Li Hongwei: The Theoretical Value and Practical Power of the Concept "Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains are Invaluable Assets"
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the proposal of the "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" concept. As an original achievement of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, this vital concept profoundly reveals that economic development and ecological environmental protection are dialectically unified rather than in an "either-or" relationship of opposition. It has effectively guided a historic, turning-point, and holistic transformation in China’s ecological civilization construction, spanning from theory to practice. We must take the opportunity of deeply studying the first volume of the Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Ecological Civilization to trace the developmental footprints of the "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" concept as it has been continuously enriched and perfected. We must systematically grasp its scientific connotations, profoundly appreciate the power of truth and practical might of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization in guiding the magnificent vista of Building a Beautiful China, and continuously deepen the systematized research and theoretical interpretation of this crucial concept. This will further strengthen our confidence and determination to forge a Chinese-path modernization characterized by harmony between humanity and nature.
Exhibiting Immense Theoretical Value
On August 15, 2005, Comrade Xi Jinping, then Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, inspected Yucun Village in Anji, Zhejiang, where he proposed the "Two Mountains" [1] concept: "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets." Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to ecological civilization construction. General Secretary Xi Jinping has elaborated on the "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" concept on many occasions both at home and abroad. In 2013, during an important speech at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed: "We want lucid waters and lush mountains as well as invaluable assets. We would rather have lucid waters and lush mountains than invaluable assets, and moreover, lucid waters and lush mountains are themselves invaluable assets." In 2017, in the report to the 19th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping included "upholding harmony between humanity and nature" as one of the basic strategies for upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, emphasizing that "we must establish and practice the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets." At the National Conference on Ecological Environmental Protection in May 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping listed "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" as one of the principles that must be upheld for promoting ecological civilization construction in the New Era. In 2022, in the report to the 20th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must firmly establish and practice the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, and plan development from the perspective of harmony between humanity and nature." At the National Conference on Ecological Environmental Protection in July 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping again emphasized the need to "broaden the paths for transforming lucid waters and lush mountains into invaluable assets," providing a fundamental following [2] for comprehensively promoting the construction of a Beautiful China. The "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" concept exhibits immense theoretical value.
It profoundly reflects on the ecological crisis within the process of human modernization, providing a powerful ideological weapon for the sustainable development of the Chinese nation. Looking across the world, many developing countries exhibit "time-space compression" [3] characteristics in their pursuit of modernization. These countries often adopt a method of plundering natural resources for economic construction to compress the time cycle of their own primitive accumulation of capital. Although this method can achieve rapid development in a short period, it inflicts destructive shocks on ecosystems. China has not followed this old path but has instead blazed a Chinese-path modernization characterized by harmony between humanity and nature. The "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" concept deeply integrates the Marxist view of ecology with the rich ecological wisdom and cultural traditions formed in China since ancient times [4]. It has formed an ecological civilization theory rooted in Chinese soil, guiding us to coordinately promote high-quality development and high-level protection of the ecological environment. It promotes spatial equilibrium and temporal sustainability of development, fundamentally changing the understanding and practice of economic and social development, and providing a powerful ideological weapon for the sustainable development of the Chinese nation.
It has broken the fixed mindset that pits economic development against ecological environmental protection, establishing a developmental view of harmony between humanity and nature. The "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" concept abandons the metaphysical mindset of "either-or" regarding economic development and environmental protection, profoundly revealing the dialectical relationship of their internal unity. This vital concept demonstrates that ecology itself is economy. It reveals the internal unity of the ecological, economic, and social values inherent in "lucid waters and lush mountains," clarifying that environmental protection and economic development are in a symbiotic relationship—two sides of the same coin—rather than an oppositional one. This concept insists on "protection first" and the promotion of harmony between humanity and nature, requiring that humans must respect, adapt to, and protect nature, allowing ecological protection to become endogenous to the process of economic growth. This concept looks toward the sustainable development of future generations, shifting the view of nature from anthropocentrism to the idea that "humanity and nature are a community of life." Its essence lies in constructing a long-term mechanism for transforming ecological value into economic value. Through the systemic linkage of institutional innovation, technological empowerment, and industrial upgrading, it achieves a virtuous cycle of ecological appreciation, industrial efficiency, and improvement of people's livelihoods, promoting common prosperity for all people.
By establishing natural capital as a factor of production, it has innovated and developed the theory of Marxist political economy. In the article "Protecting the Ecological Environment is Protecting Productive Forces, Improving the Ecological Environment is Developing Productive Forces," General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Lucid waters and lush mountains are both natural wealth and social and economic wealth." This is a revolutionary theoretical breakthrough of the "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" concept, clarifying the status of the ecological environment as a factor of production. Traditional economic theories ignore or underestimate the role of the ecological environment in production. In contrast, the "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" concept establishes the ecological environment as a fundamental factor of production on par with capital, labor, and technology. It profoundly recognizes that the stability of ecosystems directly affects the sustainability of productive forces; protecting the environment is protecting natural value and appreciating natural capital, which is itself developing the productive forces. By incorporating natural resources into the national wealth system and promoting the realization of the value of ecological products, this concept has broadened the channels for transforming natural wealth into social wealth, further developing the Marxist theory of productive forces.
Bringing About Extensive and Profound Transformations
The "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" concept has reversed the developmental mindset of trading ecological destruction for short-term growth. It has led a profound transformation in China’s mode of development, setting it on a path of high-quality development characterized by "ecology first" and green, low-carbon growth.
The quality of China’s ecological environment continues to improve, powerfully driving a comprehensive green transition in economic and social development. In the article "Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains are Invaluable Assets," General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must never trade a temporary economic development at the cost of sacrificing the ecological environment." Since the 18th CPC National Congress, protecting lucid waters and lush mountains has become a key component of ecological civilization construction and a long-term strategy for achieving high-quality development. The "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" concept has become more deeply rooted in people’s hearts, demonstrating powerful practical might. China’s ecosystems have been continuously optimized, with the stability and overall function of ecosystems steadily increasing. The skies are bluer, the waters greener, and the mountains more lush. The people’s sense of gain, happiness, and security regarding the ecological environment has become more substantial, better guaranteed, and more sustainable. In 2024, 222 cities nationwide met air quality standards, an increase of 19 cities over 2023. The average concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in cities at the prefectural level and above dropped from 46 micrograms per cubic meter in 2015 to 29.3 in 2024, with the proportion of days with "good" air quality reaching 87.2%, making China the country with the fastest improvement in air quality globally. Surface water quality continued to improve: among 210 important lakes and reservoirs, the proportion with excellent or good water quality was 77.1%, up 2.5 percentage points from 2023. The proportion of groundwater monitoring points with Grade I–IV water quality reached 77.9%. Nationwide, more than 100 million mu of land Greening tasks were completed, including 66.69 million mu of afforestation and 48.36 million mu of grass planting and improvement. The implementation area for sustainable forest management expanded to over 10 million mu, with forest quality rising steadily. Public satisfaction with the ecological environment reached 91.24%, exceeding 90% for four consecutive years. High-quality development is now "greener," bringing tangible well-being to the people’s livelihoods.
Ecological industrialization and industrial ecologization promote one another, aiding the construction of a modern economic system. In "If Man Does Not Betray the Mountains, the Mountains Will Not Betray Man," General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "A green ecology is the greatest wealth, the greatest advantage, and the greatest brand. We must protect it well, do a good job in managing mountains and waters, and show the beauty of our landscape, blazing a trail where economic development and the improvement of ecological civilization complement and reinforce each other." By practicing the "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" concept through ecological industrialization, we have constructed a complete closed loop: from restoring the ecological foundation to reveal ecological value, to empowering and upgrading through ecological industries, to integrating and appreciating ecological resources, and finally achieving a state where "the economy gives back to ecology and ecology promotes the economy." Simultaneously, through industrial ecologization, we use green, low-carbon, and circular technologies to transform and upgrade traditional industries and develop new quality productive forces, making the economic development process more environmentally friendly and resource-efficient. The green and low-carbon transformation and upgrading of industry continue to deepen, and China has successfully stepped onto a path of development that is of higher quality, more efficient, fairer, more sustainable, and more secure.
The reform of ecological civilization systems and mechanisms continues to deepen, and the modernization of the ecological environmental governance system and capacity is steadily improving. In "Protecting the Ecological Environment with the Strictest Systems and the Tightest Rule of Law," General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Only by implementing the strictest systems and the most rigorous rule of law can we provide a reliable guarantee for ecological civilization construction." In "Establishing a Strong Awareness of 'Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains are Invaluable Assets,'" he emphasized: "We must establish the 'four beams and eight pillars' [5] of the ecological civilization system as quickly as possible, and bring ecological civilization construction onto the track of institutionalization and the rule of law." Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has focused on ensuring that the "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" concept takes root. It has strictly used systems to manage power and officials, and to protect the blue skies and increase greenery. It has insisted that "with power comes responsibility, responsibility requires accountability, and failure to fulfill responsibility must be prosecuted," continuously improving a logically rigorous and interlocking chain of systems and promoting the construction of a systematic and complete ecological civilization institutional system. The legal system for the ecological environment, represented by the Environmental Protection Law, has become more robust, and the rule-of-law foundation for environmental governance has become firmer. Meanwhile, institutional innovations such as the River (Lake) Chief system and the Forest Chief system [6] have been vigorously promoted, causing environmental governance to undergo a fundamental shift from "end-of-pipe" treatment to systemic governance. This ensures that the "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" concept is implemented and that the CPC Central Committee’s decisions regarding ecological civilization construction achieve effective results. China's ecological environmental governance system and capacity are becoming more adapted to the requirements for comprehensively promoting the goal of Building a Beautiful China.
Generating Profound International Influence
The vivid practice of the "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" concept on Chinese soil fully proves that high-level protection of the ecological environment does not hinder high-quality development but is its critical support. Economic high-quality development can only be achieved by relying on high-level ecological protection. This provides a beneficial reference for the vast number of developing countries that face strict ecological constraints alongside urgent developmental needs, and contributes Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to global ecological environmental governance. In 2016, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released the report Green is Gold: The Strategy and Actions of China’s Ecological Civilization, promoting China’s path of ecological civilization. The international influence of the "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" concept continues to deepen and expand.
It breaks through the binary opposition of anthropocentrism and ecocentrism, guiding the collective construction of a community of life for humanity and nature. In "Working Together to Build a Global Ecological Civilization and a Clean and Beautiful World," General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Humans can use and transform nature, but fundamentally we are a part of nature. We must care for nature and not place ourselves above it." How to correctly understand and handle the relationship between humanity and nature concerns the future of mankind and is a developmental question every country must answer. The "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" concept points toward the direction of the all-around development of the person and the sustainable development of human civilization. It contains a paradigm shift from the predatory exploitation of the environment to harmony between humanity and nature, which is of great significance for the progress of human civilization. This vital concept breaks through the subject-object dichotomy of humanity and nature found in both anthropocentrism and ecocentrism—two opposing positions that Western ecological philosophy nevertheless both maintain. It reveals the unity of humanity and nature from the height of philosophical ontology, helping to guide all countries in collectively building a community of life for humanity and nature. China has initiated the International Coalition for Green Development on the Belt and Road, and through cooperation in green technologies such as wind power, geothermal, and solar energy, it has enabled the "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" concept to be transformed into reality in more countries. This ensures the process of building a community of life for humanity and nature becomes a process that tangibly benefits the people of all nations.
It has generated rich and diverse achievements in practical innovation, contributing precious experience in green development to the world. Many developing countries still face the dilemma of "protecting the ecology versus maintaining growth" in their modernization processes, lacking practical references for achieving a state where ecological environmental protection and socio-economic development complement and promote one another. Guided by the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," many localities in our country have carried out practical explorations that are rich in form, diverse in content, rooted in their own realities, and full of ecological wisdom. For example, some regions have achieved green benefits for the people by promoting the "assetization" of rural ecological resources, the "capitalization" of ecological assets, the "productization" of ecological capital, and the "marketization" of ecological products. This has fully stimulated the initiative, proactivity, and creativity of rural areas in striving toward common prosperity and building an ecological civilization. One vivid case is Anji, Zhejiang, which relied on a county-level bamboo forest carbon sink storage and trading platform [7] to transform emerald bamboo into quantifiable "carbon assets," creating an "eco-common prosperity" model where "bamboo turns into banknotes and resources turn into capital." These rich and diverse practical innovations not only inject green vitality into local development but also provide a "Chinese sample" for other developing countries to achieve sustainable development based on their own ecological resource endowments and by suiting measures to local conditions [8]. This holds positive reference value for the comprehensive green transition of their socio-economic development.
It leads human society from industrial civilization toward ecological civilization, assisting in the creation of a new form of human advancement [9]. Both history and reality demonstrate that the ecological environment is the foundation for the development of human civilization. When the ecology flourishes, civilization flourishes; when the ecology declines, civilization declines [10]. Since humans entered the era of industrial civilization, they have both created enormous material wealth and produced serious ecological problems; in the last century, certain Western nations suffered from the "eight great public nuisance events of the world" [11]. If developing countries continue to follow the old path of industrial civilization toward modernization, they will inevitably face greater difficulties and more problems. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in "To Achieve Sustainable Development, We Must Focus on Ecological Civilization Construction" that: "In building a modernized country, following the old path of the United States and Europe will not work; even with several more Earths, it would not be enough for the Chinese people to consume." The concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" clarifies the forward direction for the development of human civilization. This important concept transcends the Western modernization model of "polluting first and treating later," shatters the myth that "modernization equals Westernization," promotes the construction of a modernization characterized by harmony between humanity and nature, and creates a new form of human advancement. It reveals a new landscape for modernization and expands the path options for developing countries seeking to modernize. Under the influence of this important concept, more and more countries and people in the world have realized that Western-style modernization is not the sole choice for achieving modernization, and that modernization need not come at the expense of the ecological environment. Every nation has the right and the capability to forge a modernization path suited to its own national conditions, and every nation has the right and the capability to achieve coordinated development of its ecological environment and socio-economy, making the continuous improvement of the ecology an endogenous driver of socio-economic development.