Comprehensively Advancing the Modernization of Harmony between Humanity and Nature through the Construction of a Beautiful China

The construction of a Beautiful China is an important component of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization. In the article “Comprehensively Advancing the Modernization of Harmony between Humanity and Nature through the Construction of a Beautiful China,” included in Volume I of *Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Ecological Civilization*, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “Place the construction of a Beautiful China in a prominent position for building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation, promote the marked improvement of urban and rural living environments, achieve significant results in the construction of a Beautiful China, and support high-quality development with a high-quality ecological environment.” [1]1 The "Eight Major Public Nuisance Incidents in the World" refers to eight severe environmental pollution disasters that occurred in industrialized countries between the 1930s and 1960s, including the Meuse Valley fog in Belgium, the Donora smog in the US, the London smog, and Minamata disease in Japan. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has advanced and expanded Chinese-path modernization with profound historical vision and a broad global perspective, promoted the construction of a Beautiful China, explored a path of modernization characterized by harmony between humanity and nature, laid a solid ecological foundation for the sustainable development of the Chinese nation, and led the forward direction of human modernization. [2]2 A Pigouvian tax is a tax levied on any market activity that generates negative externalities (costs not internalized by the producer or consumer, such as pollution), intended to correct the market outcome by aligning private costs with social costs. The “Proposal of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development,” adopted at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC, focuses on “promoting major breakthroughs in strategic tasks that affect the overall situation of Chinese-path modernization” and designates “achieving new major progress in the construction of a Beautiful China” as one of the main goals

美丽中国建设是习近平生态文明思想的重要内容。在《习近平生态文明文选》第一卷收录的《以美丽中国建设全面推进人与自然和谐共生的现代化》一文中，习近平总书记强调：“把建设美丽中国摆在强国建设、民族复兴的突出位置，推动城乡人居环境明显改善、美丽中国建设取得显著成效，以高品质生态环境支撑高质量发展。”党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央以深邃的历史视野和宽广的世界眼光推进和拓展中国式现代化，推动建设美丽中国，探索出一条人与自然和谐共生的现代化道路，为中华民族永续发展筑牢生态根基，引领人类现代化的前进方向。党的二十届四中全会通过的《中共中央关于制定国民经济和社会发展第十五个五年规划的建议》着眼于“推动事关中国式现代化全局的战略任务取得重大突破”，把“美丽中国建设取得新的重大进展”确定为“十五五”时期经济社会发展的一个主要目标。2025年12月举行的中央经济工作会议提出“坚持‘双碳’引领，推动全面绿色转型”“深入打好蓝天、碧水、净土保卫战，强化新污染物治理”，科学部署2026年美丽中国建设的重点工作。

We must study and apply well the first volume of *Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Ecological Civilization*, deeply understand the great significance of building a Beautiful China for advancing Chinese-path modernization, continuously deepen the study and implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, better guide concrete actions to fully implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC and the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference with scientific theory, and effectively use the construction of a Beautiful China to comprehensively advance the modernization of harmony

我们要学好用好《习近平生态文明文选》第一卷，深刻认识美丽中国建设对于推进中国式现代化的重大意义，把学习贯彻习近平生态文明思想不断引向深入，更好地以科学理论指导全面贯彻落实党的二十届四中全会精神和中央经济工作会议精神的实际行动，切实以美丽中国建设全面推进人与自然和谐共生的现代化，为基本实现社会主义现代化奠定更加坚实的生态基础。

The construction of a Beautiful China is inherent in the process of Chinese-path modernization, driving the creation of a new form of human civilization.

美丽中国建设内蕴于中国式现代化进程中，推动开创人类文明新形态

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized in "Striving to Advance Harmony between Humanity and Nature": "Human development activities must respect, conform to, and protect nature; otherwise, they will be retaliated against by nature." Chinese-path modernization is a modernization of harmony between humanity and nature, enriching and expanding the connotation of modernization. The construction of a Beautiful China is the concentrated embodiment and vivid practice of the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature.

习近平总书记在《着力推进人与自然和谐共生》中强调：“人类发展活动必须尊重自然、顺应自然、保护自然，否则就会遭到大自然的报复”。中国式现代化是人与自然和谐共生的现代化，丰富拓展了现代化的内涵。美丽中国建设是人与自然和谐共生的现代化的集中体现和生动实践。

For a long time, the Western path of modernization has been regarded as the sole path to modernization. Several waves of the Industrial Revolution brought leaps in productive forces, forming an industrial civilization development paradigm based on fossil fuels, centered on consumerism, and focused on the large-scale creation of material wealth. This development paradigm achieved rapid global economic growth but also brought increasingly severe ecological and environmental challenges, such as intensified climate change, a sharp decline in biodiversity, and environmental pollution disasters represented by the "Eight Major Public Nuisance Incidents in the World." [1]1 The "Eight Major Public Nuisance Incidents in the World" refers to eight severe environmental pollution disasters that occurred in industrialized countries between the 1930s and 1960s, including the Meuse Valley fog in Belgium, the Donora smog in the US, the London smog, and Minamata disease in Japan. The problems of traditional industrial civilization stem, to some extent, from its Western philosophical concept of the "subject-object dichotomy" between humanity and nature, placing humans in opposition to nature, believing that nature can be conquered through technological means, and pursuing unlimited economic growth. Although contemporary Western society has also engaged in discussions on the limits to growth and reflections on the ecological and environmental crisis, and has proposed theories and methods such as the Pigouvian tax [2]2 A Pigouvian tax is a tax levied on any market activity that generates negative externalities (costs not internalized by the producer or consumer, such as pollution), intended to correct the market outcome by aligning private costs with social costs. to address environmental issues and correct the negative externalities of economic growth, it has been unable to fundamentally reverse the tense relationship between humanity and nature caused by the traditional development paradigm. The United Nations' "2025 Sustainable Development Goals Report" shows that among the 169 specific targets of the Sustainable Development Goals, only 35% are on track, nearly half are progressing slowly, and 18% have even regressed. This fully demonstrates that without transforming the traditional development paradigm and achieving harmony between humanity and nature, the process of human modernization will be unsustainable.

长期以来，西方现代化道路被视为现代化的唯一道路。几次工业革命浪潮带来了生产力的跃升，形成了以化石能源为基础、以消费主义为中心、大规模创造物质财富的工业文明发展范式。这种发展范式实现了全球经济快速增长，也带来了日益严峻的生态环境挑战，如气候变化加剧、生物多样性锐减和以“世界八大公害事件”为代表的环境污染灾难等。传统工业文明的问题在一定程度上源自其人与自然“主客二分”的西方哲学理念，将人类置于自然的对立面，认为通过技术手段可以征服自然，追求无限的经济增长。虽然当代西方社会也有对发展极限的探讨、对生态环境危机的反思，并提出了庇古税等解决环境问题、纠正经济增长负外部性的理论与方法，却无法从根本上扭转传统发展范式造成的人与自然之间的紧张关系。联合国发布的《2025年可持续发展目标报告》显示，在可持续发展目标169个细项中，仅35%进展顺利，近一半进展缓慢，18%甚至出现倒退。这充分说明，不转变传统发展范式，不实现人与自然和谐共生，人类现代化进程将难以为继。

China's population of over 1.4 billion must enter a modernized society as a whole, a scale exceeding the total population of existing developed countries, and the difficulties and challenges it faces far surpass those of existing developed countries. This determines that China must forge a path of modernization different from that of the West. Chinese-path modernization is not a simple copy of Western modernization but is built upon a fundamental reflection on and creative development of human modernization since the Industrial Revolution. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization stands at the historical height of the development and progress of human civilization, focuses on enhancing the common well-being of all humanity, and takes promoting harmony between humanity and nature as one of the essential requirements of Chinese-path modernization. Chinese-path modernization transcends the development logic of Western modernization centered on capital, adheres to the people-centered development philosophy, and integrates the construction of a Beautiful China into the process of Chinese-path modernization, striving to benefit, enrich, and serve the people through ecology. This means that Chinese-path modernization is not about completing humanity's conquest of nature but about promoting harmony between humanity and nature; it is not about making a good ecological environment a luxury for a few but about making it a public good shared by all the people. This modernization, which respects, conforms to, and protects nature, not only satisfies the Chinese people's aspiration for a better life but also provides a new, fairer, and more sustainable path of modernization for the development and progress of human civilization.

中国14亿多人口要整体迈入现代化社会，其规模超过现有发达国家人口的总和，面临的困难和挑战也远超现有发达国家。这决定了中国必须走出一条不同于西方的现代化道路。中国式现代化不是西方现代化的简单复制，而是建立在对工业革命以来人类现代化的根本性反思和创造性发展之上。习近平生态文明思想站在人类文明发展进步的历史高度，着眼于增进全人类共同福祉，把促进人与自然和谐共生作为中国式现代化的本质要求之一。中国式现代化超越了西方现代化以资本为中心的发展逻辑，坚持以人民为中心的发展思想，把美丽中国建设融入中国式现代化进程中，努力做到生态惠民、生态利民、生态为民。这意味着中国式现代化不是完成人类对自然的征服，而是促进人与自然和谐共生；不是将良好的生态环境作为少数人的奢侈品，而是使之成为全体人民共享的民生福祉。这种尊重自然、顺应自然、保护自然的现代化，不仅满足了中国人民对美好生活的向往，更为人类文明发展进步提供了一种更加公平、更可持续的现代化新道路。

Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization incorporates the construction of a Beautiful China into the grand blueprint of Chinese-path modernization, effectively ensuring the sustainable development of the Chinese nation. The construction of a Beautiful China rejects the shortsightedness of draining the pond to catch the fish, abandons the practice of leaving ecological deficits for future generations, but instead, with the historical responsibility of "meritorious in the present, beneficial for a thousand years," [3]3 A classical Chinese idiom expressing the idea that an action's benefits are immediate and will also extend to future generations, often used to describe long-term, far-sighted policies. accumulates green wealth for future generations and lays a solid ecological foundation for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Chinese-path modernization continuously promotes harmony between humanity and nature, pushes human modernization towards a new era of ecological civilization, and creates a new form of human civilization. This is not only a change in the development paradigm but also an innovation in the concept of civilization. When the traditional development paradigm encounters an ecological bottleneck on a global scale, Chinese-path modernization, through the vivid practice of building a Beautiful China, answers the major question of how humanity can move towards the future with concrete actions, starting from the underlying logic of the evolution and development of civilization. Building a Beautiful China is not only an inherent requirement of Chinese-path modernization but also bears the historical mission of exploring a new path of sustainable development for human civilization.

习近平生态文明思想将美丽中国建设纳入中国式现代化的宏伟蓝图，有力保障中华民族永续发展。美丽中国建设拒绝竭泽而渔的短视，摒弃将生态赤字留给后代的做法，而是以“功在当代、利在千秋”的历史担当，为子孙后代积累绿色财富，为中华民族伟大复兴奠定坚实的生态根基。中国式现代化不断促进人与自然和谐共生，推动人类现代化迈向生态文明新时代，开创了人类文明新形态。这不仅是发展范式的变化，更是文明观的革新。当传统发展范式在全球范围遭遇生态瓶颈，中国式现代化通过建设美丽中国的生动实践，从文明发展演进的底层逻辑，以实际行动回答了人类如何走向未来的重大问题。建设美丽中国不仅是中国式现代化的内在要求，更承载着为人类文明探索永续发展新道路的历史使命。

The construction of a Beautiful China is an important achievement of adhering to the Two Integrations, demonstrating the superiority of Chinese-path modernization.

美丽中国建设是坚持“两个结合”的重要成果，展现了中国式现代化的优越性

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized in "Adhering to Harmony between Humanity and Nature": "Firmly take the civilized development path of production development, affluent life, and good ecology, build a Beautiful China, create a good production and living environment for the people, and contribute to global ecological security." The construction of a Beautiful China is an important achievement of adhering to the Two Integrations. It not only embodies the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional Chinese ecological culture but also promotes the Marxist view of nature and ecology to keep pace with the times, demonstrating the significant advantages of Chinese-path modernization in achieving harmony between humanity and nature.

习近平总书记在《坚持人与自然和谐共生》中强调：“坚定走生产发展、生活富裕、生态良好的文明发展道路，建设美丽中国，为人民创造良好生产生活环境，为全球生态安全作出贡献。”美丽中国建设是坚持“两个结合”的重要成果，既体现了对中华优秀传统生态文化的创造性转化、创新性发展，又推动了马克思主义自然观、生态观与时俱进，展现了中国式现代化在实现人与自然和谐共生方面所具有的显著优势。

Adhere to the principle that humanity and nature form a community of life, and promote the correct handling of the relationship between humanity and nature. Since ancient times, China has formed a rich ecological wisdom and cultural tradition, giving rise to the thought of "the unity of heaven and humanity," expressed as "heaven and earth are born together with me, and the myriad things and I are one." [4]4 "Four beams and eight pillars" (四梁八柱) is a Chinese architectural metaphor referring to the main structural framework of a building. In a political context, it denotes the fundamental and supporting components of a system or policy framework. Marx pointed out: "Man is a part of nature" and "man lives on nature." There is a high degree of compatibility between fine traditional Chinese ecological culture and the Marxist view of nature and ecology. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization profoundly grasps this high degree of compatibility, putting forward the important thesis that "humanity and nature form a community of life," breaking through the cognitive predicament of the "subject-object dichotomy" between humanity and nature in Western philosophy, and becoming the fundamental guideline for the construction of a Beautiful China. The construction of a Beautiful China always adheres to the principle that humanity and nature form a community of life, ensuring that Chinese-path modernization does not follow the old path of the United States and Europe of polluting the environment and sacrificing ecology. Instead, it promotes the widespread formation of green production and lifestyles, reducing total pollution emissions while improving resource utilization efficiency. It not only creates more material and cultural-ethical wealth to meet the people's ever-growing needs for a better life, but also provides more high-quality ecological products to meet the people's ever-growing needs for a beautiful ecological environment. This allows Chinese-path modernization to surpass the Western path of modernization and fully demonstrate its significant advantage of achieving harmony between humanity and nature.

坚持人与自然是生命共同体，推动正确处理人与自然关系。中国自古以来就形成了丰富的生态智慧和文化传统，产生了“天地与我并生，而万物与我为一”的“天人合一”思想。马克思指出：“人是自然界的一部分”“人靠自然界生活”。中华优秀传统生态文化与马克思主义自然观、生态观之间存在高度的契合性。习近平生态文明思想深刻把握这种高度契合性，提出“人与自然是生命共同体”的重要论断，突破了西方哲学人与自然“主客二分”的认识困境，成为美丽中国建设的根本遵循。美丽中国建设始终坚持人与自然是生命共同体，确保中国式现代化不走美欧污染环境、牺牲生态的老路，而是推动广泛形成绿色生产生活方式，在提高资源利用率的同时降低污染排放总量，既创造更多物质财富和精神财富满足人民日益增长的美好生活需要，又提供更多优质生态产品满足人民日益增长的优美生态环境需要，让中国式现代化超越西方现代化道路、实现人与自然和谐共生的显著优势得到充分彰显。

Adhere to the principle that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, and resolve the binary opposition between development and protection. The ancient Chinese said: "When vegetation flourishes, the state becomes wealthy." [5]5 20th National Congress of the CPC: The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, held in October 2022, which set the strategic goals for the next stage of national development. Marxist political economy also affirms the importance of natural ecosystems for the creation of social wealth. Marx said: "Labor is not the source of all wealth. Nature is just as much the source of use values (and it is surely of such that material wealth consists!) as labor." [6]6 "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Comprehensively Advancing the Construction of a Beautiful China": A major policy document issued in January 2024 outlining the long-term plan for ecological and environmental improvement. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization adheres to the Two Integrations, putting forward the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, affirming that protecting the ecological environment means protecting productive forces, protecting natural value and increasing natural capital, and that improving the ecological environment means developing productive forces. This is both consistent with fine traditional Chinese ecological culture and incorporates natural resources into the national wealth system, treating natural ecosystems as an important component of productive forces, thereby enriching and developing the Marxist theory of productive forces. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, the construction of a Beautiful China continuously explores and expands the practical path of transforming lucid waters and lush mountains into invaluable assets, enabling lucid waters and lush mountains to continuously exert ecological and economic-social benefits, achieving the dialectical unity of economic and social development and ecological environmental protection. This resolves the predicament of the Western path of modernization, where the economy and ecology are difficult to coordinate, development and protection are hard to balance, and economic growth can only be obtained at the expense of the environment. It demonstrates the great superiority of Chinese-path modernization in achieving the mutual integration and mutual promotion of economy and ecology, making China's contribution to advancing the process of human modernization and promoting the progress of human civilization.

坚持绿水青山就是金山银山，破解发展与保护二元对立的难题。中国古人说：“草木植成，国之富也。”马克思主义政治经济学也肯定自然生态系统对于社会财富创造的重要意义。马克思说：“劳动不是一切财富的源泉。自然界同劳动一样也是使用价值（而物质财富就是由使用价值构成的！）的源泉”。习近平生态文明思想坚持“两个结合”，提出绿水青山就是金山银山理念，肯定保护生态环境就是保护生产力，就是保护自然价值和增值自然资本，改善生态环境就是发展生产力。这既与中华优秀传统生态文化一脉相承，又将自然资源纳入国民财富体系，将自然生态系统作为生产力的重要组成部分，丰富发展了马克思主义生产力理论。在习近平生态文明思想指引下，美丽中国建设不断探索和拓展把绿水青山转化为金山银山的实践路径，使绿水青山持续发挥生态效益和经济社会效益，实现经济社会发展和生态环境保护辩证统一，破解了西方现代化道路经济与生态难以统筹兼顾、发展与保护难以平衡协调、只能以牺牲环境换取经济增长的困境，展现了中国式现代化实现经济与生态互融共生、互促共进的巨大优越性，为推动人类现代化进程、促进人类文明进步作出中国贡献。

Adhere to the integrated protection and systematic governance of mountains, waters, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts, guiding the direction of the modernization of ecological environmental governance. How to achieve the modernization of national governance is a major issue in the process of human modernization. The modernization of ecological environmental governance is an important aspect of the modernization of national governance. It is necessary to adhere to systematic thinking, rely on systematic methods, improve the effectiveness of ecological environmental governance, and realize the modernization of ecological environmental governance. Concepts such as yin-yang, the five elements, and the eight trigrams in ancient China reflect the simple cosmology of the ancient Chinese and contain profound systematic thinking. Dialectical materialism holds that things are universally connected, and the whole world is an interconnected and interacting whole. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization clearly identifies mountains, waters, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts as an indivisible ecosystem, combining Marxist systematic thinking and dialectical methods with fine traditional Chinese culture. In their resonance and mutual achievement, it accurately grasps the scientific method of ecological environmental governance, proposing the integrated protection and systematic governance of mountains, waters, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts, effectively guiding the modernization of ecological environmental governance and advancing the construction of a Beautiful China. On the new journey of the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core adheres to systematic thinking, comprehensively applying the scientific method of systematic governance throughout the practice of building a Beautiful China. This changes the traditional governance method of treating the head when the head aches and the foot when the foot hurts, managing only one's own segment, and lacking coordination, forming an ecological environmental governance system that is both scientifically rigorous and full of Chinese wisdom. It effectively achieves the overall protection, systematic restoration, and comprehensive governance of various natural elements such as mountains, waters, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts, demonstrating the great superiority of Chinese-path modernization in advancing the modernization of ecological environmental governance, and guiding global ecological environmental governance towards a more scientific, more efficient, and more effective direction.

坚持统筹山水林田湖草沙一体化保护和系统治理，指引生态环境治理现代化的前进方向。如何实现国家治理现代化，是人类现代化进程中的一个重大问题。生态环境治理现代化是国家治理现代化的一个重要方面。必须坚持系统思维，依靠系统方法，提高生态环境治理效能，实现生态环境治理现代化。中国古代的阴阳、五行、八卦等概念体现了中国古人朴素的宇宙观，蕴含着深刻的系统思维。唯物辩证法认为，事物是普遍联系的，整个世界是相互联系、相互作用的整体。习近平生态文明思想明确山水林田湖草沙是不可分割的生态系统，将马克思主义的系统思维、辩证方法与中华优秀传统文化结合起来，在两者同频共振、相互成就中准确把握生态环境治理的科学方法，提出坚持山水林田湖草沙一体化保护和系统治理，有效指引生态环境治理现代化，推进美丽中国建设。新时代新征程，以习近平同志为核心的党中央坚持系统思维，把系统治理的科学方法全面贯穿于美丽中国建设实践，改变了头痛医头、脚痛医脚、各管一段、缺乏协同的传统治理方式，形成了既科学严谨又充满中国智慧的生态环境治理制度，有效实现了山水林田湖草沙各类自然要素的整体保护、系统修复和综合治理，展现了中国式现代化在推进生态环境治理现代化方面的巨大优越性，指引全球生态环境治理朝着更加科学、更加高效、更加管用的方向发展。

The construction of a Beautiful China writes a new chapter in the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature, and is a vivid Chinese practice for jointly building a clean and beautiful world.

美丽中国建设书写人与自然和谐共生的现代化新篇章，是共建清洁美丽世界的生动中国实践

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in "Striving to Build a Modernization of Harmony between Humanity and Nature": "Building an ecological civilization and promoting green, low-carbon, circular development can not only meet the people's ever-growing needs for a beautiful ecological environment, but also promote the realization of higher-quality, more efficient, fairer, more sustainable, and safer development." [7]7 15th Five-Year Plan: The 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) is the upcoming national economic and social development plan, following the current 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025). The construction of a Beautiful China is not only the goal and

习近平总书记在《努力建设人与自然和谐共生的现代化》中指出：“建设生态文明、推动绿色低碳循环发展，不仅可以满足人民日益增长的优美生态环境需要，而且可以推动实现更高质量、更有效率、更加公平、更可持续、更为安全的发展”。美丽中国建设不仅是建设生态文明的目标和路径，也是一场以绿色发展为导向的经济社会深刻变革，正在书写人与自然和谐共生的现代化新篇章，为共建清洁美丽世界开辟广阔的发展空间。

Consolidate the institutional foundation for harmony between humanity and nature. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Protecting the ecological environment must rely on institutions and the rule of law" and "We must always protect the ecological environment with the strictest institutions and the most rigorous rule of law." The building of a Beautiful China is an important component of realizing the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and is the inevitable path for adhering to the concept of green development and promoting the organic unity of high-quality development and high-level protection. This major strategic deployment must rely on strong political leadership, scientific top-level design, and robust institutional safeguards, and must be anchored in the national governance system to ensure its effective implementation. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, and under the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, we have comprehensively deepened reform around the building of a Beautiful China. An institutional system with the "four beams and eight pillars" [4]4 "Four beams and eight pillars" (四梁八柱) is a Chinese architectural metaphor referring to the main structural framework of a building. In a political context, it denotes the fundamental and supporting components of a system or policy framework. of ecological civilization has basically taken shape, the socialist ecological and environmental protection legal system with Chinese characteristics is becoming increasingly complete, and the institutional cornerstone for harmony between humanity and nature has become more solid and more reliable.

夯实人与自然和谐共生的制度基础。习近平总书记强调：“保护生态环境必须依靠制度、依靠法治”“必须始终坚持用最严格制度最严密法治保护生态环境”。美丽中国建设是实现中华民族伟大复兴中国梦的重要内容，是坚持绿色发展理念，推进高质量发展与高水平保护有机统一的必由之路。这一重大战略部署必须依靠坚强的政治领导、科学的顶层设计、有力的制度保障，依托国家治理体系才能确保有效实施。党的十八大以来，在以习近平同志为核心的党中央坚强领导下，在习近平生态文明思想科学指引下，我们围绕美丽中国建设全面深化改革，生态文明“四梁八柱”性质的制度体系基本形成，中国特色社会主义生态环境保护法律体系日臻完善，人与自然和谐共生的制度基石更加稳固、更加牢靠。

Promote the steady and sustained progress of modernization characterized by harmony between humanity and nature. The construction of a Beautiful China runs through the great journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country. It is a long-term systematic project with a clear timetable, roadmap, and construction blueprint. The report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC [1]1 The "Eight Major Public Nuisance Incidents in the World" refers to eight severe environmental pollution disasters that occurred in industrialized countries between the 1930s and 1960s, including the Meuse Valley fog in Belgium, the Donora smog in the US, the London smog, and Minamata disease in Japan. proposed that by 2035, green production and lifestyle will be widely formed, carbon emissions will peak and then steadily decline, the ecological environment will fundamentally improve, and the goal of a Beautiful China will be basically achieved. This means that green becomes the underlying color of development, economic growth achieves a historic "decoupling" from the growth of resource and environmental loads, ecological civilization progresses from quantitative change to qualitative change, and the beautiful Chinese picture of "blue skies, green earth, and clear waters" is becoming a reality. The "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Comprehensively Advancing the Construction of a Beautiful China" [2]2 A Pigouvian tax is a tax levied on any market activity that generates negative externalities (costs not internalized by the producer or consumer, such as pollution), intended to correct the market outcome by aligning private costs with social costs. states: "Looking toward the middle of this century, ecological civilization will be comprehensively elevated, green development models and lifestyles will be fully formed, key areas will achieve deep decarbonization, the ecological environment will be healthy and beautiful, the modernization of the ecological environment governance system and governance capacity will be fully realized, and a Beautiful China will be comprehensively built." This will be the full realization of the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature, making China's contribution to resolving the contradiction between human development and the carrying capacity of the Earth. From fighting the battle against pollution, to comprehensively advancing the construction of a Beautiful China, to the period of the 15th Five-Year Plan [3]3 A classical Chinese idiom expressing the idea that an action's benefits are immediate and will also extend to future generations, often used to describe long-term, far-sighted policies. when green production and lifestyle are basically formed and new major progress is made in the construction of a Beautiful China, and then to the basic achievement of the Beautiful China goal by 2035 and the comprehensive completion of a Beautiful China by the middle of this century, the construction of a Beautiful China does not seek to achieve success in one fell swoop [4]4 "Four beams and eight pillars" (四梁八柱) is a Chinese architectural metaphor referring to the main structural framework of a building. In a political context, it denotes the fundamental and supporting components of a system or policy framework., but rather through sustained effort and long-term perseverance [5]5 20th National Congress of the CPC: The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, held in October 2022, which set the strategic goals for the next stage of national development., advancing in echelons. This both follows the objective laws of ecological environment governance and aligns with the actual national conditions at different stages of the modernization process, ensuring that the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature proceeds in an orderly and sustained manner.

推动人与自然和谐共生的现代化建设行稳致远。美丽中国建设贯穿于全面建设社会主义现代化国家的伟大征程中，是一项长期的系统性工程，具有清晰的时间表、路线图和施工图。党的二十大报告提出，到2035年广泛形成绿色生产生活方式，碳排放达峰后稳中有降，生态环境根本好转，美丽中国目标基本实现。这意味着绿色成为发展的底色，经济增长与资源环境负荷增长实现历史性“脱钩”，生态文明建设从量变走向质变，“天蓝地绿水清”的美丽中国画卷正在成为现实。《中共中央国务院关于全面推进美丽中国建设的意见》提出：“展望本世纪中叶，生态文明全面提升，绿色发展方式和生活方式全面形成，重点领域实现深度脱碳，生态环境健康优美，生态环境治理体系和治理能力现代化全面实现，美丽中国全面建成。”这将是人与自然和谐共生现代化的全面实现，为解决人类发展与地球承载力之间的矛盾作出中国贡献。从打好污染防治攻坚战，到全面推进美丽中国建设，到“十五五”时期绿色生产生活方式基本形成、美丽中国建设取得新的重大进展，再到2035年美丽中国目标基本实现、本世纪中叶美丽中国全面建成，美丽中国建设不追求毕其功于一役，而是通过持续努力、久久为功，做到梯次推进。这既遵循生态环境治理的客观规律，又契合现代化进程不同阶段的现实国情，确保人与自然和谐共生现代化有条不紊、持续推进。

Enable the people to gain tangible and perceptible benefits from harmony between humanity and nature. Comprehensively advancing the construction of a Beautiful China is increasingly turning harmony between humanity and nature into a visible and tangible daily life scene, allowing the fruits of ecological civilization construction to benefit all the people more and more fairly, and presenting all the people with a three-dimensional picture of a Beautiful China featuring ecological beauty, thriving industries, and prosperous people. Today, the people truly see: the sky is bluer, with the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in cities at the prefectural level and above nationwide dropping to 29.3 micrograms per cubic meter in 2024, a decrease of 16.3% compared to 2020, and the proportion of days with good air quality reaching 87.2%; the water is clearer, with the proportion of surface water sections with excellent water quality nationwide reaching 90.4% in 2024, exceeding 90% for the first time, an increase of 28.8 percentage points compared to 2012, and over 3,000 black and odorous water bodies in cities at the prefectural level and above being basically eliminated; the mountains are greener, with barren hills donning green attire and mines transformed into parks, China's forest coverage rate exceeding 25%, making it the country with the largest and fastest growth in global forest resources and the largest area of artificial afforestation, with forest area and stock volume continuing to achieve "dual growth"; species habitats are continuously improving, biodiversity is constantly enriching, the Yangtze finless porpoise appears frequently, Yunnan elephants migrate north and return south, and populations of rare and endangered species such as giant pandas, Tibetan antelopes, and Siberian tigers and Amur leopards are steadily recovering... These visible and tangible changes bring genuine benefits to the broad masses of the people from the construction of a Beautiful China, reflecting the distinctive feature of Chinese-path modernization [6]6 "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Comprehensively Advancing the Construction of a Beautiful China": A major policy document issued in January 2024 outlining the long-term plan for ecological and environmental improvement. in achieving production development, affluent living, and a sound ecological environment through harmony between humanity and nature.

让人民群众从人与自然和谐共生中获得可见可感的实惠。全面推进美丽中国建设，正在使人与自然和谐共生日益变成可见可感的日常生活图景，让生态文明建设成果更多更公平惠及全体人民，向全体人民展现出一幅生态美、产业兴、百姓富的美丽中国立体画卷。今天，人民群众真切看到：天更蓝，2024年全国地级及以上城市细颗粒物（PM2.5）浓度下降至29.3微克/立方米，比2020年下降16.3%，优良天数比例达到87.2%；水更清，2024年全国地表水优良水质断面比例为90.4%，首次超过90%，较2012年提高28.8个百分点，3000多条地级及以上城市黑臭水体基本消除；山更绿，荒山披绿装，矿山变公园，我国森林覆盖率超过25%，成为全球森林资源增长最多最快和人工造林面积最大的国家，森林面积和蓄积量持续“双增长”；物种栖息环境持续改善，生物多样性不断丰富，长江江豚频繁现身，云南大象北上南归，大熊猫、藏羚羊、东北虎豹等珍稀濒危物种种群稳步恢复……这些可见可感的变化，让广大人民群众从美丽中国建设中得到真真切切的实惠，折射出中国式现代化在人与自然和谐共生中实现生产发展、生活富裕、生态良好的鲜明特色。

Provide a practical model for global sustainable development and the joint building of a clean and beautiful world. The construction of a Beautiful China is a concrete action by China to actively participate in global environmental governance, powerfully proving that China is an important participant, contributor, and leader in global ecological civilization construction. We adhere to comprehensively advancing the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature through the construction of a Beautiful China, making outstanding contributions to jointly building a clean and beautiful world. For example, striving to achieve the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and announcing China's new round of Nationally Determined Contribution targets at the United Nations Climate Change Summit; building the world's largest clean power generation system and carbon emissions trading market; contributing approximately 25% of the world's newly added greening area; since the New Era [7]7 15th Five-Year Plan: The 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) is the upcoming national economic and social development plan, following the current 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025)., supporting an average annual economic growth of 6.1% with an average annual energy consumption growth of 3.3%, becoming one of the countries with the fastest reduction in energy intensity in the world; deeply advancing the construction of a green Belt and Road Initiative [8]8 "achieve success in one fell swoop" (毕其功于一役): A Chinese idiom meaning to accomplish a complex task in a single effort, often used to caution against impatience., carrying out a series of cooperation in green infrastructure, green energy, green transportation, green finance, etc., actively helping developing countries improve their green development capacity and environmental governance capacity, and jointly effectively responding to global challenges such as climate change and environmental pollution; and so on. The construction of a Beautiful China has taken major steps, creating world-renowned ecological miracles and green development miracles, becoming a vivid Chinese practice in jointly building a clean and beautiful world. It has not only profoundly changed China but is also an important achievement and a useful reference for global sustainable development.

为全球可持续发展、共建清洁美丽世界提供实践样本。美丽中国建设是我国积极参与全球环境治理的具体行动，有力证明中国是全球生态文明建设的重要参与者、贡献者、引领者。我们坚持以美丽中国建设全面推进人与自然和谐共生的现代化，为共建清洁美丽世界作出突出贡献。比如，努力实现碳达峰、碳中和目标，并在联合国气候变化峰会上宣布中国新一轮国家自主贡献目标；建成全球规模最大的清洁发电体系和碳排放权交易市场；为全球贡献约25%的新增绿化面积；新时代以来，以年均3.3%的能源消费增速，支撑了年均6.1%的经济增长，成为全球能耗强度降低最快的国家之一；深入推进绿色“一带一路”建设，开展绿色基建、绿色能源、绿色交通、绿色金融等一系列合作，积极帮助发展中国家提升绿色发展能力、环境治理能力，共同有效应对气候变化、环境污染等全球性挑战；等等。美丽中国建设迈出重大步伐，创造出举世瞩目的生态奇迹和绿色发展奇迹，成为共建清洁美丽世界的生动中国实践，不仅深刻改变了中国，也是全球可持续发展的重要成果和有益借鉴。

(The author is a research fellow at the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

（作者为中国社会科学院习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心研究员）

Online Editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧