Ren Yanqing and Zou Guangwen: Continuously Deepening the Understanding and Practice of Ecological Civilization Construction in the New Era
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the proposal of the concept "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" [1]. The construction of ecological civilization is a feat for the present and a benefit for millennia to come. Since the New Era, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has placed the construction of ecological civilization in a prominent position within the overall work of the Party and state. By profoundly grasping the dialectical unity between "lucid waters and lush mountains" and "invaluable assets," and scientifically answering the "China questions," "world questions," "people's questions," and "questions of the times" regarding ecological civilization, the Party has formed Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization. This has brought about historical, pivotal, and comprehensive changes in China's ecological civilization construction from theory to practice, providing the fundamental adherence and action guide for painting a new picture of modernization characterized by harmony between humanity and nature.
Ecological civilization construction is a millennium project concerning the sustainable development of the Chinese nation
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that "Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature." Promoting green development and facilitating harmony between humanity and nature are major deployments and important requirements made by the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core for ecological civilization construction in the New Era. Committing to an ecological civilization that realizes harmony between humanity and nature is an inherent part of Chinese-path modernization and a millennium project [2] concerning the sustainable development of the Chinese nation.
Respecting, adapting to, and protecting nature are internal requirements for building a socialist modernized country in all respects. Nature is the basic condition upon which humanity depends for survival and development. With the sustainable development of the Chinese nation in mind, General Secretary Xi Jinping has devoted immense effort to ecological civilization construction, repeatedly emphasizing the need to "respect, adapt to, and protect nature," and clearly proposing to "build China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful." Entering the New Era, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has led the people of the whole country in persisting in and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics, continuously promoting the coordinated development of material, political, spiritual, social, and ecological civilizations. This has created a new path for Chinese-path modernization and a new form of human civilization. Ecological civilization is both a vital component of Chinese-path modernization and a significant achievement of human social progress and a historical trend in the development of human civilization. Building a modern socialist country in all respects necessarily requires us to "protect the ecological environment as one protects one's eyes, and treat the ecological environment as one treats one's life," placing ecological civilization in a strategic position within the overall framework of reform, development, and modernization, and advancing its construction with all our might.
Promoting harmony between humanity and nature is an essential requirement of Chinese-path modernization. A good ecological environment is the fairest public product and the most universal benefit to the people's wellbeing. To build a modernization where humanity and nature coexist in harmony, we must satisfy the people’s need for a beautiful ecological environment. With the people in his heart, General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly noted that "lucid waters and lush mountains are an important part of the people's happy life and cannot be replaced by money," while simultaneously emphasizing that "ecology itself is economy." Entering the New Era, as the principal contradiction in Chinese society has evolved into the contradiction between the people’s ever-growing need for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development, the people's need for a beautiful ecological environment has become an important aspect of this contradiction. Demands for fresh air, clean water, safe food, and a beautiful environment are becoming increasingly strong. The people's aspiration for a better life is our goal. Opening a new chapter in Chinese-path modernization necessarily requires actively responding to the thoughts, expectations, and urgent needs of the masses. This involves not only creating more material and spiritual wealth to meet the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life but also providing more high-quality ecological products to meet their ever-growing needs for a beautiful environment.
Theory and practice in New Era ecological civilization construction form a virtuous cycle
The New Era gives rise to new thoughts, and new thoughts guide new practices. As the practice of ecological civilization construction deepens in the New Era, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has continuously deepened its understanding of the laws governing ecological civilization. It has vigorously promoted innovation in ecological theory, practice, and systems, creatively proposing a series of new concepts, thoughts, and strategies, forming Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization. This has advanced and expanded the vivid practice of Chinese-path modernization, achieving a major transition for ecological civilization construction from practical exploration to guidance by scientific theory.
From the perspective of theoretical innovation, Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization is a systematic understanding and summary of the laws of ecological civilization construction. Since the New Era, China has achieved remarkable results in ecological construction and environmental protection, but it also faces a new situation, new tasks, and new requirements to "support high-quality development with a high-quality ecological environment." Standing at the height of discerning the general trends of human civilization and profoundly reflecting on the laws of economic and social development, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized "Ten Persistences" [3] regarding ecological civilization construction. These include: persisting in the Party's comprehensive leadership over ecological civilization construction; persisting in the idea that when ecology flourishes, civilization flourishes; persisting in the harmony between humanity and nature; persisting in the principle that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets; persisting in the view that a good ecological environment is the most universal benefit to the people's wellbeing; persisting in the view that green development is a profound revolution in the concept of development; persisting in the holistic conservation and systematic governance of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts; persisting in using the strictest systems and the most rigorous rule of law to protect the ecological environment; persisting in transforming the building of a Beautiful China into the conscious action of all people; and persisting in the joint pursuit of global ecological civilization construction. To continue advancing ecological civilization on the new journey, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to correctly handle "Five Major Relationships": the relationship between high-quality development and high-level protection; between key breakthroughs and collaborative governance; between natural recovery and artificial restoration; between external constraints and internal momentum; and between "dual carbon" [4] commitments and autonomous actions. These "Ten Persistences" and "Five Major Relationships" systematically explain weightier issues concerning humanity and nature, protection and development, environment and people's livelihoods, and domestic and international affairs. They cover fundamental issues including the ultimate guarantee, historical basis, basic principles, core concepts, purpose and requirements, strategic paths, systemic views, institutional guarantees, social forces, and global initiatives for New Era ecological civilization construction. They answer the theoretical and practical questions of "why build ecological civilization, what kind of ecological civilization to build, and how to build it." Practice has fully demonstrated that Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization is a systematic, comprehensive, and scientific theoretical system that advances with the times.
From the perspective of practical advancement, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, Chinese-path modernization has created ecological and green development miracles that have captured the world's attention. The CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has led the people of the whole country in coordinately promoting high-quality development and high-level protection. It has continuously promoted the green and low-carbon transition of economy and society, and fought the "tough battle" [5] of pollution prevention and control, as well as the "defensive battles for blue skies, clear waters, and clean soil." Specific practices implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization and major measures to promote the construction of a Beautiful China have been continuously implemented. For example, by organically uniting natural recovery and artificial restoration—adopting measures suited to local conditions and timing, and implementing policies by zone and category—China has shifted its national territorial space ecological protection and restoration from single-factor management to systemic governance, from engineering-dominant measures to nature-based recovery, from end-of-pipe treatment to full-chain management, and from reliance on fiscal funds to diversified investment. A spatial ecological restoration planning system featuring "national planning + regional, basin, and sea area planning + local planning" has been preliminarily established, basically forming a "blueprint" for ecological protection and restoration from mountaintops to oceans, from plateaus to plains, and from national to local levels. Another example is the active advocacy for a new trend of green living. From reducing plastic use and encouraging end-of-life recycling to enhancing water conservation awareness and emphasizing reclamation and reuse; from the habit of turning off lights to optimizing urban management for green travel—the concepts of green living and sustainable development have been popularized across all aspects of the people's lives (clothing, food, housing, travel, and usage), creating a favorable atmosphere for the whole of society to jointly promote green development.
From the perspective of institutional building, a strong institutional guarantee is provided for comprehensively advancing modernization characterized by harmony between humanity and nature. General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "Only by implementing the strictest systems and the most rigorous rule of law can we provide a reliable guarantee for ecological civilization construction." Since the New Era, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has focused closely on building a Beautiful China, continuously deepening the reform of ecological civilization systems and environmental governance systems. They have concentrated on breaking down institutional and mechanical obstacles hindering ecological construction. A legal system for the environment with Chinese characteristics and an institutional framework serving as the "four beams and eight pillars" [6] of ecological civilization have basically taken shape. For example, ecological civilization construction was incorporated into the Party Constitution and the State Constitution; numerous laws and regulations, such as the Environmental Protection Law, were formulated or revised; and documents like the "Opinions on Accelerating the Advancement of Ecological Civilization Construction" and the "Master Plan for the Reform of the Ecological Civilization System" were implemented. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment was established, among other measures, to promote a systematic reshaping of the ecological institutional system and achieve major breakthroughs in structural reform. Furthermore, the Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Advancing Chinese-path Modernization, adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, includes a dedicated chapter on "Deepening the Reform of the Ecological Civilization System." It requires improving the institutional system of ecological civilization, coordinately promoting carbon reduction, pollution reduction, greening expansion, and growth, actively responding to climate change, and accelerating the improvement of mechanisms to implement the "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" concept. All of these provide institutional guarantees for fully advancing the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature through the construction of a Beautiful China.
Contributing Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to global ecological civilization construction
Protecting the ecological environment is a common challenge and responsibility faced by the world. In the face of unprecedented difficulties in global environmental governance, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to "uphold the concept of ecological civilization, stand at the height of being responsible for future generations, jointly build a community of all life on Earth, and jointly build a clean and beautiful world." This provides Chinese wisdom and Chinese strength for global ecological civilization construction and demonstrates the global value of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization.
Jointly building a community of life for humanity and nature. General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized building a community of life for humanity and nature and promoting the construction of a clean and beautiful world. This is a global initiative for ecological civilization construction and the manifestation of the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity in the ecological field. Humanity has only one Earth, and all countries share one world. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization closely links China's own development with the development of the world as a whole, and links the fate of humanity with the vast diversity of life on Earth. It abandons the old concepts and paths of "pollute first, treat later" and "destroy first, restore later" found in the development of industrial civilization. It breaks the erroneous concept of a binary opposition between humanity and nature, transcends civilization forms that are capital-centered and use external expansion and plunder as their development path, and depicts a new vision for realizing harmony between humanity and nature, providing intellectual inspiration for global ecological civilization. From proposing "a community with a shared future for humanity" to advocating "a community of life for humanity and nature," and then calling for "a community of all life on Earth," the community concept has continuously deepened and guided development, enriching both the Chinese practice and the global contribution of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization.
Actively participating in global ecological governance. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "In greening the Earth and improving global climate change, China has made indispensable contributions, and the Chinese people have made indispensable contributions." We not only strengthen our own ecological construction, promote the green and low-carbon transition of our development model, and extensively carry out international cooperation in green and low-carbon fields to thicken the green background of growth—making due contributions to global carbon reduction and green transition—but we also take the initiative to assume international responsibility for climate change. We have fully implemented the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, taken the lead in publishing China’s National Plan on Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the China National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (2023–2030), and actively worked with other countries to build a "Green Silk Road" [7], jointly creating a harmonious and livable home for humanity and providing solid support for the steady and long-term progress of global ecological civilization construction.
The green development concept advocated by China takes the "common interest of humanity" as its highest criterion, encouraging the whole world to join hands and walk side by side to effectively respond to global environmental problems such as climate change, marine pollution, and biological protection. The ecological civilization experience explored by China provides a useful reference for developing countries to break the myth that "modernization equals Westernization." It declares to the world that only by guarding our Earth home and seeking harmony between humanity and nature can humanity truly move toward a future of "pulling together in the same boat" [8].