Properly Grasping the Relationship between High-Quality Development and High-Level Protection

General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “Handling the relationship between development and protection is a worldwide challenge and an eternal subject facing the development of human society.” Whether the relationship between high-quality development and high-level protection can be properly handled bears on the success or failure of comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, on the basis of summarizing the laws of ecological civilization construction, systematically answers major theoretical and practical questions such as what kind of ecological civilization to build and how to build it, and clearly proposes a series of strategic measures, providing a fundamental guideline and action guide for solving this challenge. And scientifically grasping the relationship between high-quality development and high-level protection is an important thread for deeply understanding and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization.

习近平总书记指出：“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。”能否处理好高质量发展和高水平保护的关系，事关以中国式现代化全面推进强国建设、民族复兴伟业的成败。习近平生态文明思想在归纳总结生态文明建设规律的基础上，系统回答了建设什么样的生态文明、怎样建设生态文明等重大理论和实践问题，明确提出了一系列战略举措，为解决这一难题提供了根本遵循和行动指南。而科学把握高质量发展和高水平保护之间的关系，是深刻领悟和贯彻落实好习近平生态文明思想的一条重要线索。

The simultaneous advancement of the two is both necessary and feasible.

两者同步推进兼具必要性与可行性

High-quality development means making development better meet the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life and more fully implement the new development philosophy [1]1 The new development philosophy refers to the five concepts of innovation, coordination, green, openness, and sharing, formally adopted by the CPC in 2015.; that is, making development’s innovation momentum stronger, its green form more universal, its coordination features more prominent, its openness level higher, and its sharing degree more sufficient, achieving effective improvement in the quality of development and reasonable growth in its quantity. High-level protection means integrated protection and systematic governance of mountains, waters, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts [2]2 This phrase (山水林田湖草沙) is a standard Chinese formulation for the full range of natural elements in an ecosystem., continuously improving environmental quality and the diversity, stability, and sustainability of ecosystems, making the sky bluer, the land greener, the water clearer, and the scenery more beautiful, enabling more people to see mountains, view waters, and remember their nostalgia [3]3 “See mountains, view waters, and remember their nostalgia” (望得见山、看得见水、记得住乡愁) is a phrase Xi Jinping has used to describe the goal of ecologically sound urbanization., and steadily achieving the goal of building a Beautiful China. And simultaneous advancement means that the synergy and unity of high-quality development and high-level protection are continuously strengthened, and the economic and social system and the ecological environment system are simultaneously improved and optimized. The report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC proposed “coordinating industrial restructuring, pollution control, ecological protection, and response to climate change, and synergistically advancing carbon reduction, pollution reduction, green expansion, and economic growth,” which clarifies the specific requirements and key tasks for simultaneously advancing high-quality development and high-level protection.

高质量发展，就是使发展更好地满足人民日益增长的美好生活需要，更充分贯彻新发展理念，也就是使发展的创新动能更强劲、绿色形态更普遍、协调特征更突出、开放水平更高超、共享程度更充分，实现发展质的有效提升和量的合理增长。高水平保护，就是要一体化保护和系统治理山水林田湖草沙，不断提升环境质量和生态系统多样性、稳定性、持续性，使天更蓝、地更绿、水更清、景更美，使更多群众望得见山、看得见水、记得住乡愁，稳步实现美丽中国建设目标。而同步推进意味着高质量发展和高水平保护的协同性、统一性不断增强，经济社会系统与生态环境系统得以同步提升和优化。党的二十大报告提出的“统筹产业结构调整、污染治理、生态保护、应对气候变化，协同推进降碳、减污、扩绿、增长”，即明确了同步推进高质量发展和高水平保护的具体要求与关键任务。

High-quality development and high-level protection have a dialectical unity; their simultaneous advancement is not only very necessary but also highly feasible. First, both jointly serve to meet the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life and to better advance Chinese-path modernization. High-quality development will form a high-quality, efficient, and diversified supply system, providing more high-quality products and services to meet people’s needs, and creating enormous material civilization to support Chinese-path modernization. The good ecological environment formed through high-level protection is the fairest public product and the most inclusive public welfare for people’s livelihoods, and is the fundamental guarantee for Chinese-path modernization that achieves harmony between humanity and nature. Second, the two complement and reinforce each other. Green development is the defining feature of high-quality development, and promoting the greening and low-carbon transformation of economic and social development is a key link in achieving high-quality development. High-quality development helps alleviate pressure on high-level protection at the source while providing strong material input guarantees. High-level protection aims to solve problems faced in the process of high-quality development and provides ecological and environmental security guarantees for high-quality development. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, “High-quality development that prioritizes ecology and is green and low-carbon can only be achieved through high-level protection.” And simultaneously advancing high-quality development and high-level protection is a vivid portrayal of the concept that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” [4]4 “Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” (绿水青山就是金山银山) is a signature slogan of Xi Jinping’s ecological thought, first stated in 2005., and is also a scientific choice that follows the inherent laws of this concept. Finally, both evolve and interact under the unified leadership of the Party, and have a good foundation for simultaneous advancement in terms of top-level design, strategic planning, institutional arrangements, policy incentives, and organizational guarantees.

高质量发展和高水平保护具有辩证统一性，两者同步推进不仅十分必要，而且高度可行。首先，两者共同服务于满足人民日益增长的美好生活需要，服务于更好推进中国式现代化。高质量发展将形成优质高效多样化的供给体系，提供更多优质产品和服务以满足人民需要，创造巨大的物质文明支撑中国式现代化。通过高水平保护形成的良好生态环境是最公平的公共产品、最普惠的民生福祉，是实现人与自然和谐共生的中国式现代化的根本保障。其次，两者相辅相成、相得益彰。绿色发展是高质量发展的底色，推动经济社会发展绿色化、低碳化是实现高质量发展的关键环节。高质量发展有助于从源头上为高水平保护减轻压力，同时提供强大物质投入保障。高水平保护旨在解决高质量发展过程中面临的问题，并为高质量发展提供生态环境安全保障。习近平总书记指出，“生态优先、绿色低碳的高质量发展只有依靠高水平保护才能实现”。而同步推进高质量发展和高水平保护，是“绿水青山就是金山银山”理念的生动写照，也是遵循这一理念内在规律的科学抉择。最后，两者都在党的统一领导下演进互动，在顶层设计、战略规划、制度安排、政策激励、组织保障等方面具有良好的同步推进基础。

Taking industrial ecologization and ecological industrialization as the starting point.

以产业生态化与生态产业化为抓手

Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization provides the fundamental guideline for simultaneously advancing high-quality development and high-level protection. In short, it is to adhere to the concept that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” to promote industrial ecologization and ecological industrialization. High-quality development must proceed from the long-term interests of the Chinese nation, take the path of ecological priority and green development. High-level protection must protect natural values and increase natural capital, enabling lucid waters and lush mountains to generate enormous ecological, economic, and social benefits.

习近平生态文明思想为同步推进高质量发展和高水平保护提供了根本遵循。简而言之，就是坚持以“绿水青山就是金山银山”理念推进产业生态化、生态产业化。高质量发展必须从中华民族长远利益出发，走生态优先、绿色发展之路。高水平保护必须保护自然价值和增值自然资本，使绿水青山产生巨大生态效益、经济效益、社会效益。

Standing at the height of harmony between humanity and nature, we must effectively integrate ecological civilization construction into all aspects and the entire process of economic, political, social, and cultural construction, and continuously enhance the potential and staying power of development. The key is to scientifically formulate development plans based on and preconditioned by the carrying capacity of resources and the environment, develop new quality productive forces according to local conditions, and accelerate the construction of a green, low-carbon, and circular development economic system. We must promptly build a market-oriented green technology innovation system, vigorously improve the level of green technology, form green and low-carbon production methods, and continuously improve land use efficiency and resource utilization efficiency. Transform traditional industries with advanced green technology, actively develop energy-saving and environmental protection industries such as new energy, and accelerate the construction of a green and low-carbon industrial system. Improve the waste recycling system, promote the large-scale, standardized, and intelligent recycling of resources, and strengthen the circular linkage between production systems and living systems. Accelerate the construction of green consumption, green investment, and green trade systems, and use strong green demand to drive green reform on the supply side. In addition, we must also establish and improve the legal and regulatory, fiscal, tax, financial, investment, price, and government procurement policy systems, market trading systems, standard systems, and performance evaluation systems that support green and low-carbon development.

站在人与自然和谐共生的高度，切实把生态文明建设融入经济建设、政治建设、社会建设和文化建设各方面和全过程，持续增强发展的潜力和后劲。其中的关键是以资源环境承载力为前提和基础科学制定发展规划，因地制宜发展新质生产力，加快建设绿色低碳循环发展经济体系。抓紧构建市场导向的绿色技术创新体系，大力提升绿色技术水平，形成绿色低碳生产方式，不断提高土地利用效率、资源利用效率。以先进绿色技术改造传统产业，积极发展新能源等节能环保产业，加快构建绿色低碳产业体系。健全废弃物循环利用体系，促进资源循环利用规模化、规范化、智能化，强化生产系统与生活系统循环链接。加快构建绿色消费、绿色投资、绿色贸易体系，以强大绿色需求牵引供给侧绿色改革。此外，还要建立健全支持绿色低碳发展的法律法规、财税、金融、投资、价格、政府采购政策体系、市场交易体系、标准体系和政绩考核体系。

Use high-level protection to shape new drivers and new advantages for development. First, advance high-level protection with a systematic approach, continuously improving the green productive forces that drive high-quality development. In the process of actively and prudently advancing the peak of carbon emissions and carbon neutrality [5]5 “Peak of carbon emissions and carbon neutrality” (碳达峰碳中和) refers to China’s announced goals of peaking CO₂ emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060., continuously and deeply fighting the battle against pollution, and scientifically promoting the protection and restoration of ecosystems, maintain strategic resolve and achieve tangible results. Second, protect the ecological environment with the strictest systems and the most rigorous rule of law, forcing a comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development. By implementing the fixed pollution source supervision system centered on the pollutant discharge permit system, the ecological protection red line management system, the total resource management and rigid constraint system, and the central ecological and environmental protection inspection system [6]6 The central ecological and environmental protection inspection system (中央生态环保督察制度) is a high-level oversight mechanism launched in 2015, under which central inspection teams conduct unannounced audits of local governments’ environmental performance., make ecological and environmental factors a hard constraint and a normalized external pressure on development, significantly enhance the competitiveness of green technology innovation and the ecological and environmental protection industry, and thereby stimulate a strong endogenous driving force for green development across society. Third, actively explore the mechanism for realizing the value of ecological products, transforming ecological and environmental advantages into development advantages. Through a series of measures such as surveying and monitoring ecological products to ascertain the baseline and clarify property rights, establishing an ecological product value evaluation system and accounting standards, building “ecology+” industrial chains and value chains according to local conditions, promoting the trading of ecological resource rights and interests, and improving the compensation mechanism for ecological product protection, unleash the enormous productive forces contained in the ecological environment.

以高水平保护塑造发展新动能、新优势。一是以系统观念推进高水平保护，不断改善驱动高质量发展的绿色生产力。在积极稳妥推进碳达峰碳中和、持续深入打好污染防治攻坚战、科学推进生态系统保护修复的过程中，保持战略定力，取得明显成效。二是以最严格的制度、最严明的法治保护生态环境，倒逼经济社会发展全面绿色转型。通过落实以排污许可制为核心的固定污染源监管制度、生态保护红线管理制度、资源总量管理和刚性约束制度、中央生态环保督察制度等，使生态环境要素成为发展的硬约束和常态化外部压力，显著提升绿色技术创新和生态环保产业竞争力，进而激发全社会绿色发展强大内生动力。三是积极探索生态产品价值实现机制，将生态环境优势转化为发展优势。通过生态产品调查监测摸清家底、明确产权，建立生态产品价值评价体系和核算规范，因地制宜打造“生态+”产业链价值链，推动生态资源权益交易，完善生态产品保护补偿机制等一系列举措，释放生态环境蕴含的巨大生产力。

Fully leverage the synergistic role of a proactive government and an efficient market. On the one hand, further strengthen and improve the Party’s institutional arrangements for leading high-quality development and high-level protection, driving all regions, departments, fields, and industries to fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development philosophy. Strengthen policy coordination between departments and regions, and enhance the consistency of economic and social development policies with ecological and environmental protection policies. On the other hand, accelerate the construction of a unified national market, including resource and environmental factors, and the construction of basic systems for the market economy, simultaneously advancing high-quality development and high-level protection in the process of building a new development pattern.

充分发挥有为政府和有效市场的协同作用。一方面，进一步加强和完善党领导高质量发展和高水平保护的制度安排，带动各地区、各部门、各领域、各行业完整准确全面贯彻落实新发展理念。强化部门间、区域间政策协调性，提升经济社会发展政策与生态环境保护政策的一致性。另一方面，加快包括资源环境要素在内的全国统一大市场建设和市场经济基础制度建设，在构建新发展格局中同步推进高质量发展和高水平保护。

Synergistically advancing development and protection to aid the green transformation.

协同推进发展与保护助力绿色转型

Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, China’s ecological civilization construction has undergone historic, transformative, and holistic changes from theory to practice, and solid steps have been taken in coordinating development and protection. Since the New Era, the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan has clarified the strategic significance of simultaneously advancing high-quality development and high-level protection, and green development and ecological priority have become basic principles of major national development strategies. From the central to local levels and across all industries, a series of powerful measures have been introduced and implemented around promoting the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development and establishing a green, low-carbon, and circular economic system. These have effectively supported the continuous advancement of China’s ecological civilization construction and related major strategic tasks. The synergy between high-quality development and high-level protection has also been gradually strengthened, with the green and low-carbon characteristics of high-quality development becoming increasingly prominent. China’s energy intensity and carbon emission intensity have declined significantly, leading the world. Alongside stable economic growth, pollutant emissions have rapidly decreased, and the overall scale of the new energy industry and new energy vehicle industry has continued to expand, with competitiveness maintaining a leading edge. At the same time, the foundational supporting role of ecological civilization construction for high-quality development is increasingly evident. With the deepening of the battle against pollution and the protection and restoration of ecosystems, China’s ecological environment quality has significantly improved. This has not only provided the people with a beautiful and comfortable living environment but also promoted the development of ecological industries such as ecological agriculture, ecological manufacturing, and ecological tourism, creating substantial ecological and economic effects.

在习近平生态文明思想的指引下，我国生态文明建设从理论到实践发生了历史性、转折性、全局性变化，协同推进发展与保护迈出坚实步伐。新时代以来，“五位一体”总体布局明确了同步推进高质量发展和高水平保护的战略意义，绿色发展、生态优先已成为国家重大发展战略规划的基本原则。从中央到地方再到各行业都围绕推动经济社会发展全面绿色转型、建立健全绿色低碳循环发展经济体系，出台并实施了一系列有力举措，有力支撑了我国生态文明建设及相关重大战略任务的持续推进，高质量发展和高水平保护的协同性也在逐步增强，特别是高质量发展绿色低碳化特征日益明显。我国能源强度、碳排放强度下降速度显著，已走在世界前列，伴随经济稳定增长的是污染物排放的快速下降，新能源产业、新能源汽车产业的总体规模不断扩大、竞争力持续领跑。与此同时，生态文明建设对高质量发展的基础支撑作用日益显现。随着污染防治攻坚战和生态系统保护修复的深入推进，我国生态环境质量得以显著改善，不仅为人民群众提供了美丽舒适的生活环境，也推动了生态农业、生态制造业、生态旅游业等生态产业发展，创造了巨大生态经济效应。

Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature. Respecting, conforming to, and protecting nature are inherent requirements for comprehensively building a modern socialist country. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “Throughout the entire process of Chinese-path modernization, we must properly handle the dialectical and unified relationship between high-quality development and high-level protection.” Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization is the general guideline, general basis, and general requirement for planning ecological civilization construction, demonstrating the practical power of scientific theory in guiding China’s green transformation. Deeply studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, continuously deepening the understanding of the laws of ecological civilization construction in the New Era, and persisting in simultaneously advancing high-quality development and high-level protection will surely make greater contributions to promoting Chinese-path modernization.

中国式现代化是人与自然和谐共生的现代化，尊重自然、顺应自然、保护自然，是全面建设社会主义现代化国家的内在要求。习近平总书记强调：“在中国式现代化建设全过程中，我们都要把握好高质量发展和高水平保护的辩证统一关系。”习近平生态文明思想是谋划生态文明建设的总方针、总依据和总要求，在指导我国绿色转型实践中展现出科学理论的实践伟力。深入学习贯彻习近平生态文明思想，不断深化对新时代生态文明建设规律的认识，坚持同步推进高质量发展和高水平保护，必将为推进中国式现代化作出更大贡献。

(The author is Director of the Institute of Quantitative and Technological Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

（作者系中国社会科学院数量经济与技术经济研究所所长）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧