Fu Zhaoxia: Always Adhere to the Principle that "Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains are Invaluable Assets" — Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the "Two Mountains" Concept
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the proposal of the "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" concept (the "Two Mountains" concept). In August 2005, during an inspection of Yu Village in Anji County, Zhejiang Province, Comrade Xi Jinping, then Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party 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 gold and silver mountains." The "Two Mountains" concept profoundly elucidates the relationship between economic development and ecological protection, teaching people that we must pursue both high-quality development and high-level ecological environmental protection. Since the dawn of the New Era, China has unswervingly followed a path of ecological priority and green development. Over the past 20 years, under the guidance of the "Two Mountains" concept, China's achievements in ecological civilization construction have attracted worldwide attention. The idea that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" has become a universal consensus across the entire Party and society, serving as a powerful driving force for the construction of an ecological civilization.
I. Profoundly Understanding the Scientific Substance and Core Essentials of the "Two Mountains" Concept
"Lucid waters and lush mountains" refers to protecting the ecological environment, while "gold and silver mountains" [1] refers to developing the economy and creating material wealth. The "Two Mountains" concept profoundly elucidates the internal unity of economic development and ecological environmental protection, emphasizing the relationship of harmonious coexistence between man and nature. The introduction of the "Two Mountains" concept was a response to the increasingly prominent challenges of aggravated environmental pollution, tightening resource constraints, and ecosystem degradation during the rapid advancement of industrialization and urbanization. The "Two Mountains" concept is both a vital developmental philosophy and one of the major principles that must be upheld to comprehensively advance the great causes of building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation through Chinese-path modernization.
The "Two Mountains" concept gradually matured 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, during an inspection of Changkou Village in Sanming, Fujian, Comrade Xi Jinping pointed out that "green mountains and lucid waters are priceless treasures; mountainous areas must paint a good 'landscape painting' and do a good job with the 'mountain, water, and field' article." After moving to work in Zhejiang, in the article Environmental Protection Depends on Conscious and Proactive Action, he noted that "wanting only gold and silver mountains while ignoring lucid waters and lush mountains" is effectively "eating the food of our ancestors while cutting off the path of our descendants" [2]. In July 2004, at the on-site meeting for the "Thousands of Demonstration Villages and Tens of Thousands of Renovated Villages" project [3] in Zhejiang, Comrade Xi Jinping pointed out that this project, as an "ecological engineering" effort, served as an effective vehicle for promoting the construction of an "ecological province," as it both protected "lucid waters and lush mountains" and brought forth "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, for lucid waters and lush mountains are themselves gold and silver mountains." In March 2015, the Opinions on Accelerating the Promotion of Ecological Civilization Construction, reviewed and approved 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 National Congress of the CPC included the requirement that "we must establish and practice the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" in its report; the Constitution of the Communist Party of China (Amendment) adopted by the Congress added "enhancing the awareness that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" to the Party Constitution. In 2022, the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC explicitly stated: "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 Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese-path Modernization, adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, made arrangements to accelerate the improvement of systems and mechanisms for implementing this concept. Since the New Era began, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has integrated ecological civilization construction into the "Five-Sphere Integrated Plan" alongside economic, political, cultural, and social construction. It has continuously deepened the understanding of the laws governing ecological civilization, forming Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, in which the "Two Mountains" concept is a vital component, marking a major transition from practical exploration to scientific theory.
The "Two Mountains" concept fully embodies the Marxist dialectical relationship between man and nature. Marxism holds that man is a part of nature; humanity transforms nature through labor practice while simultaneously depending on nature for survival. This reveals the inseparable internal link between man and nature. The "Two Mountains" concept concretizes this thought: "lucid waters and lush mountains" are the foundation of human survival and nature’s gift to humanity, while "gold and silver mountains" are the material wealth created by humanity through labor practice; the two constitute a community of life. Upholding and practicing the "Two Mountains" concept can both improve people's livelihoods and provide feedback to ecological protection. The concept emphasizes that economic development must not "drain the pond to catch the fish" [4] regarding natural resources and the environment, and it stresses that environmental protection does not mean abandoning economic development and the improvement of livelihoods. Practice has proven that artificially separating or pitting ecological protection against economic development is unsustainable; only by organically unifying the two can we build a modernization characterized by harmonious coexistence between man 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 nature; when these two conflict, following the laws of nature must take priority. The "Two Mountains" concept emphasizes that if a conflict arises between economic development and ecological protection, the latter must be placed first—this is an important principle for handling the relationship between the two. The value of a beautiful natural environment is incalculable; destroying lucid waters and lush mountains is destroying the basic conditions for economic development, which in turn leads to the loss of the very foundation upon which gold and silver mountains rely. When the ecological environment of a place is good, people naturally become 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 wellness industry, the added value of ecological products can be increased. By establishing and improving mechanisms for realizing the value of ecological products—such as ecological compensation, carbon sink trading, emissions rights trading, and green finance—behaviors that protect and improve the environment can receive economic rewards. By empowering green development through scientific and technological innovation, resource utilization efficiency and the quality of the ecological environment can be improved. It is evident that ecological resources are the most precious resources; pursuing the economy and development must not 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 concept provide Chinese wisdom for solving global environmental problems and building a clean, beautiful, green, low-carbon, and eco-friendly world. For developing countries that both desire economic development and face immense environmental pressure, the "Two Mountains" concept offers a sustainable development path and philosophy different from the Western model of "polluting first and cleaning up later." China's "Two Mountains" concept has been included in the United Nations' sustainable development goal practice cases, reflecting its global demonstration value. Through international development cooperation mechanisms, China showcases its innovative models of ecological governance to the world. As a key promoter and exemplary signatory of the Paris Agreement, China transforms Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, including the "Two Mountains" concept, into international public goods within global processes such as climate governance, biodiversity protection, and desertification prevention. By advocating for "nature-based solutions" and the "principle of common but differentiated responsibilities," China translates the ecological wisdom inherent in the "Two Mountains" concept into practical actions that move global ecological governance toward a more just and reasonable direction. Through the initiative of "jointly building a clean and beautiful world," China has pushed its domestic "Two Mountains" concept onto the international stage, emphasizing global cooperation in addressing environmental challenges and promoting the synergistic implementation of sustainable development goals and biodiversity protection. The high-quality building of the "Belt and Road" aligns with the actual needs of the socioeconomic development of participating countries and regions. Through mechanisms like the Belt and Road Initiative International Green Development Coalition, China places the "Two Mountains" concept in a prominent position, promoting the capacity-building of environmental governance in developing countries and treating ecological protection as a common cause that brings long-term benefits to future generations, reflecting a responsibility to promote the construction of a community of life for man and nature.
II. The "Two Mountains" Concept Has Profoundly Changed China
Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has treated ecological civilization construction as a fundamental plan concerning the permanent development of the Chinese nation. It has launched a series of pioneering efforts, leading to historical, transitional, and holistic changes in ecological civilization construction from theory to practice. Guided by the "Two Mountains" concept, China has persisted in the integrated protection and systematic governance of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts [6], synergistically promoting high-level protection and high-quality development. The system of ecological civilization institutions has become more robust, the battle against pollution has moved into greater depth, and major strides have been made in building a Beautiful China.
The institutional system for ecological civilization has basically taken shape. China has formulated dozens of reform plans involving ecological civilization, and the "four pillars and eight beams" [7] style institutional system has basically been formed. We have established and improved systems for ecological civilization construction goal evaluation and assessment, the "River and Lake Chief" system [8], discharge permit systems, ecological protection red-line systems, and the system of "equal responsibility for the Party and government" and "double responsibility for one post" [9] regarding ecological protection. On April 28, 2025 [sic], the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the Regulations on Ecological Environmental Protection Inspection, further improving the organizational system and mechanisms for inspections to advance the construction of a Beautiful China in a comprehensive manner. Constitutional amendments have written ecological civilization into the Constitution; the Civil Code has established the "Green Principle" for civil activities; and amendments to the Criminal Law have improved regulations regarding the "crime of polluting the environment." More than 30 relevant laws have formed a "1+N+4" [10] legal system for ecological environmental protection with Chinese characteristics.
Green development has achieved remarkable results. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the "gold content" and "green content" of China's economic development have significantly increased. In the decade of the New Era, an average annual energy consumption growth rate of 3% has supported an average annual economic growth rate of over 6%. Energy consumption intensity has decreased by a cumulative total of 26.4%, making China one of the countries with the fastest reduction in energy intensity in the world. Carbon emission intensity has decreased by a cumulative total of over 35%, reversing the trend of rapid growth in carbon dioxide emissions. China has 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 installations account for 56% of the country's total installed power capacity, exceeding total coal power capacity. The installed capacities for hydropower, wind power, solar power, and biomass power all 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 [11], China has integrated "Dual Carbon" work into the overall layout of ecological civilization construction and the overall situation of economic and social development. Data from the National Energy Administration shows that in 2024, non-fossil energy consumption exceeded petroleum for the first time, reaching 19.7% of primary energy consumption.
The ecological environment has improved. With unprecedented determination and intensity, China 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 PM2.5 concentration in 339 cities at the prefecture level and above was 29.3 micrograms per cubic meter, the average PM10 concentration was 49 micrograms per cubic meter, the average proportion of days with good air quality was 87.2%, and the average proportion of days with heavy pollution or above was 0.9%—all data showing significant improvements compared to ten years ago. Second, water quality 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%, while the proportion of sections with water quality lower than Grade V [12] was 0.6%. Among 210 key lakes and reservoirs, the proportion with excellent or good water quality was 77.1%. Third, soil environment quality has remained stable. In 2024, the safe utilization of contaminated farmland and key construction land was effectively guaranteed; environmental renovation was newly completed in 25,000 administrative villages, and the rural domestic sewage treatment rate reached over 45%. Fourth, the area of desertified and sand-prone land has continued to decrease, achieving the goal of zero growth in land degradation by 2030 ahead of schedule. With the deep advancement of national afforestation efforts, China's forest coverage rate exceeds 25%, forest stock exceeds 20 billion cubic meters, and the comprehensive vegetation coverage of grasslands exceeds 50%.
III. Actively Exploring the Transformation Paths for "Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains are Invaluable Assets"
The implementation of the “Two Mountains” theory is a long-term and arduous task that cannot be accomplished overnight. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “We must actively explore and promote paths for transforming ‘lucid waters and lush mountains’ into ‘invaluable assets,’ select regions with suitable conditions to carry out pilot programs for mechanisms to realize the value of ecological products, and explore paths for value realization that are government-led, involve enterprises and all sectors of society, operate through market mechanisms, and are sustainable.” To deeply practice the “Two Mountains” theory, we must adhere to the principle of protecting during development and developing during protection, gradually achieving coordination between economic and social development and population, resources, and the environment, thereby realizing an effective improvement in quality and rational growth in quantity during the green transition.
Improving laws, regulations, and institutional guarantee systems to ensure the “Two Mountains” theory takes root. The practical transformation of the “Two Mountains” theory requires the guidance of national strategy, 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 “firmly establishing and practicing the theory that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” and placing ecological civilization construction in a prominent position within the overall scope of 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, China has conducted a series of highly effective explorations. The establishment of the Central Ecological and Environmental Protection Inspection system, centered on “supervising the government” [13], has effectively tightened the primary responsibility of local Party committees and governments for ecological and environmental protection. Ecological compensation mechanisms have been gradually expanded nationwide, mobilizing the enthusiasm of ecological protection areas through fiscal transfer payments and horizontal compensation [14] between regions.
Vigorously promoting the greening and decarbonization of economic and social development to accelerate the green and low-carbon transition. We must improve the system of major function-oriented zones [15], refine the territorial spatial planning system, and coordinately optimize the layout of agricultural, ecological, and urban spaces. We should strengthen law enforcement, supervision, protection, and restoration to ensure the national ecological protection redline [16] remains above 3.15 million square kilometers. We must resolutely defend the redline of 1.8 billion mu [17] of arable land to ensure that arable land capable of long-term stable utilization does not decrease. There must be strict spatial control over the shorelines of rivers and lakes, strengthened spatial control over marine and coastal zones, and the establishment of exit mechanisms for inefficient sea use; except for major national projects, no new land reclamation projects shall be added. We will focus on controlling the consumption of fossil energies such as coal, strengthen the clean and efficient use of coal, and vigorously develop non-fossil energy. We will implement the action plan for methane emission control and research the formulation of action plans for 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, resolutely curb the blind launch of “two highs and one low” [18] projects, and vigorously promote the upgrading of processes, technologies, and equipment in traditional industries to achieve a green and low-carbon transition. We will accelerate the construction of dedicated railway lines, improve the level of clean transport 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, promoting the saving of energy, water, land, materials, and minerals. We will continue to deepen energy conservation in key fields and strengthen energy management for new infrastructure. We will deeply implement the National Water Saving Action, improve water efficiency in key water-using industries and products, actively promote the resource utilization of wastewater, 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 and service system. We will carry out actions to improve the quality and efficiency of comprehensive resource utilization. We will accelerate the construction of a waste recycling system and promote the recycling of waste such as wind turbine blades, photovoltaic modules, power batteries, and express delivery packaging. We will promote the conservation of raw materials and resource recycling and vigorously develop the remanufacturing industry. We will comprehensively promote the construction of green mines.
Deeply advancing the battle against pollution and continuing the fight to defend blue skies, clear water, and clean soil. First, win the battle to defend blue skies. With fine particulate matter 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 and implement source substitution projects. Measures like clean energy and centralized heating substitution will be taken according to local conditions to continue treating pollution from scattered coal, coal-fired boilers, and industrial kilns. We will conduct research on new-stage fuel quality standards and strengthen joint departmental supervision and enforcement. We will enhance regional joint prevention and control and deepen performance grading for key industries during heavy pollution weather. We will focus on solving pollution issues like malodor and catering oil fumes. We will strengthen environmental management of ozone-depleting substances and hydrofluorocarbons to ensure that the air is always fresh and the blue sky is always present. Second, fight the battle to defend clear water. We will coordinately manage water resources, water environments, and water ecology, deeply advancing the protection and treatment of major rivers like the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers and important lakes, and optimizing the adjustment of water function zoning and management systems. We will basically complete the investigation and remediation of sewage outfalls into rivers and seas and fully build a monitoring and supervision system for outfalls. We will accelerate the filling of gaps in urban sewage collection and treatment facilities, build model areas for full urban sewage pipe network coverage, strengthen the harmless treatment and resource utilization of sludge, and build benchmark green and low-carbon 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, strengthen the unified dispatch of water resources, and guarantee ecological flows in rivers and lakes. Adhering to the integration 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 strengthen the remediation of the marine aquaculture environment 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 management of marine litter. Third, fight the battle to defend clean soil. We will carry out actions for the source prevention and control of soil pollution, strictly prevent new pollution, and gradually solve the serious long-term accumulation of soil and groundwater pollution. We will solidly promote the safe utilization and risk control of contaminated arable land and advance the full-coverage tracing and remediation of heavy metal pollution in agricultural soil in stages. We will strengthen the linked supervision of land-use changes and risk control for contaminated plots according to law, promoting the risk control and restoration of large-sized contaminated sites. Environmental monitoring of soil and groundwater around key soil pollution monitoring units will be fully carried out. We will strengthen environmental protection for groundwater-type drinking water source areas and strictly control environmental risks in key groundwater pollution prevention and control zones.
Enhancing the diversity, stability, and sustainability of ecosystems to solidify national ecological security barriers. 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 nature reserve system with national parks as the mainstay and complete the integration and optimization of national nature reserves. We will implement national projects for the monitoring, evaluation, and early warning of natural ecological resources. We will strengthen the construction of supervision systems for ecological protection and restoration and enhance unified supervision. We will strictly supervise owners, developers, and even regulators to promptly discover and investigate various ecological destruction incidents. We will strengthen the monitoring and evaluation of ecological status and carry out evaluations of the effectiveness of ecological protection and restoration. We will continue to promote the “Green Shield” [19] strengthened supervision of nature reserves and establish a supervision mechanism for ecological destruction issues within the ecological protection redline. 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, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grass, and sand [20]. We will scientifically carry out large-scale land greening actions, increase efforts in grassland and wetland protection and restoration, strengthen comprehensive management of desertification, rocky desertification, and soil erosion, comprehensively implement sustainable forest management, and strengthen forest and grassland fire prevention and extinguishing. Focusing on sand source areas and transmission paths affecting key regions like Beijing, we will continue to promote the construction of the “Three-North” project [21] and the control of sand sources in Beijing and Tianjin. We will strengthen the coordinating role of the coordination mechanism for biodiversity protection and implement major biodiversity protection projects. We will improve the national biodiversity protection network, comprehensively protect wild animals and plants, and gradually establish a national botanical garden system. We will deeply advance the rescue actions for rare and endangered species in the Yangtze River and continue to prioritize the implementation of the ten-year fishing ban on the Yangtze. We will fully implement the marine summer fishing moratorium system and build modern marine ranches.
(The author is a professor at the Department of Social and Ecological Civilization Education and Research at the Party School of the CPC Shanxi Provincial Committee and a specially invited researcher at the Shanxi Provincial Research Center for the System of Theories of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics)
Source: Qiushi (Red Flag Manuscript Edition) Issue 15, 2025 Online Editor: Ma Jingren