Chinese Modernization: Harmony Between Humanity and Nature

Chinese Modernization: Harmony Between Humanity and Nature*

July 17, 2023

The next five years will be crucial in building a beautiful China. We should thoroughly implement the thought on eco-civilization of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, adhere to a people-centered approach, and uphold and act on the idea that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. In our efforts to build a great country and advance national rejuvenation, we will prioritize the Beautiful China initiative and work for substantial improvements in urban and rural living environments. This will enable us to support high-quality development with a high-quality environment.

First, we must intensify the battle against pollution. We will continue to control pollution in a targeted, well-conceived and law-based way, and maintain the intensity of our efforts while expanding the breadth and depth of pollution control and prevention, to improve the quality of the environment.

The blue skies initiative is a top priority in the battle against pollution. Focusing on key areas, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region and its surrounding areas, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Fenhe-Weihe River Plain, we will optimize the industrial structure, the energy mix, and the composition of the transport sector, take coordinated steps to reduce the emissions of multiple pollutants such as volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides, and continue to lower the concentration of fine particulate matter. We will strengthen efforts to address pollution at its source, use clean energy and centralized heating as alternatives depending on local conditions, and further control pollution from coal for non-industrial sectors, coal-fired furnaces, and industrial furnaces and kilns. We will promote the advanced transformation of the steel, cement and coking industries to achieve ultra-low emissions, and continue to cut the discharge of pollutants in key industries. We will strive to bring about a shift in freight transport from highways to railways and waterways in order to reduce energy consumption and pollution from transport. We will make greater efforts to respond to the people’s concerns by effectively solving their daily problems and difficulties, including excessive noise, cooking fumes, and foul odors. We will strengthen coordinated pollution prevention and control across regions and take comprehensive measures to speed up the elimination of serious air pollution and protect our beautiful blue skies.

The clear waters initiative is aimed at promoting harmony between humans and water. We will make concerted efforts to improve aquatic environments, water resources, and aquatic ecosystems, and advance the conservation of major rivers such as the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, as well as major lakes. Solid efforts will be made to regulate the development of water sources and build water reserves to ensure the safety of drinking water in urban and rural areas. We will work faster to improve our facilities for urban sewage collection and treatment, carry out endogenous pollution control and environmental restoration based on local conditions, and largely eliminate black and fetid water bodies in urban and rural areas while creating a long-term mechanism in this regard. We will establish a mechanism for assessing water ecosystems, strengthen the protection and restoration of water source conservation areas and environmental buffer zones, and ensure ecological flows in rivers and lakes, in order to keep water ecosystems healthy. We will continue to enforce the 10-year fishing ban on the Yangtze River while strengthening follow-up evaluations. We will continue with comprehensive conservation in key coastal waters by launching concerted source-to-sea initiatives. Taking the bay as the basic unit and adopting specific measures for individual bays, we will coordinate efforts to prevent and control pollution and protect and restore ecosystems in offshore areas, and improve the environment of shores and beaches, while also constantly improving the quality and stability of key marine ecosystems such as mangrove forests. Our rivers, lakes and bays will be kept clean and beautiful.

The clean lands initiative is focused on better controlling pollution risks. In order to prevent and control soil pollution at its source, we should not only prevent new pollution, but also gradually mitigate serious soil and groundwater pollution that has accumulated over time. It is necessary to strengthen the comprehensive treatment of solid waste, accelerate the construction of zero-waste cities, control plastic pollution at all points in the process, and continue to coordinate treatment of new pollutants and control environmental risks. We will build on the results of our ban on the import of solid waste, and strictly guard against smuggling and disguised imports of solid waste in various forms. We will integrate the revitalization of rural ecosystems and the improvement of the rural living environment, and vigorously prevent and control agricultural pollution from non-point sources, in order to build a beautiful countryside.

Second, we must accelerate the transition to a green and low-carbon development model. Upholding green and low-carbon development as a fundamental approach to resolving environmental problems, we will move faster to promote eco-friendly ways of work and life, and lay solid foundations for high-quality development.

We must optimize territorial space planning. We will make sure that no one ever crosses the red lines set for territorial space utilization and protection. We will coordinate efforts to strengthen spatial planning for agriculture, ecosystems, and urban areas, and improve the functional zoning system. To safeguard the functions of ecosystems and prevent changes in their designated use, we will strictly enforce red lines for ecological conservation, thereby strengthening law enforcement and oversight, as well as protection and restoration. We must ensure that the total area of China’s farmland does not fall below the red line of 120 million hectares. We must strictly enforce the boundaries for urban development and promote intensive, green development within existing urban spaces to maximize their potential. We will strengthen regulation of territorial space utilization in the sea and along the coastlines, and establish an exit mechanism for inefficient users of marine resources. With the exception of major national projects, all coastal land reclamation activities will be prohibited. We will also improve the system for region-specific environmental management across the country, clearly delineating the boundaries and regulations for development.

We must accelerate the green transformation and upgrading of industries. We will further integrate efforts to digitalize our industries and make them smarter and more eco-friendly. We will speed up the modernization of the industrial system, supported by the real economy, and make greater efforts to develop strategic emerging industries, high-tech industries, eco-friendly industries, and modern services. Stricter control measures will be adopted to curb the development of energy-intensive projects with high emissions and backward production capacity. We will implement a comprehensive conservation strategy to conserve energy, water, land, raw materials, and minerals. We will move faster to put in place a system for recycling waste and used materials, and make rational use of resources to raise their output rates.

We must foster pacesetters for green development. All regions, especially the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Yellow River Basin, should strengthen coordination for green development in accordance with their unique features and the requirements for high-quality development. While implementing major regional development strategies, they must better plan and implement environmental protection initiatives and build themselves into Beautiful China pilot zones. Guided by the principle that cities should be built by the people and for the people, the new era should witness the development of beautiful cities that are green, low-carbon, habitable, safe, healthy, smart and efficient.

We will promote eco-friendly practices. We will encourage simple, moderate, green, low-carbon, sound and healthy living and consumption, and make eco-friendly transport, garbage sorting, and water, electricity and food conservation part of the people’s daily routine. Party and government agencies at all levels, state-owned enterprises, and public institutions must be at the forefront of these campaigns. We will continue to launch a series of activities under the theme of “I’m a contributor to a beautiful China” and encourage industrial parks, enterprises, communities, schools, families and individuals to actively participate, with a view to building a society in which everyone pursues eco-environmental progress at all times, everywhere, and in everything they do.

Third, we must reinforce the diversity, stability and sustainability of our ecosystems. Keeping in mind the significance of safeguarding national eco-environmental security, ensuring the sustainable development of our nation, and fulfilling our responsibility to the whole of human civilization, we will strengthen ecosystem protection and restoration in order to leave future generations a beautiful environment of green mountains and clear waters.

We must intensify efforts to protect the ecosystems. We will move faster to develop a protected areas system with national parks as the mainstay, supported by nature reserves, and supplemented by natural parks. Doing so will help protect typical natural ecosystems and the habitats of rare species. We will carry out major projects to preserve and restore key ecosystems and implement large-scale greening programs in a well-planned way. We will continue to develop shelterbelt networks in northwest, north and northeast China, and control the sources of dust storms that affect Beijing and Tianjin. We will concentrate our efforts on implementing a series of desertification prevention and control projects in key regions, devoting great energy to winning the three landmark battles against desertification. We will take action to consolidate and boost the carbon sink capacity of ecosystems. We will carry out large-scale biodiversity protection projects, improve biodiversity protection networks, and gradually build up a system of national botanical gardens, in order to create beautiful landscapes.

We must take solid steps to bolster supervision over ecosystem protection and restoration. Over the years, activities that damage the environment have not been eliminated completely, highlighting the need for strong external supervision over ecosystem protection and restoration. We must step up unified supervision, build strong institutions, strengthen ecosystem monitoring and evaluation, and assess the progress of our work. We will also intensify inspection and law enforcement related to protected areas and ecological conservation red lines. Pointless formalities must be stamped out in ecosystem restoration, and actions that harm the environment under the guise of protecting it must never be allowed.

We must find new ways to convert natural wealth into material wealth. A healthy environment holds great economic potential. We need to promote the industrialization of our environmental strengths and the green development of our industries. In doing so, we will create a large number of ecosystem goods and services and bring them to the market, thereby transforming our environmental strengths into development strengths. We will provide compensation to bodies engaged in conservation efforts involving major rivers, lakes and reservoirs, key eco-environmental functional zones, conservation red lines, and key ecosystems. We will improve the funding mechanisms for ecosystem protection and restoration, and strictly enforce penalties for eco-environmental damage. Those who contribute to protection and restoration will be appropriately rewarded, while those who damage the environment will pay the price.

Fourth, we must actively and prudently work towards the goals of peak carbon and carbon neutrality. To effectively implement the “1+N” policy framework for reaching peak carbon and carbon neutrality, we should adhere to the principles of pooling strengths nationwide, prioritizing conservation, leveraging the roles of the government and the market, coordinating our domestic and international efforts, and guarding against risks.

We must advance initiatives to reach peak carbon emissions in a well-planned and phased way. We will thoroughly implement the action plan for reaching peak carbon emissions by 2030 to ensure safe carbon reduction. We will gradually shift from controlling only the intensity of carbon emissions to controlling both the volume and intensity of carbon emissions. To further develop the carbon market, we will improve relevant laws, regulations and policies, take steady steps to cover a wider range of industries, and enrich trading items and methods. We will lower the cost of carbon reduction, make enterprises more aware of the importance of pursuing green and low-carbon development, and launch a trading market for voluntary greenhouse gas emissions reduction. This will result in a carbon market that is more effective, dynamic, and internationally influential. To forge greater synergy in reducing pollution and carbon emissions, we will carry out pilot projects for collaborative innovation across various fields and levels, and coordinate the control of multiple pollutants and greenhouse gases.

We must build a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system. We will focus on the clean and efficient use of coal to ensure its role in meeting basic needs and supporting and complementing the development of new energy. We will vigorously develop wind and solar power, coordinate hydropower development and environmental conservation, actively develop nuclear power in a safe and orderly manner, and step up efforts to build a new type of power system. We will also focus on controlling the consumption of fossil fuels, strengthen energy production, supply, storage and marketing systems, and ensure the country’s oil and gas security.

Fifth, we must provide security guarantees for the Beautiful China initiative. We must adopt a holistic approach to national security, and respond actively and effectively to various risks and challenges, so that the natural environment and conditions, upon which our survival and development depend, are not threatened or damaged.

We must safeguard eco-environmental security. We will further improve the coordination mechanisms for national eco-environmental security, refine relevant legislation, strategy and policy frameworks and response management systems, and raise our capacity for research, assessment, monitoring, early warning, and emergency response. To prevent and control environmental risks, we will strengthen efforts to identify covert hazards and manage high-risk areas such as hazardous waste, mine tailings, and heavy metals. We will also improve the accountability system for responding to environmental emergencies in which governments at different levels assume their responsibilities, local governments play the main role, and different departments coordinate with each other, in a bid to handle environmental emergencies in a timely, appropriate and rational manner. We will strengthen biosafety and biosecurity management, and make efforts to prevent and address problems caused by invasive exotic species. We will also boost our capacity to adapt to climate change.

We must ensure nuclear and radiation safety. We will adopt a rational, coordinated and balanced approach to nuclear safety, and develop a rigorous accountability system. We must reinforce oversight and management, comprehensively strengthening our capacity for nuclear safety supervision and building a modern supervision system commensurate with China’s nuclear development to promote the high-quality development of nuclear safety. We will also actively participate in international cooperation on nuclear safety.

Sixth, we must improve the system for guaranteeing the Beautiful China initiative. We will coordinate resources in various fields and combine the strengths of various sectors to create synergy between the legal framework, the market, science, technology, and policies, thereby providing foundational support and a strong guarantee for the Beautiful China initiative.

We must strengthen legal guarantees. We will make coordinated efforts to formulate and revise laws related to the environment, resources, and energy, so that good laws are made to ensure good governance. We will improve public interest litigation and strengthen environment-related judicial protection. We will implement the strictest possible system for environmental governance above and below ground, on land and at sea, and among regions, and enforce a pollutant discharge permit system across the board. We will improve the systems for managing natural resource assets and for regulating the use of territorial space.

We must improve economic policies for green and low-carbon development. In strengthening fiscal support, we will optimize the allocation of fiscal resources for eco-conservation to ensure that the scale of investment meets the demand of conservation tasks. In strengthening tax policy support, we will strictly implement the environmental protection tax law, improve the tax collection system, and step up efforts to levy tax on volatile organic compounds. In strengthening financial support, we will develop green finance, promote the creation of eco-friendly development, investment and financing models, and explore models of financial support for regional environmental protection projects, in order to attract investment from various types of financial institutions and non-governmental capital. In strengthening pricing policy support, we will fully consider the energy consumption levels and environmental protection performance of individual enterprises, and improve the system of tiered electricity pricing for energy-intensive industries.

We must promote both an efficient market and an effective government. Rights to carbon emissions, energy use, water use, and pollution discharge, as well as other resources and environmental factors, will be incorporated into the overall reform for market-based allocation of production factors, and relevant market transactions will be supported, such as selling or transferring these rights, or using them as collateral or to obtain an equity stake. We will establish an environmental credibility supervision system, further standardize the environmental governance market, and promote the healthy development of the environmental protection industry and the environmental service industry.

We must strengthen the supporting role of science and technology. We will work to achieve greater strength and self-reliance in green and low-carbon science and technology, make climate change response and new pollutant treatment key areas of national basic research and technological innovation, and strive for breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields. In launching a major initiative for innovation in environmental science and technology, we will build Big Science facilities, foster high-caliber personnel, and support the industrial application of scientific and technological advances. We will accelerate the establishment of a modern environmental monitoring system, and develop an integrated monitoring network covering the sky, space, land and sea. We will also promote the application of artificial intelligence and other digital technologies, establish a digital governance system for the Beautiful China initiative, and build a green and smart digital eco-civilization.

* Part of the speech at the National Conference on Eco-environmental Protection.

(Not to be republished for any commercial or other purposes.)