues have increasingly become common challenges and global problems facing humanity. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization stands at the height of the world's future and the fate of humanity, extending the horizon of research on the relationship between humanity and nature to a global scale. It maintains a profound insight into the development trends of human civilization and the laws of human social development. It incorporates the joint construction of a clean and beautiful world into the important goal of building a community with a shared future for humanity. From the dimensions of civilization and ecology, it opens a new realm of Marxist thought on the laws of human social development, achieving the advancement with the times of Marxist thought on the relationship between humanity and nature.
II. Promoting the Creative Transformation and Innovative Development of Fine Traditional Chinese Ecological Culture
The Chinese nation has always respected and loved nature. The Chinese civilization, spanning over five thousand years, has nurtured a rich ecological culture, which offers important insights and references for building ecological civilization and promoting the modernization of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization inherits and carries forward the fine traditional Chinese ecological culture, profoundly expounds on the internal laws and essential requirements of the harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature, and promotes the creative transformation and innovative development of this culture, providing ideological guidance for the sustainable development of the Chinese nation. The first volume of the Selected Works profoundly embodies the deep historical and cultural heritage contained within Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization.
Inheriting the ecological values of the Chinese nation: respecting nature, conforming to nature, and the unity of heaven and humanity. Chinese civilization pursues the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature. Philosophical ideas such as "the unity of heaven and man" (tianren heyi) and "the Dao follows nature" (daofa ziran); classic poetic lines such as "I urge you not to strike the birds in the third month of spring, for the fledglings in the nest await their mother's return"; and family mottos such as "When eating a bowl of porridge or a meal, one should remember that its origin was not easy; when using a sliver of silk or a thread, one should constantly think of the difficulty of producing such materials"—all contain a simple yet wise view of nature that continues to provide profound warnings and inspiration today. General Secretary Xi Jinping has frequently cited ancient sayings, emphasizing the need to unify heaven, earth, and humanity, to link the natural ecology with human civilization, and to act according to the laws of nature. On the basis of inheriting the ecological values of the Chinese nation, Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization profoundly grasps the dialectical unity between humanity and nature. It proposes that ecological civilization construction is a fundamental plan concerning the sustainable development of the Chinese nation, and puts forward important concepts such as adhering to the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature. This has laid a solid cultural foundation for the whole of society to correctly understand the relationship between humanity and nature, to build a socialist ecological civilization, and to continuously strengthen the sense of identity with Chinese culture.
Drawing upon the ecological wisdom of the Chinese nation in friendly protection and rational utilization of nature. "Taking with moderation and using with restraint" [3] is the essence of ecological civilization. Our ancestors recognized the importance of the ecological environment very early on. "Heaven nurtures things in their season; the earth produces wealth in limited amounts" [4] expresses the truth that ecological resources are limited and need to be cherished. "To drain the pond to catch the fish—how could one fail to get them? But there will be no fish next year" [5] warns people that they cannot excessively take from nature, or they will suffer the consequences of their own actions. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization draws on the ecological wisdom of protecting and utilizing nature found throughout the long river of Chinese history. It emphasizes that the development model of "killing the hen to get the egg" or "draining the pond to catch the fish" has reached its end, while green development that conforms to nature and protects the ecology represents the future. It emphasizes the need to limit economic activities and human behavior to within the carrying capacity of natural resources and the ecological environment, leaving time and space for the natural ecology to recuperate. This promotes the revitalization of traditional ecological wisdom within the contemporary practice of China’s ecological civilization construction, giving the New Era's ecological civilization construction distinct Chinese cultural characteristics.
Learning from China’s historical experience in ecological governance, where the concept of protecting nature was elevated to national management systems and laws. In the vast ocean of ancient Chinese texts, many propositions and historical facts regarding the protection of the ecological environment through the establishment of rules and systems are recorded. In ancient times, China elevated concepts of natural ecology to national management systems, establishing specialized agencies to manage mountains, forests, rivers, and marshes, and formulating policies and decrees; this was known as the Yu-Heng system [6]. The Rites of Zhou (Zhouli) records the appointment of the "Mountain Yu" to manage the decrees of the mountain forests and enforce prohibitions, and the "Forest Heng" to patrol the foothills and maintain their protection. During the Qin and Han periods, the Yu-Heng system was divided into officials for forests, lakes, embankments, gardens, and fields. This system persisted through to the Qing Dynasty. General Secretary Xi Jinping once cited the Yu-Heng system to illustrate the importance China has attached to protecting the natural ecology since ancient times. He emphasized that protecting the ecological environment must rely on systems and the rule of law. It is necessary to coordinate the formulation and revision of laws related to the ecological environment, resources, and energy, using the strictest systems and most rigorous rule of law to protect the ecological environment, and employing a "combination punch" of rule of law, market mechanisms, technology, and policy. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization learns from ancient Chinese ecological governance experience, promoting the coordinated development of ecological protection and cultural inheritance. It guides China in accelerating the top-level design and institutional system construction for ecological civilization, ensuring good governance through good laws, making the institutional safeguards for the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature more complete and powerful, and promoting the continuous improvement of the ecological environment governance system in the New Era.
III. Marking a New Height in Our Party’s Understanding of the Laws of Socialist Ecological Civilization Construction
Ecological and environmental protection is a cause that benefits the present and lasts for generations. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization profoundly grasps the important position and strategic significance of ecological civilization construction within the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. It systematically answers major theoretical and practical questions such as what kind of ecological civilization to build and how to build it, raising our Party’s understanding of the laws of ecological civilization construction to a new height. The first volume of the Selected Works vividly demonstrates the scientific grasp of these laws by Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, highlighting the powerful strength of truth and the unique ideological charm contained within it.
The theoretical sublimation and practical crystallization of the Communist Party of China’s unremitting exploration of ecological civilization construction. Our Party has always attached importance to ecological civilization construction, continuously exploring the dialectical relationship between ecological civilization and economic and social development, forming rich theoretical and practical results. In 1973, the first National Environmental Protection Conference was held, placing environmental protection on the nation's important agenda. After the Reform and Opening-up, the Party established resource conservation and environmental protection as a basic national policy and sustainable development as a national strategy, vigorously promoting ecological civilization construction. General Secretary Xi Jinping has always placed great importance on ecological and environmental work. During his time working in local government, he consistently treated this as a major task, insisting on combining the Central Committee’s decisions with local realities, engaging in profound reflection on the relationship between humanity and nature, creatively proposing many forward-looking concepts, and conducting many pioneering practical explorations. He accumulated valuable experience, in which the political stance, value orientation, path principles, and scientific methods have been consistent throughout, providing important ideological resources for the formation of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has summarized the historical experience of our Party’s handling of ecological civilization construction, inheriting and developing the theoretical and practical results of our Party’s exploration. Based on the characteristics and practical requirements of the New Era, it has comprehensively strengthened ecological civilization construction, systematically planned and promoted the reform of the ecological civilization system, and vigorously promoted theoretical, practical, and institutional innovation in ecological civilization. It has put forward a series of new concepts, new ideas, and new strategies, forming Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization. With its new horizons, new understandings, and new concepts, Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization endows the Party’s theory and practice of promoting ecological civilization with new connotations of the times, opens up a new realm of our Party’s theory regarding ecological civilization construction, and stands as the theoretical sublimation and practical crystallization of our Party’s unremitting exploration.
Since the beginning of the New Era, significant strides have been made in the construction of a Beautiful China. Through continuous efforts to govern atmospheric pollution, Beijing has achieved a significant improvement in air quality. In 2024, the number of days with good or excellent air quality in Beijing reached 290, accounting for nearly 80%, setting a new record. The photo shows the view from the Grand Canal in Tongzhou, Beijing, to the Western Hills, taken on July 5, 2025. Photo by Ma Wenxiao.
Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization provides the fundamental following and guide for action for the construction of ecological civilization in China within the New Era. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the construction of ecological civilization in our country has occupied a new historical coordinates and faced many new circumstances and problems. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization has grasped the pulse of the times and responded to the concerns of the people, profoundly answering a series of major theoretical and practical questions—including the fundamental guarantee, historical basis, basic principles, core concepts, purposive requirements, strategic pathways, institutional safeguards, and social forces of ecological civilization construction in the New Era. It has formed a scientific theoretical system that is systematic and complete, logically rigorous, rich in connotation, and broad and profound, providing the fundamental following and guide for action for our country's ecological civilization construction in the New Era.
Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, our Party has made a series of major strategic deployments for ecological civilization construction from the height of the "Greatness of the Nation" [7]. Within the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan, ecological civilization construction is one of the spheres; within the basic strategy for upholding and developing Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era, maintaining the harmonious coexistence between man and nature is one of the tenets; within the New Development Philosophy, "green" is one of the components; within the Three Tough Battles [8], the prevention and control of pollution is one of the battles; and within the goal of building a great modern socialist country by the middle of this century, a "Beautiful China" is one of the objectives. The CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has exerted force comprehensively across ideological, legal, institutional, organizational, and work-style dimensions, carrying out a series of fundamental, pioneering, and long-term tasks. It has strengthened ecological and environmental protection across all fields, regions, and processes with unprecedented determination, intensity, and effectiveness. Significant strides have been made in the construction of a Beautiful China, and our country’s ecological civilization construction has undergone historical, pivotal, and holistic changes in both theory and practice.
This is centrally manifested in the "four major transitions" summarized by General Secretary Xi Jinping: achieving the major transition from focused remediation to systemic governance; from passive response to proactive action; from being a participant in global environmental governance to becoming a leader; and from practical exploration to the guidance of scientific theory. Practice has proven that Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization both originates from and guides practice; it is a powerful ideological weapon that has stood the test of practice and possesses great practical potency. On the New Journey [9], Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization will surely continue to be enriched and developed in the great practice of leading the comprehensive advancement of modernization characterized by the harmonious coexistence between man and nature through the construction of a Beautiful China, and it will further demonstrate its mighty power of truth.
This Thought opens a new frontier in the theory and practice of sustainable development for humanity. Humanity has only one Earth, and the construction of ecological civilization concerns the future of mankind. Building a global ecological civilization and promoting green, low-carbon, and sustainable development requires all countries to work together with one heart. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization both insists on managing one’s own affairs well—profoundly answering the "Questions of China" and the "Questions of the People"—and maintains a global vision, profoundly answering the "Questions of the World" and the "Questions of the Times." Facing the global ecological crisis, General Secretary Xi Jinping has, on many major international occasions such as the UN Biodiversity Summit and the Leaders’ Summit on Climate, elaborated on the concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity, including the construction of a clean and beautiful world. He has called for the joint construction of a community of life for man and nature and a community of life for the Earth, and has proposed the Global Development Initiative, which includes upholding the harmonious coexistence of man and nature, advocating for a path of joint pursuit of global ecological civilization construction.
As an important participant, contributor, and leader in global ecological civilization construction, China has not only strengthened its own ecological civilization construction but also actively assumed international responsibilities. It has committed to achieving "dual carbon" goals [10], led the process of global climate change negotiations, promoted the green development of the "Belt and Road," and actively participated in and led global environmental and climate governance. By promoting the construction of a fair, rational, and win-win global environmental governance system, China has demonstrated the global vision and sense of responsibility of a major party and a major country, contributing Chinese solutions, Chinese wisdom, and Chinese strength to global ecological civilization construction. The series of new concepts, thoughts, and strategies proposed by Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization are not only vital components and distinctive hallmarks of the path of Chinese-path modernization, but also a transcendence of the Western modernization path characterized by capital-centrism, bloated materialism, and the "pollute first, treat later" approach. They constitute an important part and major achievement of the new form of human civilization, opening a new frontier in the theory and practice of sustainable development for humanity.
Building a Beautiful China is an important goal for the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country. The broad masses of Party members, officials, and the public should, in conjunction with studying the first volume of the "Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Ecological Civilization," deeply study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization. They should firmly establish and practice the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," placing the construction of a Beautiful China in a prominent position in the building of a strong nation and the rejuvenation of the ethnic group. We must advance ecological and environmental work on the New Journey with higher standing, a broader vision, and greater intensity, supporting high-quality development with high-quality ecological environments and writing a new chapter for ecological civilization construction in the New Era.