Evolution of Socialist Ecological Civilization from Ideology …
89
beings in contemporary times. Mr. Ji Xianlin once explained tian ren he yi in this
way: “Tian means nature; ren means human; he yi means mutual understanding and
friendship.” Tian ren he yi not only is an important proposition of Confucianism
made two thousand years ago, but also part of the mainstream Chinese philosophy
over all the years. It has an important impact on the unique worldview, value system,
mindset, and problem-solving methods of the Chinese people. Dao fa zi ran lays
the foundation for the idea of an ecological civilization which emphasizes harmony
between man and nature, and is highly consistent with modern environmentalism.
To build an ecological civilization, we must protect and creatively use our cultural
heritage, and answer the two essential questions posed by historians and philosophers:
Where do we come from? Where are we going?
Ecological civilization is integrated into China’s social development. Xi Jinping
pointed out: “We must pay more attention to the construction of ecological civilization. This is also what the public want us to do.” “The people are highly concerned
about environmental issues. It can be said that the importance of the environment to
the people’s happiness will inevitably continue to grow.” In recent years, pollution
issues, such as smog, drinking water safety, and high heavy metal content in the
soil, have attracted more and more attention. We must focus on strengthening the
prevention and control of air pollution, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution,
heavy metal pollution and soil pollution in key industries and regions. It is necessary to give full play to the political advantages of the socialist system, and strive to
build a public participation system in which the CPC and the government assume the
leadership role and the whole society works together to improve the environmental
quality. We should continuously step up the implementation of the mass line tactics in
the development of an ecological civilization, improve people’s understanding of the
concept and encourage everyone to actively participate in environmental protection.
4. Building a global ecological civilization has become a common cause of the
international community
According to Marx and Engels, the historical trend of global ecological development
reveals that to solve ecological problems, we must promote the internationalization
of environmental governance—that is, we should see environmental governance in
a global and historical perspective. The conflicts between countries over response to
climate change directly affect not only the modernization of developing countries,
including the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, but also developed countries’
pursuit of a redistribution of global environmental benefits. Xi Jinping had deep
thoughts about the relationship between China’s development and the development
of the world. He once said: “China will continue to undertake its due international
obligations, deepen international exchanges and cooperation in the field of ecological civilization, promote the sharing of environmental benefits, and work together
with other countries to build a beautiful world.” In the current era, in response to
major global challenges, China has taken up environmental commitments commensurate with its level of development by incorporating climate change response into its
economic and social development plans and vigorously promoting green growth. In
November 2014, President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama announced
89
beings in contemporary times. Mr. Ji Xianlin once explained tian ren he yi in this
way: “Tian means nature; ren means human; he yi means mutual understanding and
friendship.” Tian ren he yi not only is an important proposition of Confucianism
made two thousand years ago, but also part of the mainstream Chinese philosophy
over all the years. It has an important impact on the unique worldview, value system,
mindset, and problem-solving methods of the Chinese people. Dao fa zi ran lays
the foundation for the idea of an ecological civilization which emphasizes harmony
between man and nature, and is highly consistent with modern environmentalism.
To build an ecological civilization, we must protect and creatively use our cultural
heritage, and answer the two essential questions posed by historians and philosophers:
Where do we come from? Where are we going?
Ecological civilization is integrated into China’s social development. Xi Jinping
pointed out: “We must pay more attention to the construction of ecological civilization. This is also what the public want us to do.” “The people are highly concerned
about environmental issues. It can be said that the importance of the environment to
the people’s happiness will inevitably continue to grow.” In recent years, pollution
issues, such as smog, drinking water safety, and high heavy metal content in the
soil, have attracted more and more attention. We must focus on strengthening the
prevention and control of air pollution, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution,
heavy metal pollution and soil pollution in key industries and regions. It is necessary to give full play to the political advantages of the socialist system, and strive to
build a public participation system in which the CPC and the government assume the
leadership role and the whole society works together to improve the environmental
quality. We should continuously step up the implementation of the mass line tactics in
the development of an ecological civilization, improve people’s understanding of the
concept and encourage everyone to actively participate in environmental protection.
4. Building a global ecological civilization has become a common cause of the
international community
According to Marx and Engels, the historical trend of global ecological development
reveals that to solve ecological problems, we must promote the internationalization
of environmental governance—that is, we should see environmental governance in
a global and historical perspective. The conflicts between countries over response to
climate change directly affect not only the modernization of developing countries,
including the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, but also developed countries’
pursuit of a redistribution of global environmental benefits. Xi Jinping had deep
thoughts about the relationship between China’s development and the development
of the world. He once said: “China will continue to undertake its due international
obligations, deepen international exchanges and cooperation in the field of ecological civilization, promote the sharing of environmental benefits, and work together
with other countries to build a beautiful world.” In the current era, in response to
major global challenges, China has taken up environmental commitments commensurate with its level of development by incorporating climate change response into its
economic and social development plans and vigorously promoting green growth. In
November 2014, President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama announced