Zhang Yunfei: Accelerate the Establishment and Improvement of an Ecological Economic System
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the proposal of the "Two Mountains" theory, which posits that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets." The recently published First Volume of the Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Ecological Civilization systematically reflects the rich connotations, scientific system, and original contributions of Xi Jinping’s thought on ecological civilization, with the "Two Mountains" theory serving as a vital component. "Lucid waters and lush mountains" refers to the advantages of the ecological environment, while "invaluable assets" refers to the advantages of the ecological economy. Co-ordinating the relationship between economic development and ecological protection through the development of an ecological economy—thereby achieving the unification of high-quality development and high-level protection—is a significant task for building ecological civilization in the New Era. In the First Volume of the Selected Works, the article "Promoting China's Ecological Civilization Construction to a New Level" proposes that to "accelerate the resolution of ecological and environmental problems at this historical confluence [1]," we must accelerate the establishment and improvement of an "ecological economic system centered on industrial ecologization and ecological industrialization." Furthermore, "Promoting Modernization Featuring Harmony Between Humanity and Nature Through the All-Round Construction of a Beautiful China" states: "We must promote ecological industrialization and industrial ecologization, fostering a large number of ecological products for the market so that ecological advantages are continuously transformed into developmental advantages." Further establishing and improving the ecological economic system is a key task for better advancing the construction of ecological civilization both now and in the period ahead.
Grasping the Rich Connotations of the "Two Mountains" Theory
The "Two Mountains" theory scientifically resolves the contradiction between socio-economic development and ecological protection universally encountered by humanity in the process of modernization. It profoundly reveals the principle that protecting the ecological environment is protecting the productive forces, and improving the ecological environment is developing the productive forces. This provides a scientific foundation for establishing an ecological economic system centered on industrial ecologization and ecological industrialization.
A sound ecological environment possesses both natural and ecological value, as well as social and economic value. Regarding its economic value, nature plays a foundational role in the formation of commodity value and the appreciation of economic capital. In the past, people had an insufficient understanding of this, leading to the occasional phenomenon of "holding a golden bowl while waiting for food" [2] or even "begging for food." In response, General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that "protecting the ecological environment is protecting natural value and increasing natural capital." A sound ecological environment is the shared wealth of the people, the fairest public good, and the most universal benefit to people's livelihoods. The theory and practice of better meeting the people's growing needs for a beautiful ecological environment by realizing natural value and increasing natural capital can effectively promote the establishment and improvement of China's ecological economic system.
The development of productive forces cannot be separated from nature; new quality productive forces are, in essence, green productive forces. From the perspective of conditions, the natural world is an important environmental and material condition for the development of productive forces. From the perspective of composition, not only do the factors of productive forces—namely the objects of labor and the instruments of labor—originate from nature, but the laborer, as the subjective element of the productive forces, is also originally a natural being. From the perspective of process, productive forces represent humanity's capacity to utilize and transform nature; they are the process by which humans mobilize their own natural forces to act upon external natural objects, and the process of realizing the metabolic exchange between humanity and nature. From the perspective of results, the products of labor are the outcome of transforming natural matter into economic matter and natural products into economic products. As a new round of technological revolution flourishes, "greening" has become a distinct characteristic and developmental direction of new quality productive forces, making the new path for achieving synergistic symbiosis between development and protection increasingly clear.
"Lucid waters and lush mountains" possess multiple values, and the transformation of natural value can generate multiple benefits. Protecting the ecological environment means protecting the potential and stamina of socio-economic development; it ensures that lucid waters and lush mountains continuously yield ecological, economic, and social benefits. Since all economic activities are conducted within the natural environment, ecological benefits must serve as the foundation for all benefits, necessitating an ecological economic system centered on industrial ecologization and ecological industrialization. This requires generating maximum and optimal economic output while minimizing the burden on the ecological environment, thereby promoting the unification of ecological beauty, economic prosperity, popular affluence, and national strength.
Transforming Ecological Advantages into Developmental Advantages
The "Two Mountains" theory constructs a new ecological economic system, in which the bidirectional interaction between industrial ecologization and ecological industrialization is a core component. In practice, we must drive the transformation of ecological advantages into developmental advantages.
Industrial ecologization refers to reducing the ecological and environmental burden of industrial development. It involves transforming and optimizing the industrial structure according to the requirements of the "Two Mountains" theory, increasing the proportion of green, low-carbon, and circular industries, and achieving a green transition of industry while promoting the harmonious unity of industry and nature. As stated in "Handling Several Major Relationships in Promoting the Construction of Ecological Civilization," we must "optimize and adjust the industrial structure, vigorously develop green and low-carbon industries, and base development on the efficient use of resources, strict protection of the ecological environment, and effective control of greenhouse gas emissions." Ecological industrialization refers to transforming resources into assets and capital, increasing the share of ecological industries within the industrial structure, and giving full play to the comprehensive benefits of a sound ecological environment. The key lies in producing and providing more high-quality ecological products—those products that satisfy the people's needs for a beautiful ecological environment, including blue skies, clean soil, and clear water.
To transform ecological advantages into developmental advantages, the focus must be on the word "transformation." Vigorously developing ecological agriculture, ecological industry, and ecological service industries serves as the foundation and intermediary for realizing the "Two Mountains" transformation. This can unify industrial ecologization with ecological industrialization and further refine the ecological economic system.
Based on maintaining the sustainability of agricultural production, we should draw on organic farming experiences such as the "mulberry dike fish pond" [3] system. We must persist in using modern technology—especially digital and green technologies—to enhance the scientific level and economic efficiency of ecological agriculture. Following the principles of giving equal weight to increasing yields and efficiency, matching improved varieties with refined methods, integrating agricultural machinery with agronomy, and coordinating production with ecology, we should insist on the unification of intensive management and ecological production. This will form an industrial system where grain, cash crops, and fodder are coordinated, and agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fisheries develop in tandem, ensuring that the rice bowls of the Chinese people are held firmly in their own hands.
In terms of adhering to the path of new-type industrialization, we must learn from the lesson of "pollution first, treatment later" in Western industrialization. We must unify industrialization, informatization, and "greening"; promote the deep integration of digitalization, intelligence, and greening; and advance the construction of ecological industries and eco-industrial parks according to the whole-life-cycle concept, scientifically arranging industrial development.
The ecological service industry represents the developmental direction of the service sector. On one hand, we must promote the greening of life-based service industries and vigorously develop sectors such as eco-tourism. For example, by promoting the entire industrial chain of winter sports, winter culture, winter equipment, and winter tourism, we can turn "ice and snow" into "invaluable assets." On the other hand, we must promote the greening of production-based service industries and vigorously develop sectors like green R&D. For instance, providing green technological services to strengthen ecological restoration and protection can turn industrial heritage sites into new cultural tourism resources, ensuring that the restoration of lucid waters and lush mountains also yields invaluable assets.
Strengthening the Leading Role of Economic Policies
An important measure for accelerating the establishment and improvement of the ecological economic system is providing policy support and guarantees through further comprehensively deepening reform. As stated in "New Quality Productive Forces are Themselves Green Productive Forces": "We must continuously optimize the economic policy toolkit supporting green and low-carbon development, give play to the leading role of green finance, and create efficient eco-friendly green industrial clusters."
Specifically, regarding planning policies, we must leverage the unique advantage of guiding socio-economic development through the formulation and implementation of national development plans. The development of ecological green industrial clusters should be included in the layout of the 15th Five-Year Plan [4], scientifically guiding the production, circulation, distribution, and consumption of green and ecological products. Regarding evaluation policies, we should utilize evaluation as a "conductor's baton," introducing Green GDP into the evaluation system to ensure accountability for ecological civilization construction. Regarding fiscal policies, we must utilize the safeguarding role of national finance, increasing investment in public and strategic ecological green industrial clusters. Regarding taxation policies, we should give play to the guiding role of taxes, further implementing preferential tax policies for energy and water conservation, environmental protection, comprehensive resource utilization, contract energy management, and third-party treatment of environmental pollution, while properly managing the transition from fees to taxes. Regarding financial policies, we should utilize the supportive role of green finance, improving environmental rights trading markets and carbon emission trading markets to drive innovation in green technology and industry. Regarding pricing policies, we must accelerate the reform of prices for natural resources and their products, improve the system for the paid use of resources, and incorporate ecological and environmental costs into economic operating costs to fully reflect the value of natural resource products and drive the green and low-carbon transition of industry.
Entering the New Era, under the guidance of the "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" theory, the Chinese land has seen bluer skies, greener mountains, cleaner water, and a more beautiful environment, with the people’s sense of ecological gain and happiness continuously rising. Looking to the future, we must continue to take Xi Jinping’s thought on ecological civilization as our guide, achieve the unification of high-quality development and high-level protection, and constantly improve the ecological economic system. This will ensure that the process of strengthening ecological protection and restoration becomes a process of creating new value and birthing new industries. In practice, we must adhere to a systems perspective, organically unifying a proactive government with an effective market, the external constraints of the ecological rule of law with the endogenous drive of ecological culture, and green institutional innovation with green technological innovation. This will inject continuous momentum and vitality into the construction of the ecological economic system.