Work Towards a Green Economy
in the 14th Five-Year Plan Period
Xinli Zheng
Green transformation is an inherent requirement of developing a resourceconserving, environmentally friendly economy. By the end of the 14th Five-Year
Plan period, namely 2022, China’s per capita GDP is expected to reach USD 12,600,
bringing China into the ranks of high-income countries, which will be an epochmaking event in the history of human society. At present, the population of highincome economies only makes up 15.7% of the world population, and China’s accession will increase the proportion by 18.5–34.2%. 2021 will mark the 100th anniversary of the CPC. The CPC is shaping up to turn a poor and backward China into a
high-income country over a century, which will be the greatest contribution it will
make to human society.
With a population of 1.4 billion, China will not follow the American mode of
high resource consumption but should draw upon the resource-conserving mode
of Northern European countries. We will convert waste into resources and develop
clean and renewable energy to reduce GHG emissions. By doing so, the modern
lifestyles of Chinese people will not bring great pressure on global resources. Facts
have proved that it is totally viable to shift towards green development and promote
resource-conserving consumption.
China’s green transformation is also part of the global imitative to respond
to climate change. The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets the
goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, which hits home the main
problem in global development and also dovetails with China’s demand for sustainable development. While striving to build a socialist modern country, China is
resolute in battling pollution and takes development of an ecological civilization
as an unshakable responsibility for achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development
Goals. Currently, China is faced with two major tasks. The first is to tackle pollution brought about by rapid industrialization in the last 40 years, win the battles
against air, water, and soil pollution, and achieve a peak in carbon dioxide emissions
X. Zheng (B)
Policy Research Office of the CPC Central Committee, Beijing, China
© China Environment Publishing Group Co., Ltd. 2021
J. Pan et al. (eds.), Beautiful China: 70 Years Since 1949 and 70 People’s Views
on Eco-civilization Construction, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6742-5_24
255
in the 14th Five-Year Plan Period
Xinli Zheng
Green transformation is an inherent requirement of developing a resourceconserving, environmentally friendly economy. By the end of the 14th Five-Year
Plan period, namely 2022, China’s per capita GDP is expected to reach USD 12,600,
bringing China into the ranks of high-income countries, which will be an epochmaking event in the history of human society. At present, the population of highincome economies only makes up 15.7% of the world population, and China’s accession will increase the proportion by 18.5–34.2%. 2021 will mark the 100th anniversary of the CPC. The CPC is shaping up to turn a poor and backward China into a
high-income country over a century, which will be the greatest contribution it will
make to human society.
With a population of 1.4 billion, China will not follow the American mode of
high resource consumption but should draw upon the resource-conserving mode
of Northern European countries. We will convert waste into resources and develop
clean and renewable energy to reduce GHG emissions. By doing so, the modern
lifestyles of Chinese people will not bring great pressure on global resources. Facts
have proved that it is totally viable to shift towards green development and promote
resource-conserving consumption.
China’s green transformation is also part of the global imitative to respond
to climate change. The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets the
goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, which hits home the main
problem in global development and also dovetails with China’s demand for sustainable development. While striving to build a socialist modern country, China is
resolute in battling pollution and takes development of an ecological civilization
as an unshakable responsibility for achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development
Goals. Currently, China is faced with two major tasks. The first is to tackle pollution brought about by rapid industrialization in the last 40 years, win the battles
against air, water, and soil pollution, and achieve a peak in carbon dioxide emissions
X. Zheng (B)
Policy Research Office of the CPC Central Committee, Beijing, China
© China Environment Publishing Group Co., Ltd. 2021
J. Pan et al. (eds.), Beautiful China: 70 Years Since 1949 and 70 People’s Views
on Eco-civilization Construction, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6742-5_24
255