The Strategy to Promote the “Win–Win” Development of Economy …
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public participation and national action, while striving to form a large pattern of developing ecological civilization featuring the leading role of the Party and government,
the coordination among departments and concerted efforts of the whole society. Such
concept and method based on integration are testimony to the Chinese wisdom and
Chinese approach for building an ecological civilization. Under the guidance of the
strategy, China’s development of ecological civilization will yield great results based
on the efforts to make unified planning with due consideration for all concerned and
overcome difficulties, setting an example of “win–win” development of environment
and economy for other developing countries.
3. Correctly understand and handle the dialectical relationship between
economic development and environmental protection
In 2013, Comrade Xi Jinping put forward the famous statement that “We want both
lucid waters and lush mountains, but we also want mountains of gold and silver. We
prefer the former to the latter. Besides, lucid waters and lush mountains are indeed
mountains of gold and silver.”
The three sentences of the above statement are progressive in logic and must be
understood as a whole. The first sentence, “we want both lucid waters and lush mountains, but we also want mountains of gold and silver,” indicates that our development
goal is a win–win situation for both economy and environment. Development is the
top priority and economic development is the central task, but what we are pursuing
is a win–win situation, instead of developing one at the sacrifice of the other. The
second sentence, “we prefer the former to the latter,” tells us to stick to the bottomline thinking in the face of sharp and even irreconcilable contradictions between
economic growth and environmental protection. That is to put public health and
ecological safety in a more prominent position, with economic growth giving way to
environmental protection. The third sentence, “lucid waters and lush mountains are
indeed mountains of gold and silver,” means that as long as we stick to the path, the
environmental protection will force the economic transformation and development,
and thereby establishing the core competitiveness of enterprises, industries and even
regional development, which could then transform into a higher-quality economic
results.
4. Protect the ecological environment with the strictest system and the most
stringent rule of law
The density of population and enterprises in eastern and central China is very high.
Compared with developed countries such as the United States and those in Europe,
the same amount of efforts in environmental protection won’t deliver the same results.
This is an important part of the national condition. The conscious implementation
of a strict environmental management system is required by China’s basic national
conditions, not subject to human will. Therefore, the eco-environment protection
must rely on the system and the rule of law. Only by implementing the strictest
system and the most stringent rule of law can we provide a reliable guarantee for the
development of ecological civilization.
303
public participation and national action, while striving to form a large pattern of developing ecological civilization featuring the leading role of the Party and government,
the coordination among departments and concerted efforts of the whole society. Such
concept and method based on integration are testimony to the Chinese wisdom and
Chinese approach for building an ecological civilization. Under the guidance of the
strategy, China’s development of ecological civilization will yield great results based
on the efforts to make unified planning with due consideration for all concerned and
overcome difficulties, setting an example of “win–win” development of environment
and economy for other developing countries.
3. Correctly understand and handle the dialectical relationship between
economic development and environmental protection
In 2013, Comrade Xi Jinping put forward the famous statement that “We want both
lucid waters and lush mountains, but we also want mountains of gold and silver. We
prefer the former to the latter. Besides, lucid waters and lush mountains are indeed
mountains of gold and silver.”
The three sentences of the above statement are progressive in logic and must be
understood as a whole. The first sentence, “we want both lucid waters and lush mountains, but we also want mountains of gold and silver,” indicates that our development
goal is a win–win situation for both economy and environment. Development is the
top priority and economic development is the central task, but what we are pursuing
is a win–win situation, instead of developing one at the sacrifice of the other. The
second sentence, “we prefer the former to the latter,” tells us to stick to the bottomline thinking in the face of sharp and even irreconcilable contradictions between
economic growth and environmental protection. That is to put public health and
ecological safety in a more prominent position, with economic growth giving way to
environmental protection. The third sentence, “lucid waters and lush mountains are
indeed mountains of gold and silver,” means that as long as we stick to the path, the
environmental protection will force the economic transformation and development,
and thereby establishing the core competitiveness of enterprises, industries and even
regional development, which could then transform into a higher-quality economic
results.
4. Protect the ecological environment with the strictest system and the most
stringent rule of law
The density of population and enterprises in eastern and central China is very high.
Compared with developed countries such as the United States and those in Europe,
the same amount of efforts in environmental protection won’t deliver the same results.
This is an important part of the national condition. The conscious implementation
of a strict environmental management system is required by China’s basic national
conditions, not subject to human will. Therefore, the eco-environment protection
must rely on the system and the rule of law. Only by implementing the strictest
system and the most stringent rule of law can we provide a reliable guarantee for the
development of ecological civilization.