332
S. Wu
1. Green development is an inevitable choice for development based on
China’s resource and environmental endowments
Due to the limited resources per capita and the relatively fragile ecology, China must
take the path of conservation and intensive utilization of resources and environmental
protection. According to the national plan for developing functional zones, mountainous areas and plateau make up about 60% of land space in China. Apart from the
arable land and existing construction land that must be protected, the land suitable
for industrialization, urbanization and other construction in the future covers only
280,000 km
2 , accounting for about 3% of the total land area in China. The per capita
water in China is only 28% of the world’s per capita share, in addition to the problem
of unmatched distribution of water resources with land resources and economic
development. The ecologically fragile areas above the moderate level account for
55% of the land area in China, of which extremely vulnerable areas make up 9.7%,
severely vulnerable areas account for 19.8% and moderately vulnerable areas account
for 25.5%. Large-scale and intensive industrialization and urbanization can only be
carried out in limited areas suitable for development.
The Hu-Line characteristics in population geology made it a must for China to
fully respect the laws of nature and take a development path of maintaining balance
between population, industries, resources and the environment. The Hu Line extends
from Aihui Country in Heilongjiang Province to Tengchong in Yunnan Province,
dividing China into two parts: southeast and northwest. Covering 36% of China’s
territory, the southeastern China is home to 96% of the national population. In
contrast, the northwestern China accounts for about 64% of the national territory,
but with merely 4% of the population. According to the Sixth National Population
Census in 2010, the proportion of the population in the eastern China decreased by
only 2.3% in more than 70 years. The existence and enduring stability of the Hu Line
indicates that the overall population distribution in China, featuring dense population in the east and sparse population in the west, has been constrained by resource
endowments and natural laws, which in turn affects China’s industrial layout and
utilization of resources and environment. It can also be said that the “Hu Line” has
locked China’s economic and geographical pattern, and it would be against the laws
of nature to deny it.
To resolve the actual contradiction between economic development and ecoenvironment, China must take the path of promoting protection and development in
a coordinated way. Since the reform and opening up, China’s economy has achieved
leapfrog development. It took less than half a century for China to accomplish industrialization that consumed two or three centuries in developed countries, creating the
“Chinese miracle” that has drawn worldwide attention. However, such “compression of time and space” in economic growth has resulted in corresponding issues in
resources and environment. China’s total energy consumption and carbon dioxide
emissions rose from 990 million tons and 2.29 billion tons in 1990 to 4.26 billion
tons and 9.93 billion tons in 2014, registering a three-fold increase. China’s energy
consumption per unit of GDP is nearly 2.5 times as high as the global average and
twice the average in the Asia-Pacific region. The economic structure characterized by
S. Wu
1. Green development is an inevitable choice for development based on
China’s resource and environmental endowments
Due to the limited resources per capita and the relatively fragile ecology, China must
take the path of conservation and intensive utilization of resources and environmental
protection. According to the national plan for developing functional zones, mountainous areas and plateau make up about 60% of land space in China. Apart from the
arable land and existing construction land that must be protected, the land suitable
for industrialization, urbanization and other construction in the future covers only
280,000 km
2 , accounting for about 3% of the total land area in China. The per capita
water in China is only 28% of the world’s per capita share, in addition to the problem
of unmatched distribution of water resources with land resources and economic
development. The ecologically fragile areas above the moderate level account for
55% of the land area in China, of which extremely vulnerable areas make up 9.7%,
severely vulnerable areas account for 19.8% and moderately vulnerable areas account
for 25.5%. Large-scale and intensive industrialization and urbanization can only be
carried out in limited areas suitable for development.
The Hu-Line characteristics in population geology made it a must for China to
fully respect the laws of nature and take a development path of maintaining balance
between population, industries, resources and the environment. The Hu Line extends
from Aihui Country in Heilongjiang Province to Tengchong in Yunnan Province,
dividing China into two parts: southeast and northwest. Covering 36% of China’s
territory, the southeastern China is home to 96% of the national population. In
contrast, the northwestern China accounts for about 64% of the national territory,
but with merely 4% of the population. According to the Sixth National Population
Census in 2010, the proportion of the population in the eastern China decreased by
only 2.3% in more than 70 years. The existence and enduring stability of the Hu Line
indicates that the overall population distribution in China, featuring dense population in the east and sparse population in the west, has been constrained by resource
endowments and natural laws, which in turn affects China’s industrial layout and
utilization of resources and environment. It can also be said that the “Hu Line” has
locked China’s economic and geographical pattern, and it would be against the laws
of nature to deny it.
To resolve the actual contradiction between economic development and ecoenvironment, China must take the path of promoting protection and development in
a coordinated way. Since the reform and opening up, China’s economy has achieved
leapfrog development. It took less than half a century for China to accomplish industrialization that consumed two or three centuries in developed countries, creating the
“Chinese miracle” that has drawn worldwide attention. However, such “compression of time and space” in economic growth has resulted in corresponding issues in
resources and environment. China’s total energy consumption and carbon dioxide
emissions rose from 990 million tons and 2.29 billion tons in 1990 to 4.26 billion
tons and 9.93 billion tons in 2014, registering a three-fold increase. China’s energy
consumption per unit of GDP is nearly 2.5 times as high as the global average and
twice the average in the Asia-Pacific region. The economic structure characterized by