Global Transformation of China’s Ecological Civilization …
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same mistakes in our five-pronged socialist modernization in a new era. We must
take “greening” as the forerunner before blazing a new trail to industrialization
featuring “high scientific and technological content, good economic returns, low
resources consumption, little environmental pollution.” What’s more, “greening”
should be adopted to lead China’s urbanization to usher in “green industries, green
transportation, and green buildings.” In short, we should stick to path innovation
to protect the ecosystem from damage that would later requires restoration, and to
reduce development costs as much as possible.
The third is to rely on cultural innovation to bring about a new trend of ecological
civilization. Chinese traditional culture has the genes of ecological civilization—for
example, the “ternary of Heaven-Earth-Man” in the I Ching, or Book of Changes, the
Taoist idea to follow the laws of nature, and “unification of nature and man,” a wellknown Confucian concept—which promote harmonious coexistence between man
and nature. Emphasizing respect for and conformation to nature, as well as ecology
as a priority and green development, draws on our traditional ecological concept and
has been promoted in contemporary China. It is necessary to cultivate ecological
culture, promote socialist ecological civilization concept throughout society, instill
ecological preservation into people and encourage them to carry it out, and promote
diligence and thrift in society to enhance China’s cultural soft power before creating
the image of a “civilized, ecological and beautiful China.”
The fourth is to adopt system innovation to improve the function of resource
and wealth compensation and the transformation to social costs. The series of institutional innovations—the natural resource asset property rights transaction system,
the ecological environment compensation system, the green GDP and the green GEP
(i.e., the ecological system gross product value), and the red line system of ecological protection, for instance—will call attention to the value of resources and the
environment, and clarify the standards for environmental protection and economic
development. Resources and wealth will be used for environmental compensation, to
make up for the depletion of resources, and improve the compensation for resource
damage. Meanwhile, natural resources will be guided into social capital and invested
in social construction so that the benefits reaped from using natural resources will
be shared among all the people, old and young, throughout society.
2. Adopting a holistic approach to conserving our mountains, rivers, forests,
farmlands, lakes, and grasslands, and promoting building an ecological
civilization from an ecosystem view
Since the 18th National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi
Jinping at its core have been deepening the reform of the ecological civilization
system, striving to promote the modernization of the national governance capacity
and governance system for building an ecological civilization, a systematic project in
which our “mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and grasslands” were sloppily
managed—for example, the property rights of natural resources and assets were not
clearly documented, ownership was unidentified, and the rights and interests were not
in place, all of which lead to common, chaotic management, infamously described
693
same mistakes in our five-pronged socialist modernization in a new era. We must
take “greening” as the forerunner before blazing a new trail to industrialization
featuring “high scientific and technological content, good economic returns, low
resources consumption, little environmental pollution.” What’s more, “greening”
should be adopted to lead China’s urbanization to usher in “green industries, green
transportation, and green buildings.” In short, we should stick to path innovation
to protect the ecosystem from damage that would later requires restoration, and to
reduce development costs as much as possible.
The third is to rely on cultural innovation to bring about a new trend of ecological
civilization. Chinese traditional culture has the genes of ecological civilization—for
example, the “ternary of Heaven-Earth-Man” in the I Ching, or Book of Changes, the
Taoist idea to follow the laws of nature, and “unification of nature and man,” a wellknown Confucian concept—which promote harmonious coexistence between man
and nature. Emphasizing respect for and conformation to nature, as well as ecology
as a priority and green development, draws on our traditional ecological concept and
has been promoted in contemporary China. It is necessary to cultivate ecological
culture, promote socialist ecological civilization concept throughout society, instill
ecological preservation into people and encourage them to carry it out, and promote
diligence and thrift in society to enhance China’s cultural soft power before creating
the image of a “civilized, ecological and beautiful China.”
The fourth is to adopt system innovation to improve the function of resource
and wealth compensation and the transformation to social costs. The series of institutional innovations—the natural resource asset property rights transaction system,
the ecological environment compensation system, the green GDP and the green GEP
(i.e., the ecological system gross product value), and the red line system of ecological protection, for instance—will call attention to the value of resources and the
environment, and clarify the standards for environmental protection and economic
development. Resources and wealth will be used for environmental compensation, to
make up for the depletion of resources, and improve the compensation for resource
damage. Meanwhile, natural resources will be guided into social capital and invested
in social construction so that the benefits reaped from using natural resources will
be shared among all the people, old and young, throughout society.
2. Adopting a holistic approach to conserving our mountains, rivers, forests,
farmlands, lakes, and grasslands, and promoting building an ecological
civilization from an ecosystem view
Since the 18th National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi
Jinping at its core have been deepening the reform of the ecological civilization
system, striving to promote the modernization of the national governance capacity
and governance system for building an ecological civilization, a systematic project in
which our “mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and grasslands” were sloppily
managed—for example, the property rights of natural resources and assets were not
clearly documented, ownership was unidentified, and the rights and interests were not
in place, all of which lead to common, chaotic management, infamously described