Zhang Yanguo and Luo Binhua: Establish and Practice a Correct View of Political Performance in the Construction of Ecological Civilization
A correct outlook on performance yields is the value coordinate and guide to action for Chinese Communists, directly determining the practical effectiveness of national governance. To establish and practice a correct outlook on performance yields, one must "persist in proceeding from reality and acting according to objective laws," and "properly handle the relationships between stability and progress, establishing the new and breaking the old, the abstract and the concrete, treating symptoms and addressing root causes, and the immediate and the long-term; maintain bottom-line thinking; and strengthen risk awareness." As a fundamental plan concerning the eternal development of the Chinese nation, the construction of ecological civilization is both a profound transformation of the mode of development and a soul-touching tempering of one's orientation toward performance yields. Establishing and practicing a correct outlook on performance yields in the field of ecological civilization construction concerns not only development concepts and orientations but also directly determines the path and quality of achieving modernization characterized by harmony between humanity and nature. We must integrate a correct outlook on performance yields throughout the entire process and all aspects of ecological civilization construction. We must coordinately handle major relationships such as those between development and protection, the present and the long-term, and the local and the global. We must transform the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" [1] into actual achievements that can withstand the test of practice, the people, and history, thereby fortifying the ideological foundation and providing practical guidelines for advancing the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature at a higher level.
1. Grasping the dialectical unity of "stability" and "progress," promoting green development while defending the bottom line and improving quality
General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that "ecological environmental protection and economic development are dialectically unified and complementary," and that we must "adhere to the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, implement the new development philosophy completely, accurately, and comprehensively, accelerate the construction of a new development paradigm, and strive to promote high-quality development." Firmly guarding the ecological bottom line while advancing green development is the concrete practice of this dialectical relationship; it is both an important methodology for ecological civilization construction and a key physical yardstick for testing one's outlook on ecological performance. "Stability" is the bottom line and the foundation, reflecting strategic resolve in ecological protection; "progress" is the direction and the motive force, manifesting the enterprising spirit of green development. To speak of "progress" in isolation from "stability" easily leads to the error of exchanging short-term growth at the cost of the environment, ultimately overdrawing the ecological capital and damaging long-term development. Conversely, to seek "stability" in a one-sided manner while ignoring "progress" leads to stagnation characterized by following old tracks and sticking to conventions, missing the opportunities for green transformation and high-quality development. To establish a correct outlook on ecological performance, one must persist in prioritizing stability and seeking progress while maintaining stability, promoting high-quality development on the basis of guarding the ecological bottom line.
Using "stability" to fortify the ecological security barrier and unswervingly adhering to the ecological bottom line. We must always treat the ecological protection red line, the environmental quality bottom line, and the resource utilization ceiling as rigid constraints. We must strictly implement national territorial space planning, guard the security boundaries of natural ecosystems, resolutely curb the blind expansion of projects with high energy consumption, high emissions, and low-level technology, and eliminate short-sighted behaviors of "polluting first and treating later." When advancing various development projects, ecological carrying capacity and environmental impact assessments must be used as prerequisites. These must be scientifically demonstrated and strictly scrutinized to resolutely prevent overdrawing the ecological environment in pursuit of short-term GDP growth, ensuring that ecosystems remain stable and sustainable to build a foundation for green, low-carbon, and high-quality development.
Using "progress" to stimulate the momentum of green development and drive the iterative upgrading of development modes. Based on the deployments of the "15th Five-Year Plan" [2] outline, we must adhere closely to the main line of green and low-carbon transformation and take proactive initiative in fields such as industrial upgrading, energy transition, and scientific and technological innovation. We must promote the optimization of industrial structures, orderly phase out backward production capacity, cultivate and expand green industries such as energy conservation, environmental protection, and clean energy, and build green manufacturing and service systems. We must accelerate the transformation of the energy structure, deeply advance energy conservation and carbon reduction, and build a new energy system that is clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient. We must strengthen the support of scientific and technological innovation, promote green and low-carbon technical equipment, and move energy-intensive industries toward regions rich in renewable energy in an orderly manner, using the "progress" of development modes to increase both the "monetary gold" and "ecological green" content of economic development.
2. Coordinating the systemic transformation of "establishing" and "breaking," improving the ecological governance system through simultaneous construction and reform
Persisting in the simultaneous promotion of "breaking" and "establishing," with "establishing" preceding "breaking," is an inevitable requirement for practicing a correct outlook on ecological performance. In March 2022, while participating in a deliberation with the Inner Mongolia delegation at the fifth session of the 13th National People's Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Green transformation is a process; it is not something that happens overnight. We must establish the new before breaking the old, rather than breaking the old before the new is established." What is "broken" are obsolete mindsets, backward models, and interest barriers; what is "established" are advanced concepts, improved systems, and scientific mechanisms. In ecological civilization construction, only by daring to break and being good at establishing can we rid ourselves of reliance on traditional development paths, construct a systemic, comprehensive, scientifically standardized, and effective ecological civilization governance system, and achieve a major shift from passive response to proactive initiative.
Using "establishing" to consolidate the foundation and construct rigid institutional guarantees. Ecological civilization construction cannot succeed without the escort of institutions. The core of "establishing" is to transform the concepts of respecting, conforming to, and protecting nature into institutional arrangements that are implementable, enforceable, evaluable, and supervisable. We must deeply implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, deepen the reform of the ecological civilization system, and build a comprehensive evaluation and assessment system for carbon peaking, carbon neutrality, and the construction of a Beautiful China, taking the effectiveness of ecological civilization construction as an important yardstick for measuring the performance of leading officials. We must persist in a systemic governance approach, coordinating the integrated protection and systemic management of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts [3], and advancing major projects for the protection and restoration of important ecosystems. We must continue to cultivate the roots of ecological culture, foster ecological morality, actively carry out national actions for green and low-carbon living, and broadly guide the public to establish simple, moderate, green, and low-carbon concepts of life and consumption, ensuring that green concepts are internalized in the heart and externalized in action, thereby laying a solid institutional and social foundation for ecological civilization construction.
Using "breaking" to eliminate evils and innovate, breaking reliance on old development paths. We must resolutely break the obsolete mindset of "polluting first and treating later" and "emphasizing development while neglecting protection." We must abandon the one-sided development orientation of "judging heroes solely by GDP," break down local protectionism and departmental interest barriers, vigorously rectify illegal and non-compliant behaviors in the field of the ecological environment, and resolutely reverse the short-sighted orientation of "eating the food of one's ancestors and cutting off the path of one's descendants." For traditional industries, we must persist in the direction of "high-end, intelligent, and green" development, putting greater effort into structural upgrading, chain extension, and product renewal to let "old trees" sprout "new branches." In the process of "breaking," we must adhere to seeking truth from facts and respect objective laws. In stages where green and low-carbon technologies are not yet fully mature, replacement industries have not yet taken shape, and supporting guarantee mechanisms are not yet perfected, we cannot simply use "one-size-fits-all" [4] approaches or "campaign-style" carbon reduction. We must coordinately promote a smooth transition between old and new kinetic energy, achieving the synergistic advancement and mutual empowerment of socio-economic development and ecological environmental protection.
3. Promoting the organic combination of the "abstract" and the "concrete," manifesting the effectiveness of ecological civilization construction through the integration of learning and application
The dialectical unity of theoretical abstraction and practical realism is a prominent characteristic of a correct outlook on performance yields. "Abstraction" [5] refers to ideological leadership and theoretical arming; "concrete labor" refers to practical responsibility and the implementation of work, which is the executive power that manifests the transformation of concepts into action and deployments into results. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized, "We must profoundly understand the importance of the outlook on performance yields for the cause of the Party and the state from both theoretical and practical perspectives," and "strengthen the ideological and operational consciousness of establishing and practicing a correct outlook on performance yields." To this end, we must persist in the integration of learning, thinking, and application, and the unity of knowledge, belief, and action, ensuring political firmness through theoretical clarity and testing performance effectiveness through practical responsibility.
Strengthening theoretical arming. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization is the guide to action for ecological civilization construction in the New Era and the ideological guidance for establishing a correct outlook on ecological performance. We must profoundly grasp the essence of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, scientifically master the historical law that "civilizations thrive when their ecosystems thrive," accurately apply the dialectical rule that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," and firmly establish the value orientation that "a good ecological environment is the most universal welfare for the people's livelihoods." We must always plan and advance ecological civilization construction within the overall framework of the cause of the Party and the state. Through regularized and institutionalized learning, we must correct deviations in ideological understanding, abandon the impulse for quick successes in performance, and consciously fortify green development concepts from the depths of our minds, ensuring that a correct outlook on ecological performance is internalized in the heart and externalized in action.
Advocating practical action and responsibility. Ecological civilization construction is not an abstract slogan but a concrete practice. All ecological performance must ultimately be reflected in the actual results of bluer skies, greener mountains, and clearer waters, and must withstand the test of the masses. We must strictly avoid ecological formalism and resolutely eliminate "veneer" projects like "cosmetic greening" or "one-off" environmental protection campaigns, promoting the continuous improvement of the ecological environment through solid measures. Focusing on prominent environmental problems around the masses, we must continue to fight the battles to defend blue skies, clear waters, and clean soil. We must solidly advance the "dual control" of carbon emissions [6], strengthen the management of solid waste and new pollutants, and strive to solve "heart and lung ailments" such as smog, black and odorous water bodies, and soil pollution that the masses react strongly to. We must grasp the implementation of various tasks with the "spirit of driving a nail" [7], ensuring that the fruits of ecological civilization construction are truly visible, tangible, and sustainable, and continuously enhancing the people's sense of ecological gain, happiness, and security.
4. Deepening the synergistic governance of "symptoms" and "root causes," resolving ecological difficulties through holistic treatment
General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: "We began by solving prominent ecological and environmental problems, focusing on the combination of points and surfaces and the treatment of both symptoms and root causes, achieving a major shift from key rectifications to systemic governance." Handling both the "symptoms" (the surface) and the "root causes" (the source) is an important relationship that must be grasped in ecological civilization construction and is a major yardstick for measuring one's outlook on ecological performance. Ecological problems are long-term, complex, and systemic. Treating the symptoms is an emergency measure, focused on solving current prominent problems and responding to the urgent expectations of the masses; treating root causes is a long-term strategy, focused on resolving deep-seated contradictions and constructing long-term governance mechanisms. To establish and practice a correct outlook on ecological performance, we must combine "rectification for the present" with "establishment for the long term." We must both respond quickly to the concerns of the people's livelihoods and focus on strengthening the foundation, treating both symptoms and root causes and persisting over the long term.
Solving problems quickly through symptomatic treatment to respond to the concerns of the people's livelihoods. Faced with prominent ecological and environmental problems, we must act with vigor and speed, making immediate rectifications and winning the trust of the people through visible governance results. We must deeply fight the tough battle for pollution prevention and control, focusing on key regions and fields. For problems fed back by the Central Ecological and Environmental Protection Inspection and environmental cases reported by the masses, we must respond quickly, apply precise measures, and resolve them within a time limit, resolutely preventing small troubles from turning into major disasters. We must continue to promote the rectification of urban and rural human settlements, accelerate the construction of "waste-free cities," and focus on solving the "minor key matters" [8] around the masses, such as waste sorting and sewage treatment, continuously improving the production and living environment of the masses.
Strengthening the foundation through root-cause treatment and perfecting long-term mechanisms. The key to solving ecological and environmental problems lies in resolving deep-seated contradictions in industry and energy. We must grasp the essence through the appearance of pollution, focus on the core of green and low-carbon transformation, accelerate the establishment of a new mechanism for the total transition from dual control of energy consumption to dual control of carbon emissions, and actively and steadily promote and achieve carbon peaking. We must improve the ecological environment management system, perfect the institutional mechanisms for precise, scientific, and law-based pollution control, implement the Ecological Environment Code, and strengthen the rigid constraints of the rule of law. We must deepen the reform of the mechanism for realizing the value of ecological products, promoting the transformation of ecological resources into economic resources and ecological advantages into development advantages. Through root-cause treatment, we can plug regulatory loopholes, shore up governance weaknesses, and achieve a profound transformation from "passive response" to "proactive initiative" and from "end-of-pipe treatment" to "source prevention."
5. Recognizing the unified relationship between the "immediate" and the "long-term," increasing ecological well-being through persistence over the long term
The relationship between the "immediate" and the "long-term" reflects the dialectical unity between "tangible performance" and "latent performance," and between the present and the future. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: "The construction of ecological civilization is a feat in the present that will benefit a thousand autumns." The protection and restoration of ecosystems require long-term investment, and results may only fully manifest after many years. To establish and practice a correct outlook on performance yields, one must cultivate the realm of "success does not have to be mine" and the responsibility of "I must contribute to success." We must both grasp tangible performance in the present and deeply cultivate the concept of latent performance, being responsible for the present while taking responsibility for the long term.
Focusing on the present and solidly achieving tangible performance. Improving the ecological environment is directly related to the actual feelings of the masses. Grasping current governance and doing practical things in the present is the key to fortifying the foundation of ecological civilization construction. For practical matters concerning people's livelihoods—such as improving air quality, enhancing water quality, and rectifying human settlements—we must act with one heart and handle them quickly. We must focus on key areas such as river basins and the peripheries of industrial parks to strengthen precise governance, perfect the mechanisms for regular investigation and disposal of environmental problems, and respond to and solve the demands of the masses in a timely manner. Let the masses truly feel the changes in the ecological environment through the resolution of difficulties and the completion of practical tasks, enhancing their sense of ecological gain, happiness, and security, and accumulating momentum and gathering strength for long-term ecological well-being.
Looking toward the long term and deeply cultivating latent performance. Ecological civilization construction is long-term in nature. We must always maintain historical patience, establish strategic resolve, and be willing to do the foundational work of "planting trees for future generations to enjoy the shade." Focusing on long-cycle tasks such as carbon peaking, carbon neutrality, biodiversity protection, and ecosystem restoration, we must continue to advance large-scale national greening actions to improve the diversity, stability, and sustainability of ecosystems. We must solidly carry out "latent" work such as the cultivation and nourishment of ecological culture and the research, development, and storage of green technologies. We must persist in drawing a single blueprint to the end, accumulating ecological capital for the sustainable development of future generations.
As we advance on the new journey, the mission of building a Beautiful China and promoting ecological civilization construction is glorious and the responsibility is heavy. We must deeply study and practice Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, firmly establish and practice a correct outlook on performance yields, continue to fight the tough battle for pollution prevention and control, accelerate the green transformation of socio-economic development, continuously enhance the modernization level of the ecological environment governance system and capacity, and strive to compose a new chapter of Chinese-path modernization.