Zhang Yongsheng: Profoundly Grasping the Great Significance of Building a Global Ecological Civilization
General Secretary Xi Jinping has noted: "Building a global ecological civilization requires all nations to work together with one mind to jointly promote green, low-carbon, and sustainable development." The construction of a global ecological civilization is a vital component of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization. This theoretical framework posits that humanity has progressed through primitive civilization, agricultural civilization, and industrial civilization; it clarifies that ecological civilization is a product of industrial civilization once it reaches a certain stage, representing a new requirement for achieving the harmonious development of humanity and nature. This profoundly reveals the critical significance of ecological civilization for transcending industrial civilization and developing a new form of human advancement [1].
Building a global ecological civilization is conducive to China anchoring its direction toward high-quality development and achieving harmony between humanity and nature, thereby contributing Chinese wisdom to addressing the challenges of sustainable development faced by humanity since the Industrial Revolution. The "Recommendations of the CPC Central Committee for Formulating the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development," adopted at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee [2], made strategic deployments for "accelerating the comprehensive green transition of economic and social development and building a Beautiful China," adding new vitality to the construction of a global ecological civilization. We must profoundly recognize the world-historical significance of building a global ecological civilization from the historical height of the evolution of human civilization. Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, we must write a new chapter in the collaborative pursuit of global ecological civilization.
An Important Achievement in the Evolution of Human Civilization
The proposal to build a global ecological civilization stems from General Secretary Xi Jinping’s deep practical exploration and scientific theoretical reflection on the issue of sustainable development. The Industrial Revolution brought about a leap in productive forces and a transformation in the relations of production, realizing the mass production and consumption of material wealth. After entering the era of industrial civilization, developed countries were the first to achieve their own modernization through its development. However, this modernization model, predicated on traditional industrial civilization, can only satisfy the high-consumption demands of a minority of developed nations and cannot achieve sustainable development for all of humanity.
Traditional industrial civilization pursued economic growth at the cost of the ecological environment, endlessly extracting from or even destroying nature, which led to the emergence of various ecological crises. In response, developed countries generally adopted the "pollute first, treat later" model, formulating strict environmental protection policies only in the later stages of development while simultaneously transferring high-consumption, high-pollution, and high-carbon industries to developing countries. For these developed nations, while industrial transfer objectively improved their domestic environmental quality, their economic production and social life remained dependent on the plundering of environment and resources; their mode of development underwent no fundamental transformation. If the vast number of developing countries were to pursue their own modernization through this mode of high consumption supported by high depletion and high pollution, a global resource and environmental crisis would be inevitable. At present, various ecological problems—including climate change, environmental pollution, and declining biodiversity—are erupting one after another, threatening the survival and development of humanity. This is precisely the consequence of a modernization model built upon traditional industrial civilization. This model faces a manifest dilemma: traditional industrial civilization realized mass production and consumption for a few vanguard modernized nations; yet, once extended to the entire world, it brings about global resource scarcity and environmental degradation, potentially even interrupting the process of human modernization and causing the decline of civilization.
When the ecology flourishes, civilization flourishes; when the ecology declines, civilization declines [3]. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization stands at the height of the perpetual development of the Chinese nation and humanity, bridging theory and practice, history and reality, and the international and domestic spheres. It clarifies that "in building a modernized country, the old path of the US and Europe is a dead end," that "to achieve sustainable development, we must prioritize ecological civilization construction," and that "the international community must jointly seek a path for global ecological civilization and persist in a path of green, low-carbon, circular, and sustainable development." Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and especially since the start of reform and opening up, China has created a developmental miracle unprecedented in human history. At the same time, it has gradually recognized that traditional industrial civilization inherently creates tension between socio-economic development and ecological protection. Rapid industrialization brought increasingly severe ecological problems—such as air pollution, soil erosion, resource depletion, and desertification—requiring us to coordinate socio-economic development with ecological protection to achieve a dialectical unity between the two and harmony between humanity and nature. The construction of a global ecological civilization is precisely the crystallization of China’s arduous wisdom in exploring a sustainable path to modernization. Since the 18th National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has placed ecological civilization construction in a prominent position within the overall work of the Party and state, driving historical, transitional, and holistic changes in ecological civilization from theory to practice. Modernization characterized by harmony between humanity and nature has been accelerated, fully demonstrating the power of truth and the practical might of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization.
Viewed from the "Big History" [4] of human evolution, the proposal to build a global ecological civilization is both a product of industrial civilization at a certain stage and a transcendence of it. It represents a more progressive form of human civilization compared to industrial civilization, possessing significant theoretical and practical meaning for sustainable development. Building a global ecological civilization is not merely about emphasizing environmental protection; rather, it involves breaking out of the stale framework of traditional industrial civilization's response to ecological issues. It rejects the old "pollute first, treat later" path. Instead, from the perspective that humanity and nature form a "community of life" [5], it treats the carrying capacity of resources and the environment as the prerequisite and foundation for development. It promotes perpetual human development through green, circular, and low-carbon development, fostering harmony between humanity and nature. The goal is not for a minority of people in a few countries to exclusively enjoy the affluence brought by modernization, but to seek common prosperity and perpetual development for all humanity. This contains profound reflections on fundamental questions such as "why develop," "what to develop," and "how to develop." Compared to traditional industrial civilization, it represents a profound transformation of the logic and mode of human development. The contradictory relationship where socio-economic development and ecological protection were opposed under the traditional modernization model is thus transformed into a dialectical unity where the two promote each other. Building a global ecological civilization provides a new modernization choice for countries around the world, especially the vast number of developing nations eager to achieve modernization, and represents the direction of human progress.
Providing Solutions for Global Challenges and Problems
Building a global ecological civilization is a key measure to break through the inherent limitations of traditional industrial civilization, mapping out a systemic solution for achieving human sustainable development. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization provides solutions to the global challenges and problems facing human development at both the conceptual and technical levels. It possesses extensive international influence, appeal, and shaping power, and is increasingly becoming an international consensus.
It provides a fundamental solution for restructuring the relationship between humanity and nature. The reason many global problems have remained unresolved for a long time is largely due to the inherent limitations of the traditional modernization model. Traditional industrial civilization adheres to anthropocentrism, viewing nature as an object to be conquered and transformed, using the environment as a site for resource extraction and waste discharge. Driven by capital appreciation and profit maximization, and characterized by rampant consumerism, it inevitably leads to ecological destruction. In contrast, the construction of a global ecological civilization advocates that humanity and nature are a community of life. It insists on respecting, adapting to, and protecting nature, limiting human activities to what the environment can sustain. It forms green and low-carbon modes of production and lifestyles to achieve coexistence between humanity and nature, continuously meeting the people’s needs for a better life. While traditional development came at the cost of overdrawing ecological capital—where finite resources could not satisfy everyone, leading to conflict between nations, generations, and between economy and environment—global ecological civilization turns these three sets of relationships from opposition to win-win outcomes. By expanding the convergence of interests among nations through green development, it creates space for international relations to escape the stale logic of zero-sum games and "winner-takes-all," achieving inclusive development that meets the needs of both current and future generations. It enables economic development to find new directions, breakthroughs, and drivers for transformation and high-quality development within the process of protecting the environment.
It maps out a promising solution for driving the transformation of development modes. Building a global ecological civilization plays a positive role in addressing numerous global issues, such as global environmental governance, the realization of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the advancement of modernization in the Global South, and the maintenance of world peace and security. In terms of global environmental governance, it requires all nations to follow the path of green development, sharing the immense opportunities inherent therein. This shifts the underlying logic of global environmental governance from "burden-sharing" to "opportunity-sharing," strengthening the internal motivation for international cooperation. Regarding the UN SDGs, the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024 [6] shows that of the 169 targets, only 15% are on track, with nearly half showing minimal or moderate progress, and over 30% stalled or regressing. Current progress is insufficient to achieve all goals by 2030. Globally, hundreds of millions remain in absolute poverty; billions lack safe drinking water; and climate change is intensifying. This situation exists not only because some governments lack focus, but also because an effective practical path for the SDGs had not been found. By building a global ecological civilization and transforming development modes, conflicting goals can be turned into mutually reinforcing ones, making the holistic realization of the SDGs possible. In terms of the Global South’s modernization, the current international division of labor places developed countries at the high end of the value chain and developing countries at the low end, preventing common prosperity. This is an inherent product of the traditional modernization model. Global ecological civilization provides the Global South with an opportunity to achieve "corner-overtaking" [7] modernization through green development, promoting an equal and orderly multipolar world and inclusive economic globalization. It means development no longer relies on massive resource consumption, helping to reduce social conflicts triggered by resource competition and better maintaining world peace and security.
In today's world of change and disorder, where instability and uncertainty are more prominent, some countries deny common ecological problems like climate change and "reverse the engine of history" on green development, hindering regional and global sustainability. Nevertheless, more countries and people recognize that building a global ecological civilization is the only path for sustainable development. It injects stability and positive energy into the reform of global development and governance systems and the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. It is a vital public good contributed by Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization to the international community.
Effectively Promoting the Construction of Global Ecological Civilization
Building a global ecological civilization is a landmark concept signifying that Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization is moving from China to the world. We must strengthen systemic and dialectical thinking, grasping the primary contradiction and the principal aspect of the contradiction [8]. We must identify the breakthroughs and focus our efforts on effectively promoting the construction of a global ecological civilization. By integrating theory with practice and aligning thought with action, we will further demonstrate the truth of this thought and China's image as a responsible major power—an active participant, contributor, and leader in global ecological civilization.
We must construct an autonomous Chinese system of knowledge regarding ecological civilization to provide intellectual momentum for global efforts. Nations worldwide, particularly the Global South which constitutes the majority of the global population, have an urgent need for knowledge on how to achieve modernization through green and low-carbon means. A minority of developed countries...
The development experience of "polluting first and treating later" [9] cannot provide useful references for the Global South. China's construction of an ecological civilization has achieved world-renowned success, realizing the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature through green development and blazing a path of Chinese-path modernization. Its theory and practice possess unique value for constructing a global ecological civilization and solving major issues in the global green transition. Currently, many developing countries hope to study and learn from China's development experience, but they often remain at a superficial level and fail to go deeper. This is closely related to the fact that the international communication of our theories and practices regarding ecological civilization construction still needs strengthening, and the ideological and spiritual power behind the "Beautiful China" story has not yet been fully demonstrated. This requires us to properly summarize Chinese experiences using Chinese logic, elevate Chinese experiences into Chinese theory, and strengthen the systematic research and academic interpretation of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization. We must promote the construction of an autonomous Chinese knowledge system for ecological civilization. Centering on the core tenets, spiritual essence, rich connotations, and practical requirements of constructing a global ecological civilization, we must forge new concepts, categories, and expressions that bridge China and the world. From a theoretical perspective, we must profoundly reveal the major differences between constructing a global ecological civilization and mere environmentalism in terms of philosophical foundations, internal logic, development modes, and policy effects. We must comprehensively advance the international communication of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, showcase its original contributions and fundamental theoretical achievements, and continuously construct and lead the discourse system of global green development.
We must reform and improve global environmental governance and actively promote global green development. Constructing a global ecological civilization requires the international community to work hand in hand, strengthening global environmental governance, reforming and improving the global environmental governance system, and better coalescing the forces for global green development. The current global environmental governance system still contains problems that are incompatible or uncoordinated with the construction of a global ecological civilization. For example, a small number of developed countries monopolize global environmental governance, while multilateral governance mechanisms are marginalized or selectively utilized to protect the interests of these few developed nations. While the weight of the Global South in the international landscape continues to rise, the discourse power and representation of the vast number of developing countries have not increased accordingly; the global environmental governance system cannot yet adequately reflect the interests of the majority of nations. We must practice true multilateralism, defend international fairness and justice, and construct a more just and reasonable global environmental governance system. This will promote the sharing of responsibilities and benefits among all countries and effectively enhance governance efficiency. On this basis, we must also assist nations in transforming their development modes through more pragmatic measures for green development, translating green development goals into practical action. We should give full play to the important role of the global environmental governance system to promote international cooperation in green development and implement the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities [10]. We must encourage developed countries to provide assistance and support to developing countries for their green and low-carbon transitions, ensuring the free flow of high-quality green technologies and products so that the vast number of developing countries can use them, afford them, and use them well—thereby creating more development opportunities and space for developing countries. In this regard, by building closer partnerships for green development and strengthening international cooperation in fields such as green infrastructure, green energy, green transport, and green finance, China has made significant contributions to the global green and low-carbon transition.
Humanity has only intermediate one Earth. To construct a global ecological civilization, we must protect the planetary home upon which humanity depends for survival, jointly build a clean and beautiful world, and promote sustainable development. Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature, and green development is its defining feature. The steady and sustained progress [11] of Chinese-path modernization is itself an important achievement of global ecological civilization construction, and it provides significant opportunities for other countries in the world to realize green development. On the New Journey, we must integrate and link the in-depth study and implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization with the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Party [12]. Guided by the construction of a "Beautiful China," we will coordinately promote carbon reduction, pollution control, green expansion, and economic growth. We will continue to expand the path of Chinese-path modernization characterized by the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature, and continuously inject strong momentum into the construction of a global ecological civilization through China’s green development.