Unswervingly Follow the Path of Ecological Priority and Green Development

China’s economy has shifted from a phase of high-speed growth to one of high-quality development and is now in a critical period of transforming the development model, optimizing the economic structure, and switching the drivers of growth. Properly handling the relationship between economic development and ecological environmental protection bears on high-quality development and the enhancement of the country’s long-term competitiveness. Based on a profound insight into the general trend of China’s economic development, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must firmly establish and practice the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, and unswervingly follow the path of ecological priority and green development.” [1]1 “Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” (绿水青山就是金山银山) is a well-known formulation by Xi Jinping, first stated in 2005, that encapsulates the idea that ecological protection and economic development are not contradictory but mutually reinforcing. This reflects a profound rethinking and transcendence of the traditional development model and provides directional guidance for promoting high-quality economic and social development in China.

我国经济已由高速增长阶段转向高质量发展阶段，正处在转变发展方式、优化经济结构、转换增长动力的攻关期。正确处理经济发展与生态环境保护之间的关系，关乎高质量发展与国家长远竞争力提升。基于对我国经济发展大势的深刻洞察，习近平总书记指出：“要牢固树立和践行绿水青山就是金山银山的理念，坚定不移走生态优先、绿色发展之路。”这体现了对传统发展模式的深刻反思与超越，为推动我国经济社会高质量发展提供了方向指引。

Penetrating Profound Theoretical Logic

贯穿深刻理论逻辑

Following the path of ecological priority and green development embodies the inheritance and development of Marxist ideas on the relationship between humanity and nature, endows economic and social development with a distinct green底色, [2]2 The Chinese term 底色 (dǐsè) literally means “background color” or “undertone”; here it signifies the fundamental character or imprint of green development on the economy. meets the practical needs of China, and possesses rich scientific connotations and profound theoretical logic.

走生态优先、绿色发展之路，体现了对马克思主义关于人与自然关系等思想的继承和发展，赋予了经济社会发展鲜明的绿色底色，契合了我国现实需要，具有丰富的科学内涵和深刻的理论逻辑。

Enrichment and development of the basic principles of Marxism. The path of ecological priority and green development differs from the Western modernized path centered on capital, materialist expansion, and the “pollute first, treat later” approach. It applies and develops the Marxist view of the dialectical and unified relationship between humanity and nature, and between production and ecology. It emphasizes developing new quality productive forces and transforming the mode of production so that human economic activities are compatible with the carrying capacity of natural ecosystems, thereby achieving the organic unity of economic development and ecological environmental protection. Ecological priority embodies a value orientation that requires giving priority to ecological environmental protection when making economic decisions, industrial layouts, and project construction. This value orientation is a vivid manifestation of the people-centered development thinking — GDP is not taken as the sole assessment indicator; rather, enhancing the people’s well-being is the starting point and ultimate goal. This is an innovative application and development of the Marxist view of the people and of nature, reflecting a shift in the understanding of ecological issues from instrumental rationality to value rationality.

对马克思主义基本原理的丰富和发展。生态优先、绿色发展之路，与西方以资本为中心、物质主义膨胀、先污染后治理的现代化老路不同，运用和发展了马克思主义关于人与自然、生产和生态的辩证统一关系的观点，注重通过发展新质生产力、变革生产方式，使人类的经济活动与自然生态系统的承载能力相适应，实现经济发展与生态环境保护的有机统一。生态优先体现了一种价值取向，要求在进行经济决策、产业布局、项目建设等活动时，将生态环境保护作为优先的考量因素。这种价值取向是以人民为中心的发展思想的生动体现——不单纯以GDP作为考核指标，而是以增进人民福祉为出发点和落脚点。这是对马克思主义人民观、自然观的创新运用和发展，体现出对生态问题的认识实现了从工具理性向价值理性的转变。

Profound rethinking and breakthrough of the traditional development model. The development logic established by industrial civilization comes from summarizing the development experience of Western countries. Against the backdrop of building a community with a shared future for mankind and jointly seeking global sustainable development, the past development model characterized by high input, high consumption, and high pollution, which over-relied on resource exploitation and factor input to drive economic growth, is no longer sustainable. While promoting rapid economic growth, this model also brought problems such as resource shortages, environmental pollution, and ecosystem degradation, posing severe challenges to human survival and development. Under the logic of “pollute first, treat later” and “develop first, protect later,” the environmental governance model mainly focused on end-of-pipe treatment, and the speed of treatment could hardly keep up with the speed of pollution diffusion, thus continuously intensifying the contradiction between economic development and ecological environmental protection. Following the path of ecological priority and green development abandons the short-sighted behavior of the traditional development model that unilaterally pursues economic growth, emphasizing the coordinated progress of economic development and ecological environmental protection. By transforming the development model, it achieves a shift from relying mainly on factor input to relying on innovation-driven growth, from damaging the ecological environment to a dynamic balance between ecological environmental protection, restoration, and rational development, and from conquering nature to the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature.

对传统发展模式的深刻反思和突破。工业文明所建立起来的发展逻辑来自对西方国家发展经验的总结。在建设人类命运共同体、共谋全球可持续发展的大背景下，过去以高投入、高消耗、高污染为特征，过度依赖资源开发和要素投入推动经济增长的发展模式难以为继。这种模式在促进经济快速增长的同时，也带来了资源短缺、环境污染、生态系统退化等问题，对人类的生存和发展构成了严峻挑战。在“先污染后治理”“先发展后保护”的逻辑下，环境治理模式以末端治理为主，治理速度难以赶上污染扩散速度，从而使经济发展与生态环境保护之间的矛盾不断加剧。走生态优先、绿色发展之路，摒弃了传统发展模式中片面追求经济增长的短视行为，强调经济发展与生态环境保护的协调共进。通过转变发展方式，实现从主要依靠要素投入向依靠创新驱动转变，从对生态环境的破坏向生态环境保护修复与合理开发动态平衡转变，从征服自然走向人与自然和谐共生。

Proactive adaptation to new situations and changes. China has entered the stage of high-quality development, and the principal contradiction in society has been transformed into the contradiction between the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development. The people’s demand for a good ecological environment has become stronger. The Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has accurately grasped the stage-specific characteristics and requirements of China’s development, organically unified the resolution of high-quality development issues with meeting the people’s new expectations for a high quality of life, and proposed unswervingly following the path of ecological priority and green development. On the one hand, it places the protection and improvement of the ecological environment in a more important position, creates a pleasant environment, promotes the formation of a green and healthy lifestyle, and meets the people’s aspirations for a better life. A good ecological environment is the most equitable public good and the most inclusive public welfare. Promoting the formation of a green development mode and lifestyle enables the people to fully share the ecological dividend and continuously enhance their sense of gain, happiness, and security. On the other hand, it emphasizes planning development from the perspective of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature, confining economic activities and human behavior within the limits that natural resources and the ecological environment can bear, and promoting development to achieve effective qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth in the green transformation. This requires further improving the green and low-carbon development mechanism, building a green, low-carbon, and circular development economic system, basing economic and social development on the efficient use of resources and strict protection of the ecological environment, and pushing industries toward the high end of the value chain.

对新形势新变化的主动适应。我国进入高质量发展阶段，社会主要矛盾已经转化为人民日益增长的美好生活需要和不平衡不充分的发展之间的矛盾，人民群众对良好生态环境的需求更加强烈。以习近平同志为核心的党中央准确把握我国发展的阶段性特征和要求，把解决高质量发展问题与顺应人民高品质生活新期待有机统一起来，提出坚定不移走生态优先、绿色发展之路。一方面，将生态环境的保护与改善置于更加重要的位置，打造宜人的环境，促进形成绿色健康的生活方式，满足人民群众对美好生活的向往。良好的生态环境是最公平的公共产品，是最普惠的民生福祉。推动形成绿色发展方式和生活方式，能够使人民群众充分共享生态红利，不断增强获得感、幸福感、安全感。另一方面，强调站在人与自然和谐共生的高度谋划发展，把经济活动、人的行为限制在自然资源和生态环境能够承受的限度内，在绿色转型中推动发展实现质的有效提升和量的合理增长。这要求进一步健全绿色低碳发展机制，构建绿色低碳循环发展经济体系，让经济社会发展建立在高效利用资源、严格保护生态环境的基础上，推动产业向价值链高端迈进。

Remarkable Results in Practical Exploration

实践探索成效显著

Handling the relationship between development and protection is a worldwide challenge and an eternal issue facing the development of human society. Since the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has, through comprehensively deepening reform, made comprehensive and systematic arrangements in terms of policy guidance and institutional guarantees, promoting the deepening and solidification of China’s path of ecological priority and green development, and contributing Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to world economic development and ecological civilization construction.

处理好发展和保护的关系，是一个世界性难题，也是人类社会发展面临的永恒课题。新时代以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央通过全面深化改革，从政策引导、制度保障等方面进行全面系统部署，推动我国生态优先、绿色发展之路不断走深走实，为世界经济发展与生态文明建设贡献了中国智慧与中国方案。

Systematic deployment in top-level design. The Party Central Committee has made the construction of an ecological civilization an important part of the coordinated advancement of the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan and the coordinated promotion of the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy, incorporated the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature into the basic strategy for upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, and made green development an important component of the new development philosophy. The “Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Accelerating the Comprehensive Green Transformation of Economic and Social Development” issued in 2024 clearly proposed key tasks and specific measures for promoting green transformation in terms of development spatial patterns, industrial structure, energy, transportation, etc., further strengthening the institutionalization and systematization of China’s green development. The “Opinions of the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council on Promoting Green and Low-Carbon Transformation and Strengthening the Construction of the National Carbon Market” issued this year [3]3 The year 2024 is the reference point for “this year” in the original text. focused on deploying tasks such as accelerating the construction of a national carbon emissions trading market, actively developing a national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market, and striving to enhance the vitality of the carbon market, providing institutional guarantees for following the path of ecological priority and green development.

在顶层设计中系统部署。党中央把生态文明建设作为统筹推进“五位一体”总体布局和协调推进“四个全面”战略布局的重要内容，把坚持人与自然和谐共生纳入新时代坚持和发展中国特色社会主义基本方略，把绿色发展作为新发展理念的重要组成部分。2024年印发的《中共中央 国务院关于加快经济社会发展全面绿色转型的意见》从发展空间格局、产业结构、能源、交通运输等方面明确提出推进绿色转型的重点任务以及具体举措，我国绿色发展的制度化、体系化进一步加强。今年印发的《中共中央办公厅 国务院办公厅关于推进绿色低碳转型加强全国碳市场建设的意见》重点部署了加快建设全国碳排放权交易市场、积极发展全国温室气体自愿减排交易市场和着力提升碳市场活力等任务，为走好生态优先、绿色发展之路提供了制度保障。

Implement it in the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development. The comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development covers all fields and links, including industrial structure adjustment, energy structure optimization, and changes in production and lifestyle, forming a full-chain green governance system from source to end. In terms of industrial structure adjustment, China vigorously develops green industries such as new energy, energy conservation and environmental protection, ecological agriculture, and ecotourism. The "new three items" [4]4 The "new three items" (新三样) refers to new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products, which have replaced the traditional "old three items" (clothing, household appliances, and furniture) as China's new export growth drivers. represented by new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products have become new growth points for exports. Traditional high-energy-consuming industries such as steel and cement are undergoing orderly transformation through industrial structure optimization and technological innovation in energy conservation and emission reduction. Energy consumption per unit of GDP continues to decline. In 2024, carbon dioxide emissions per 10,000 yuan of GDP fell by 3.4% year-on-year. In terms of energy structure optimization, the proportion of clean energy in the energy consumption structure is gradually increasing, and dependence on traditional fossil fuels such as coal and oil is continuously decreasing. The installed capacity of photovoltaic and wind power has ranked first in the world for many years. In 2024, the share of non-fossil energy consumption rose to 19.8%, and the share of coal-fired power installed capacity fell below 40%. In terms of changes in production and lifestyle, actively build a production system for green, low-carbon, and circular development, and advocate a green and low-carbon lifestyle. In 2025, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments issued the "Notice on Carrying Out the Construction of Zero-Carbon Industrial Parks," proposing to "support qualified regions in taking the lead in building a batch of zero-carbon industrial parks" and "promote the low-carbon and zero-carbon transformation of various industrial parks in a planned and step-by-step manner," guiding enterprises to eliminate outdated production capacity, outdated processes, and outdated products and equipment,统筹规划 [5]5 统筹规划 (tǒngchóu guīhuà) is a standard Chinese policy term meaning "overall planning and coordinated deployment," often used in the context of comprehensive governance. the spatial layout of industrial parks and enterprises, optimize the planning and design of park infrastructure, and comprehensively improve the level of green production. At the same time, vigorously improve the incentive mechanism for green consumption. In recent years, the scale of green consumption in China has continued to expand. Consumption of new energy vehicles, energy-saving and water-saving products, and second-hand goods has become a consumption trend, and the concept of green consumption has taken root in people's hearts.

在加快经济社会发展全面绿色转型中贯彻落实。经济社会发展全面绿色转型涵盖了产业结构调整、能源结构优化、生产生活方式转变等各领域各环节，构成了从源头到末端的全链条绿色治理体系。在产业结构调整方面，我国大力发展新能源、节能环保、生态农业、生态旅游等绿色产业，以新能源汽车、锂电池、光伏产品为代表的“新三样”成为出口新增长点。钢铁、水泥等传统高耗能产业通过产业结构优化、节能减排技术创新有序转型，单位国内生产总值能耗持续下降，2024年全国万元GDP二氧化碳排放量同比下降3.4%。在能源结构优化方面，清洁能源在能源消费结构中的比重逐步提升，对煤炭、石油等传统化石能源的依赖不断降低。光伏、风电装机容量多年居全球首位，2024年非化石能源消费占比上升至19.8%，煤电装机占比降至40%以下。在生产生活方式转变上，积极构建绿色低碳循环发展的生产体系，倡导绿色低碳生活方式。2025年国家发展改革委等部门印发《关于开展零碳园区建设的通知》，提出“支持有条件的地区率先建成一批零碳园区”“有计划、分步骤推进各类园区低碳化零碳化改造”，引导企业淘汰落后产能、落后工艺、落后产品设备，统筹规划园区及企业空间布局，优化园区基础设施规划设计，生产绿色化水平全面提升。同时，大力健全绿色消费激励机制。近年来，我国绿色消费规模持续扩大，新能源汽车、节能节水产品、二手商品消费成为消费潮流，绿色消费理念深入人心。

Anchor the goal and continue to advance

锚定目标持续推进

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Party [6]6 The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC was held in July 2024, focusing on comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese modernization. made the important deployment of "accelerating the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development and building a beautiful China." It is necessary to accurately grasp the phased requirements of the "15th Five-Year Plan" period [7]7 The "15th Five-Year Plan" (十四五规划) refers to China's national economic and social development plan for 2026–2030., unswervingly follow the path of ecological priority and green development, and integrate the concept of green development into all aspects and the entire process of economic and social development.

党的二十届四中全会作出“加快经济社会发展全面绿色转型，建设美丽中国”的重要部署。必须准确把握“十五五”时期的阶段性要求，坚定不移走生态优先、绿色发展之路，把绿色发展理念贯穿于经济社会发展全过程各方面。

Further strengthen ecological environmental protection and restoration. High-level protection is an important support for high-quality development. The "15th Five-Year Plan" period is a critical period for building a beautiful China, connecting the past and the future, and achieving a fundamental improvement in the ecological environment. In view of the fact that the structural, root, and trend pressures facing China's ecological environmental protection have not yet been fundamentally alleviated, it is necessary to adhere to systematic science, adapt measures to local conditions, and promote the natural restoration and artificial restoration of the ecological environment. Give full play to the basic institutional role of ecological environment zoning control in accelerating the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development.统筹考虑 [5]5 统筹规划 (tǒngchóu guīhuà) is a standard Chinese policy term meaning "overall planning and coordinated deployment," often used in the context of comprehensive governance. natural ecological elements such as mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts, and carry out overall protection, systematic restoration, and comprehensive management. Continue to make efforts around key regional governance, national park construction, and the construction of modern ecological environment infrastructure.

进一步加强生态环境保护和修复。高水平保护是高质量发展的重要支撑。“十五五”时期是美丽中国建设承上启下、实现生态环境根本好转的关键时期。针对我国生态环境保护面临的结构性、根源性、趋势性压力总体上尚未得到根本缓解的情况，要坚持系统科学、因地制宜推动生态环境自然恢复和人工修复。充分发挥生态环境分区管控在加快经济社会发展全面绿色转型中的基础性制度作用。统筹考虑山水林田湖草沙等自然生态要素，进行整体保护、系统修复、综合治理。围绕重点区域治理、国家公园建设和现代化生态环境基础设施建设等问题持续发力。

Promote green and low-carbon development in urban and rural construction with greater intensity. Urban and rural construction is an important aspect of building a beautiful China. At present, China's urban and rural construction still faces problems such as a lack of overall planning, insufficient systematization, and low livability. The extensive construction method of "large-scale construction, large-scale consumption, and large-scale emissions" still exists. In urban development, it is necessary to implement the spirit of the Central Urban Work Conference [8]8 The Central Urban Work Conference (中央城市工作会议) was held in December 2015, setting guidelines for urban development with an emphasis on people-centered, green, and smart cities., and focus on building innovative cities full of vitality and green, low-carbon, and beautiful cities. Promote the formation of an industrial scale and productivity layout that is compatible with the ecological environment, accelerate the development of new quality productive forces, continuously alleviate the urban heat island effect and pollution pressure, and promote the synergy of pollution reduction, carbon reduction, and green expansion. In rural development, start by making up for the shortcomings of public infrastructure and public services, improve the living environment and sanitary conditions, and promote the treatment of rural domestic garbage and sewage. Optimize the agricultural production structure and regional layout, promote the application of green technologies such as water-saving irrigation and scientific fertilization and pesticide application, avoid excessive consumption of water and soil resources, improve resource utilization rates and land output rates, promote the resource utilization of agricultural waste, and accelerate the comprehensive green transformation of agricultural development.

更大力度推动城乡建设绿色低碳发展。城乡建设是建设美丽中国的重要方面。目前，我国城乡建设领域仍存在整体性缺乏、系统性不足、宜居性不高等问题，“大量建设、大量消耗、大量排放”的粗放式建设方式仍然存在。在城市发展中，要落实好中央城市工作会议精神，着力建设富有活力的创新城市、绿色低碳的美丽城市。推动形成与生态环境相协调的产业规模和生产力布局，加快发展新质生产力，不断缓解城市热岛效应和污染压力，推动减污降碳扩绿协同增效。在乡村发展中，要从补齐公共基础设施和公共服务短板入手，改善人居环境和卫生条件，推进农村生活垃圾污水治理。优化农业生产结构和区域布局，推广应用节水灌溉、科学施肥用药等绿色技术，避免水土资源过度消耗，提高资源利用率和土地产出率，促进农业废弃物资源化利用，加快农业发展全面绿色转型。

Actively and steadily promote carbon peak and carbon neutrality. Striving to achieve carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060 is a major strategic decision made by the Party Central Committee. It is necessary to take the reduction of carbon emission intensity as a binding indicator, accelerate the accounting of total carbon emissions, establish and improve the local carbon emission target evaluation and assessment system, and focus on total carbon emissions and intensity indicators, incorporating indicators such as energy structure, energy consumption intensity, resource utilization efficiency, ecosystem carbon sinks, and green transformation in key areas. Strengthen the control of carbon emissions in various regions and key areas, industries, and enterprises, build a product carbon footprint management system, implement a product carbon labeling certification system, and provide a strong guarantee for green and low-carbon development.

积极稳妥推进碳达峰碳中和。力争2030年前实现碳达峰、2060年前实现碳中和，是党中央作出的重大战略决策。要把碳排放强度降低作为约束性指标，加快开展碳排放总量核算工作，建立完善地方碳排放目标评价考核制度，以碳排放总量和强度指标为重点，纳入能源结构、能耗强度、资源利用效率、生态系统碳汇、重点领域绿色转型等指标。强化对各地区及重点领域、行业、企业的碳排放管控，建设产品碳足迹管理体系，推行产品碳标识认证制度，为绿色低碳发展提供有力保障。

[The author is a specially-appointed researcher of the Yunnan Provincial Research Center for the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and Director of the Department of Social and Ecological Civilization Teaching and Research of the Party School of the Yunnan Provincial Committee of the CPC (Yunnan Academy of Governance).]

【作者系云南省中国特色社会主义理论体系研究中心特约研究员、中共云南省委党校（云南行政学院）社会和生态文明教研部主任】

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧