Fu Zhaoxia: Always Adhere to the Principle that "Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains are Invaluable Assets"

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the proposal of the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets." In August 2005, while conducting a research tour of Yu Village in Anji County, Zhejiang Province, Comrade Xi Jinping—then Secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee—pointed out: "In the past, we spoke of wanting both lucid waters and lush mountains as well as gold and silver mountains; in reality, lucid waters and lush mountains are themselves invaluable assets." This "Two Mountains" concept profoundly elucidates the relationship between economic development and ecological protection, instructing people that they must pursue both high-quality development and high-level ecological environmental protection. Since the beginning of the New Era, our country has unswervingly followed a path of ecological priority and green development. Twenty years on, under the guidance of the "Two Mountains" concept, China's achievements in ecological civilization construction have attracted worldwide attention. "Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" has become a universal consensus across the whole Party and society, serving as a powerful driving force for promoting the construction of an ecological civilization ^[1].

I. Profoundly Understanding the Scientific Content and Core Essentials of the "Two Mountains" Concept

"Lucid waters and lush mountains" refers to protecting the ecological environment, while "gold and silver mountains" (invaluable assets) refers to developing the economy and creating material wealth. The "Two Mountains" concept profoundly elucidates the inherent unity between economic development and ecological protection, emphasizing the relationship of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. The proposal of this concept responded to the increasingly prominent and severe challenges of intensifying environmental pollution, tightening resource constraints, and ecosystem degradation during the rapid advancement of industrialization and urbanization. The "Two Mountains" concept is not only an important development concept but also one of the major principles that must be upheld in comprehensively promoting the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation through Chinese-path modernization.

The "Two Mountains" concept matured gradually through the practice of economic development. General Secretary Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the construction and protection of the ecological environment. In April 1997, while researching Changkou Village in Sanming, Fujian, Comrade Xi Jinping pointed out that "green mountains and lucid waters are priceless treasures; mountainous areas must paint a fine 'landscape painting' and do a good job in the essay of mountains, waters, and fields." After moving to work in Zhejiang, he noted in the article Environmental Protection Depends on Conscious and Self-Initiated Action that "choosing only gold and silver mountains while ignoring lucid waters and lush mountains" is effectively "eating the food of our ancestors and cutting off the path of our descendants" ^[2]. In July 2004, at the site meeting for Zhejiang Province's "Project of Demonstrations in a Thousand Villages and Renovations in Ten Thousand Villages" ^[3], Comrade Xi Jinping pointed out that this project, as an "ecological project," served as an effective carrier for promoting the construction of an ecological province, both protecting "lucid waters and lush mountains" and bringing "gold and silver mountains." In 2005, Comrade Xi Jinping first proposed the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" in Anji, Zhejiang. In 2013, while answering a student's question at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan, General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "We want both lucid waters and lush mountains as well as gold and silver mountains. We would rather have lucid waters and lush mountains than gold and silver mountains, and moreover, lucid waters and lush mountains are themselves gold and silver mountains." In March 2015, the Opinions on Accelerating the Promotion of Ecological Civilization Construction deliberated and passed by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee incorporated the principle of "upholding the idea that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets." In 2017, the 19th CPC National Congress wrote "we must establish and practice the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" into the Congress report, and the Constitution of the Communist Party of China (Amendment) passed by the Congress wrote "enhancing the awareness that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" into the Party Constitution. In 2022, the report to the 20th CPC National Congress explicitly proposed that "we must firmly establish and practice the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets." The Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Advancing Chinese-path Modernization, passed by the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, made arrangements to accelerate the improvement of systems and mechanisms for implementing the "Two Mountains" concept. Since the New Era, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has included ecological civilization construction alongside economic, political, cultural, and social construction in the "Five-Sphere Integrated Plan." It has continuously deepened the understanding of the laws governing ecological civilization construction, forming Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, of which the "Two Mountains" concept has become an essential component, achieving a major transition from practical exploration to scientific theory.

The "Two Mountains" concept fully embodies the Marxist dialectical relationship between humanity and nature. Marxism holds that humanity is a part of nature; humans transform nature through labor practice while simultaneously depending on nature for survival, which fully reveals the inseparable internal connection between the two. The "Two Mountains" concept concretizes this thought: "lucid waters and lush mountains" are the foundation of human survival and nature's gift to humanity; "gold and silver mountains" are the material wealth created by humans through labor practice. The two constitute a community of life. Upholding and practicing the "Two Mountains" concept can both improve people's livelihoods and give back to ecological protection. The concept emphasizes that economic development cannot "drain the pond to catch the fish" ^[4] regarding natural resources and the environment; it emphasizes that environmental protection does not mean abandoning economic development and the improvement of livelihoods. Practice has proven that it is unsustainable to artificially sever and oppose ecological protection and economic development; only by organically unifying the two can we build a modernization characterized by harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. The "Two Mountains" concept provides the epistemology and methodology for ecological civilization construction, enriching and developing the Marxist view of development.

The "Two Mountains" concept elucidates that a good ecological environment can itself create material wealth. Human production and life must follow both the laws of economic development and the laws of natural development; when a conflict arises between the two, following the laws of natural development must be prioritized. Should a conflict occur between economic development and ecological protection, the "Two Mountains" concept emphasizes that ecological protection must be placed first; this is an important principle for handling the relationship between the two. The value of a beautiful natural environment is inestimable; destroying lucid waters and lush mountains is destroying the basic conditions for economic development, which in turn causes the loss of the foundation upon which gold and silver mountains rely. Once a place's ecological environment is improved, people will naturally be willing to invest, develop, work, live, and travel there; thus, lucid waters and lush mountains can be transformed into gold and silver mountains. For example, by developing eco-friendly industries such as ecotourism, organic agriculture, the under-forest economy ^[5], and the health and wellness industry, the added value of ecological products is increased. By establishing and improving mechanisms to realize the value of ecological products—such as ecological compensation, carbon sink trading, emission rights trading, and green finance—economic rewards can be obtained for actions that protect and improve the ecological environment. Through scientific and technological innovation empowering green development, resource utilization efficiency and the quality of the ecological environment are improved. It is evident that ecological resources are the most precious resources; pursuing the economy and development cannot come at the cost of the environment.

The "Two Mountains" concept contributes Chinese wisdom to global sustainable development. The ideas of ecological priority, green development, and win-win cooperation contained within the "Two Mountains" concept contribute Chinese wisdom to solving global environmental problems and building a clean, beautiful, green, low-carbon, and eco-friendly world. For developing countries that both long for economic development and face enormous environmental pressure, the "Two Mountains" concept contributes a more sustainable development philosophy and path that differs from the Western model of "pollute first, treat later." China's "Two Mountains" concept has been included in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals practice cases, reflecting its global exemplary value. Through international development cooperation mechanisms, China demonstrates its innovative modes of ecological governance to the world. As a key promoter and exemplary signatory of the Paris Agreement, China has transformed ecological civilization thoughts, such as the "Two Mountains" concept, into international public goods in international processes including global climate governance, biodiversity protection, and desertification prevention. By advocating for "Nature-Based Solutions" and the "principle of common but differentiated responsibilities," China transforms the ecological wisdom inherent in the "Two Mountains" concept into practical actions to promote the development of global ecological governance toward a more just and reasonable direction. Through the "Building a Clean and Beautiful World Together" initiative, China has pushed the "Two Mountains" concept from domestic ecological civilization construction onto the international stage. This initiative emphasizes global joint responses to environmental challenges and promotes the synergistic implementation of sustainable development goals and biodiversity protection. High-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative meets the actual needs of the economic and social development of participating countries and regions. Through mechanisms such as the Belt and Road Initiative International Green Development Coalition, China places the "Two Mountains" concept in a primary position, promoting the capacity building of environmental governance in developing countries. Treating the protection of the ecological environment as a common cause that brings long-term benefits and blesses future generations reflects the responsibility and commitment to promoting the building of a community of life for humanity and nature.

II. The "Two Mountains" Concept Has Profoundly Changed China

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has treated ecological civilization construction as a fundamental plan concerning the eternal development of the Chinese nation. It has carried out a series of pioneering works, resulting in historic, transitional, and holistic changes in ecological civilization construction from theory to practice. Guided by the "Two Mountains" concept, our country has persisted in the integrated protection and systematic governance of mountains, waters, forests, fields, lakes, grass, and sand, synergistically promoting high-level protection and high-quality development. The system of ecological civilization institutions has become more robust, the fight against pollution has moved into greater depth, and major strides have been made in the construction of a Beautiful China.

The institutional system for ecological civilization has basically taken shape. Our country has formulated dozens of reform plans involving ecological civilization construction, and the "four beams and eight pillars" ^[6] of the institutional system have basically been formed. We have established and improved systems including the evaluation and assessment system for ecological civilization construction targets, the River and Lake Chief systems ^[7], the pollutant discharge permit system, the ecological protection red line system, and the "dual responsibility for one post" ^[8] regarding ecological environmental protection for Party and government officials. On April 28, 2024, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the Regulations on Ecological Environmental Protection Inspection, further improving the institutional mechanism for inspection work, deeply advancing inspections, and comprehensively promoting the construction of a Beautiful China. The Constitutional amendments wrote ecological civilization into the Constitution; the Civil Code established the "Green Principle" for civil activities; and the Criminal Law amendments improved provisions related to the "crime of polluting the environment." More than 30 relevant laws have formed a "1+N+4" ^[9] system of ecological environmental protection legal institutions with Chinese characteristics.

Green development has achieved remarkable results. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the "gold content" and "green content" of our country's economic development have significantly increased. In the 10 years of the New Era, an average annual energy consumption growth rate of 3% has supported an average annual economic growth of over 6%. Energy consumption intensity has cumulatively decreased by 26.4%, making China one of the countries with the fastest reduction in energy intensity globally. Carbon emission intensity has cumulatively decreased by more than 35%, reversing the trend of rapid CO2 emission growth. We have built the world's largest carbon market and clean power generation system. As of 2024, the proportion of coal in energy consumption has dropped to 53.2%, while the proportion of clean energy consumption has grown to 25.9%. Renewable energy installed capacity accounts for 56% of the country's total installed power generation capacity, exceeding the capacity of coal-fired power. The installed capacities of hydropower, wind power, solar power, and biomass power all firmly rank first in the world, and the production and sales of new energy vehicles have ranked first in the world for eight consecutive years. Since the proposal of the "dual carbon" goals ^[10], our country has incorporated "dual carbon" work into the overall layout of ecological civilization construction and the overall situation of economic and social development. The results of the green and low-carbon transition of the energy structure are significant. Data from the National Energy Administration shows that in 2024, non-fossil energy consumption exceeded petroleum for the first time, reaching 19.7% of total primary energy consumption.

The ecological environment has improved. With unprecedented determination and intensity, our country has deeply implemented action plans for the prevention and control of air, water, and soil pollution. First, air quality has significantly improved. In 2024, the average concentration of PM2.5 in 339 cities at or above the prefectural level nationwide was 29.3 micrograms per cubic meter, the average concentration of PM10 was 49 micrograms per cubic meter, the average proportion of days with "excellent" or "good" air quality was 87.2%, and the average proportion of days with heavy pollution or worse was 0.9%; all data shows substantial improvement compared to 10 years ago. Second, the quality of the water environment has continued to improve. In 2024, among 3,641 national surface water assessment sections, the proportion of sections with "excellent" or "good" water quality reached 90.4%, and the proportion of sections inferior to Grade V ^[11] was 0.6%; among 210 key lakes and reservoirs, the proportion with excellent or good water quality was 77.1%, both showing significant improvement. Third, soil environmental quality has remained stable. In 2024, the safe utilization of contaminated farmland and key construction land was effectively guaranteed; environmental remediation was newly completed in 25,000 administrative villages, and the rural domestic sewage treatment rate reached over 45%. Fourth, the areas of desertified and sanded land have continued to decrease, achieving the goal of zero growth in land degradation by 2030 ahead of schedule. With the deep advancement of national greening actions, China's forest coverage rate has exceeded 25%, forest stock has exceeded 20 billion cubic meters, and the comprehensive vegetation coverage of grasslands has exceeded 50%.

III. Actively Exploring the Transition Path from "Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains" to "Gold and Silver Mountains"

The implementation and realization of the "Two Mountains" theory ^[12] is a long-term and arduous task that cannot be accomplished overnight ^[13]. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "We must actively explore and promote paths for transforming clear waters and green mountains into mountains of gold and silver, select qualified regions to carry out pilot programs for mechanisms to realize the value of ecological products, and explore government-led, market-operated, and sustainable paths for realizing the value of ecological products with the participation of enterprises and all sectors of society." To deeply practice the "Two Mountains" theory, we must adhere to the principle of protecting in development and developing in protection, gradually achieving coordination between economic and social development and population, resources, and the environment, and attaining an effective increase in quality and reasonable growth in quantity through green transformation.

We must improve the system of laws, regulations, and institutional safeguards to ensure the "Two Mountains" theory takes root. The practical transformation of the "Two Mountains" theory requires the guidance of national strategies, the support of policy systems, and the protection of institutional innovation. The Opinions on Comprehensively Promoting the Construction of a Beautiful China, issued by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, explicitly require that we "firmly establish and practice the concept that clear waters and green mountains are mountains of gold and silver," and place the construction of ecological civilization in a prominent position within the overall framework of our work. The newly revised Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China provides a powerful legal weapon for ecological and environmental protection. Regarding the construction of institutional systems, our country has conducted a series of highly effective explorations. The establishment of the Central Ecological and Environmental Protection Inspection system, with "supervising the government" ^[14] at its core, has effectively consolidated the primary responsibility of local Party committees and governments for ecological and environmental protection. The ecological compensation mechanism has been gradually rolled out nationwide, mobilizing the enthusiasm of ecological protection areas through fiscal transfer payments and horizontal compensation between regions.

We must vigorously promote the greening and decarbonization of economic and social development, and accelerate green and low-carbon transformation. We will improve the system for major function zones, refine the system of territorial space planning, and coordinate the optimization of various spatial layouts for agriculture, ecology, and urban areas. We will strengthen law enforcement, supervision, protection, and restoration to ensure the national ecological protection redline remains above 3.15 million square kilometers. We will resolutely hold the "redline" of 1.8 billion mu ^[15] of arable land to ensure that cultivated land available for long-term stable use does not decrease. We will strictly control the spatial management of shorelines for rivers, lakes, and seas, strengthen the territorial space management of oceans and coastal zones, and establish mechanisms for withdrawing inefficient sea-use projects; except for major national projects, no new land reclamation projects will be permitted. We will focus on controlling the consumption of fossil fuels such as coal, strengthen the clean and efficient utilization of coal, and vigorously develop non-fossil energy. We will implement action plans for methane emission control and research action plans for controlling other non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions. We will further develop the national carbon market, enrich trading varieties and methods, and build a sound national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market. We will vigorously develop strategic emerging industries, high-tech industries, green and environmental protection industries, and modern service industries. We will resolutely curb the blind initiation of "two highs and one low" projects (high energy consumption, high emissions, and low level), and vigorously promote the upgrading of processes, technologies, and equipment in traditional industries to achieve green and low-carbon transformation. We will accelerate the construction of dedicated railway lines, improve the level of clean transportation for bulk goods, and promote the green transformation and railway electrification of railway stations, civil airports, ports, docks, and logistics parks. We will implement a comprehensive conservation strategy and promote the conservation of energy, water, land, materials, and minerals. We will continue to deepen energy conservation in key areas and strengthen energy management for new infrastructure. We will deeply implement national water-saving actions, improve water use efficiency in key industries and products, actively promote the resource-utilization of sewage, and strengthen the allocation and utilization of unconventional water sources. We will improve the system for thrifty and intensive land use and promote land-saving technologies and models. We will establish a green manufacturing system and service system, carry out actions to improve the quality and efficiency of comprehensive resource utilization, and accelerate the construction of a waste recycling system to promote the recycling of waste such as wind turbine blades, photovoltaic modules, power batteries, and express delivery packaging. We will promote raw material savings and resource recycling, vigorously develop the remanufacturing industry, and comprehensively promote the construction of green mines.

We must deeply advance the critical battle against pollution and continue to fight the battles to defend blue skies, clear waters, and clean soil. First, we must fight the battle to defend blue skies. With fine particulate matter (PM2.5) control as the main thread, we will vigorously promote the synergistic reduction of multiple pollutants. We will strengthen the comprehensive treatment of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and implement source-substitution projects. In accordance with local conditions, we will adopt measures such as clean energy and centralized heating substitution, and continue to promote the treatment of pollution from bulk coal, coal-fired boilers, and industrial kilns. We will conduct research on fuel quality standards for the new stage and strengthen joint departmental supervision and enforcement. We will reinforce regional joint prevention and control, and deepen performance grading for key industries during heavy pollution weather. We will focus on solving pollution issues such as malodorous gases and catering oil fumes. We will strengthen the environmental management of ozone-depleting substances and hydrofluorocarbons to ensure the air is constantly fresh and the sky remains blue. Second, we must fight the battle to defend clear waters. We will coordinate the management of water resources, water environments, and water ecology, deeply advance the protection and treatment of major rivers and lakes such as the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, and optimize the adjustment of water function zoning and management systems. We will basically complete the investigation and rectification of sewage outfalls into rivers and seas and fully establish a monitoring and supervision system for outfalls. We will accelerate the remediation of weaknesses in urban sewage collection and treatment facilities, build demonstration areas for full urban sewage pipe network coverage, strengthen the harmless treatment and resource utilization of sludge, and build green, low-carbon benchmark sewage treatment plants. We will establish a water ecology assessment mechanism, strengthen the protection and restoration of water source conservation areas and ecological buffer zones, reinforce unified dispatching of water resources, and guarantee ecological flows for rivers and lakes. Adhering to the coordination of land and sea and the linkage between rivers and seas, we will continue to promote the comprehensive treatment of key sea areas. We will improve the environment for marine aquaculture and actively respond to ecological disasters such as cyanobacteria blooms, red tides, and green tides. We will promote the clearing of floating debris in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, and the treatment of marine litter. Third, we must fight the battle to defend clean soil. We will carry out actions for the prevention and control of soil pollution at the source, strictly prevent new pollution, and gradually solve long-standing problems of serious soil and groundwater pollution. We will solidly promote the safe utilization and risk control of contaminated arable land, and advance the full coverage of source tracing and rectification of heavy metal pollution in agricultural land in stages. We will strengthen the linked supervision of changes in the use of construction land and risk control of contaminated plots in accordance with the law, and promote risk control and restoration of large contaminated sites. We will comprehensively carry out environmental monitoring of soil and groundwater around key soil pollution supervision units. We will strengthen the environmental protection of groundwater-type drinking water sources and strictly control environmental risks in key areas for groundwater pollution prevention and control.

We must enhance the diversity, stability, and sustainability of the ecosystem and consolidate the national ecological security barrier. We will promote the protection and construction of national key ecological function zones and important ecological corridors. We will comprehensively promote the construction of a system of nature reserves with national parks as the mainstay and complete the integration and optimization of nature reserves nationwide. We will implement a national natural ecological resource monitoring, evaluation, and early warning project. We will strengthen the construction of supervision systems for ecological protection and restoration and reinforce unified supervision. We will strictly supervise owners, developers, and even regulators to promptly discover and investigate various types of ecological destruction incidents. We will enhance the monitoring and assessment of ecological conditions and carry out efficacy evaluations of ecological protection and restoration. We will continue to promote the "Green Shield" (Lǜdùn) strengthened supervision of nature reserves and establish a supervision mechanism for ecological destruction issues within ecological protection redlines. We will accelerate the implementation of major projects for the protection and restoration of important ecosystems and promote the fallowing and recovery of grasslands, forests, rivers, lakes, and wetlands. We will continue to implement integrated protection and restoration projects for mountains, waters, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts ^[16]. We will scientifically carry out large-scale national greening actions, increase the protection and restoration of grasslands and wetlands, strengthen the comprehensive treatment of desertification, stony desertification, and soil erosion, comprehensively implement sustainable forest management, and strengthen forest and grassland fire prevention and extinguishing work. Focusing on sand sources and transmission paths affecting key areas such as Beijing, we will continue to promote the "Three-North" Shelterbelt Forest Program ^[17] and the treatment of sandstorms affecting Beijing and Tianjin. We will strengthen the coordinating role of the coordination mechanism for biodiversity conservation and implement major biodiversity conservation projects. We will improve the national biodiversity conservation network, comprehensively protect wild animals and plants, and gradually establish a national botanical garden system. We will deeply advance the rescue action for rare and endangered species in the Yangtze River and continue to do a good job in implementing the ten-year fishing ban on the Yangtze River. We will comprehensively implement the sea-closure system for summer fishing and build modern marine ranches.