Realizing a Modernization in Which Humanity and Nature Coexist in Harmony

Chinese-path modernization is a modernization in which humanity and nature coexist in harmony, and building a solid ecological security shield is an inherent requirement and important guarantee of Chinese-path modernization. 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, [1]1 The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC was held in July 2024. The "15th Five-Year Plan" refers to the period 2026-2030. based on the strategic height of "accelerating the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development and building a Beautiful China," [2]2 "Beautiful China" is a strategic goal for ecological civilization construction, aiming for a fundamental improvement in the national ecological environment by the mid-21st century. put forward the development requirement of "building a solid ecological security shield and enhancing the momentum of green development." Standing at the critical juncture of the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, [3]3 The "15th Five-Year Plan" period begins in 2026. deeply studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, [4]4 Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization is a component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, guiding China's environmental protection and green development. safeguarding the ecological environment with a bottom-line mindset, and统筹保护和发展 with a systematic approach, [5]5 "统筹" (tongchou) is a key term in Chinese governance discourse, meaning to coordinate, plan, and manage holistically. are of great and far-reaching strategic significance for consolidating the ecological foundation for the long-term stability and security of the country and for taking the path of Chinese-path modernization in which humanity and nature coexist in harmony.

中国式现代化是人与自然和谐共生的现代化，筑牢生态安全屏障是中国式现代化的内在要求与重要保障。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》立足“加快经济社会发展全面绿色转型，建设美丽中国”的战略高度，提出“筑牢生态安全屏障，增强绿色发展动能”的发展要求。站在“十五五”开局起步的关键节点，深入学习贯彻习近平生态文明思想，以底线思维守护生态环境，以系统观念统筹保护和发展，对于夯实国家长治久安的生态根基、走好人与自然和谐共生的中国式现代化道路，具有重大而深远的战略意义。

Consolidating the Ecological Foundation for National Security and the Sustainable Development of the Nation

夯实国家安全与民族永续发展的生态根基

Ecological security is the basic prerequisite for human survival and development and an important guarantee for national stability, social peace, and the well-being of the people. Within the framework of a holistic approach to national security, [6]6 A holistic approach to national security (总体国家安全观) is a framework encompassing political, economic, military, cultural, social, ecological, and other security domains. ecological security has become a strategic, fundamental, and overarching issue concerning the long-term stability and security of the country and the sustainable development of the nation, and it is a "great matter of the state" [7]7 "国之大者" (guo zhi da zhe) is a Party term referring to matters of fundamental importance to the state and the Party's work. that must be firmly safeguarded.

生态安全是人类生存发展的基本前提，是国家稳定、社会安宁、人民幸福的重要保障。在总体国家安全观框架下，生态安全已成为事关国家长治久安、民族永续发展的战略性、基础性、全局性问题，是必须牢牢守住的“国之大者”。

Ecological security is an important component of a holistic approach to national security, concerning the sustainable development of the nation and the long-term stability and security of the country. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out: "We must implement a holistic approach to national security, actively and effectively respond to various risks and challenges, and ensure that the natural environment and conditions on which we rely for survival and development are not threatened or damaged." [8]8 This is a quotation from Xi Jinping, likely from a speech on national security or ecological civilization. Currently, China's development is in a period where strategic opportunities and risk challenges coexist, and uncertainties and unpredictable factors are increasing. Traditional and non-traditional security issues are intertwined, and risks and hidden dangers in the ecological and environmental field exhibit characteristics of complexity, correlation, and transmission. Problems such as tightening resource constraints, increasing biosafety risks, and intensifying impacts of climate change may all impose rigid constraints on economic and social development. Maintaining ecological security is essentially about safeguarding the spatial, material, and environmental foundations for national development and protecting the homeland on which the people depend for survival. Only by ensuring ecological and environmental security, ecosystem stability, and the sustainable use of resources can national security have solid support and modernization have sustained momentum.

生态安全是总体国家安全观的重要组成部分，关乎民族永续发展、国家长治久安。习近平总书记深刻指出：“要贯彻总体国家安全观，积极有效应对各种风险挑战，保障我们赖以生存发展的自然环境和条件不受威胁和破坏。”当前，我国发展处于战略机遇和风险挑战并存、不确定难预料因素增多的时期，传统安全和非传统安全相互交织，生态环境领域的风险隐患呈现出复杂性、关联性、传导性特征。资源约束趋紧、生物安全风险增多、气候变化影响加剧等问题，都可能对经济社会发展形成刚性制约。维护生态安全，本质上就是维护国家发展的空间基础、物质基础与环境基础，就是守护人民群众赖以生存的家园。只有确保生态环境安全、生态系统稳定、资源永续利用，国家安全才有坚实支撑，现代化建设才有持续动力。

Holding the safety bottom line for building a Beautiful China is an inherent requirement and important prerequisite for advancing Chinese-path modernization. The Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Comprehensively Promoting the Construction of a Beautiful China [9]9 This document was issued in January 2024, outlining the goals and tasks for building a Beautiful China by 2035 and 2050. dedicates a special chapter to "holding the safety bottom line for building a Beautiful China" and makes systematic arrangements in five aspects: improving the national ecological security system, ensuring nuclear and radiation safety, strengthening biosafety management, effectively responding to the adverse impacts and risks of climate change, and strictly preventing and controlling environmental risks. This profoundly reflects the Party Central Committee's scientific grasp of the laws of ecological security. Facing the complex and severe ecological and environmental situation, it is necessary to strengthen bottom-line thinking, enhance awareness of potential dangers, always place ecological security within the overall framework of national security for coordinated planning and integrated advancement, and use ecological security to safeguard territorial security, resource security, food security, economic security, and social security. This will make the good ecological environment a solid cornerstone for the long-term stability and security of the country and an inexhaustible driving force for the sustainable development of the nation. Only in this way can we provide a solid ecological security guarantee for national development and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, [10]10 The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation (中华民族伟大复兴) is the overarching goal of the CPC's work, often associated with the "Chinese Dream." ensuring that modernization advances steadily and sustainably within the carrying capacity of resources and the environment.

守牢美丽中国建设安全底线是推进中国式现代化的内在要求与重要前提。《中共中央 国务院关于全面推进美丽中国建设的意见》专章部署“守牢美丽中国建设安全底线”，并从健全国家生态安全体系、确保核与辐射安全、加强生物安全管理、有效应对气候变化不利影响和风险、严密防控环境风险五个方面作出系统安排，深刻体现了党中央对生态安全规律的科学把握。面对复杂严峻的生态环境形势，必须强化底线思维，增强忧患意识，始终把生态安全放在国家安全的全局中统筹谋划、一体推进，以生态安全保障国土安全、资源安全、粮食安全、经济安全和社会安全，让良好的生态环境成为国家长治久安的稳固基石，成为民族永续发展的不竭动力。唯有如此，方能为国家发展和民族复兴提供坚实的生态安全保障，确保现代化建设在资源环境可承载的轨道上行稳致远。

Adhering to the Concept of Harmony between Humanity and Nature

恪守人与自然和谐共生理念

Building a solid national ecological security shield requires solving problems of concept, direction, and value. The historic, transformative, and comprehensive changes in ecological civilization construction in the New Era [11]11 The New Era (新时代) refers to the period beginning with the 19th National Congress of the CPC in 2017, marked by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. are fundamentally due to the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization. To advance the modernization in which humanity and nature coexist in harmony, it is necessary to firmly grasp the concept of harmony between humanity and nature, adhere to the correct direction, and ensure that the construction of the ecological security shield always proceeds along a scientific track.

筑牢国家生态安全屏障，要解决好理念问题、方向问题、价值问题。新时代生态文明建设取得历史性、转折性、全局性变化，根本在于习近平生态文明思想的科学指导。推进人与自然和谐共生的现代化，必须牢牢把握人与自然和谐共生理念，坚持正确方向，确保生态安全屏障建设始终沿着科学轨道前进。

Continuously practice the "Two Mountains" concept, [12]12 The "Two Mountains" concept refers to the idea that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" (绿水青山就是金山银山). and adhere to ecological priority and protection priority. "Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" [13]13 This is a famous saying by Xi Jinping, first articulated in Zhejiang in 2005, emphasizing the value of ecological protection for economic development. profoundly reveals the dialectical and unified relationship between ecological environmental protection and economic and social development, pointing out a new path to achieve synergy between development and protection. Adhering to ecological priority means always placing ecological protection first in development decisions, spatial layout, industrial selection, and project construction; adhering to protection priority means resolutely abandoning growth models that damage or even destroy the ecological environment, and resolutely holding the baseline for ecological function guarantee, the bottom line for environmental quality safety, and the upper limit for natural resource utilization. Only by unswervingly taking the path of ecological priority and green development can we truly achieve a positive interaction between high-quality development and high-level protection, providing lasting momentum for the construction of the ecological security shield.

持续践行“两山”理念，坚持生态优先、保护优先。“绿水青山就是金山银山”深刻揭示了生态环境保护与经济社会发展辩证统一的关系，指明了实现发展和保护协同共生的新路径。坚持生态优先，就是在发展决策、空间布局、产业选择、项目建设上，始终把生态保护放在首位；坚持保护优先，就是坚决摒弃损害甚至破坏生态环境的增长模式，坚决守住生态功能保障基线、环境质量安全底线、自然资源利用上线。只有坚定不移地走生态优先、绿色发展之路，才能真正实现高质量发展和高水平保护良性互动，为生态安全屏障建设提供持久动力。

Adhere to a systematic approach, and统筹 the integrated protection and systematic governance of mountains, waters, forests, farmlands, grasslands, and deserts. [14]14 This phrase (山水林田湖草沙) is a standard formulation in Chinese ecological policy, expanded from an earlier version to include deserts (沙). General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that ecology is a unified natural system, an interdependent and closely linked organic chain. [15]15 This is a quotation from Xi Jinping, emphasizing the interconnectedness of natural elements. This important exposition provides a scientific methodology for ecological and environmental governance. To advance ecological protection and ecological security shield construction in the New Era, it is necessary to abandon fragmented governance models, proceed from the integrity of the ecosystem and the systematic nature of river basins,统筹 the upper and lower parts of mountains, above and below ground, land and oceans, and upstream and downstream of river basins,统筹 various ecological spaces such as forests, grasslands, wetlands, deserts, and oceans, and promote integrated protection, integrated restoration, and integrated governance. Through systematic governance, enhance the ecosystem's circulation capacity, self-repair capacity, and risk resistance capacity, and continuously improve the quality and stability of the ecosystem.

坚持系统观念，统筹山水林田湖草沙一体化保护和系统治理。习近平总书记指出，生态是统一的自然系统，是相互依存、紧密联系的有机链条。这一重要论述为生态环境治理提供了科学方法论。新时代推进生态保护和生态安全屏障建设，必须摒弃碎片化治理模式，坚持从生态系统整体性和流域系统性出发，统筹山上山下、地上地下、陆地海洋、流域上下游，统筹森林、草原、湿地、荒漠、海洋等各类生态空间，推进一体化保护、一体化修复、一体化治理。通过系统性治理，增强生态系统循环能力、自我修复能力和抗风险能力，不断提升生态系统的质量和稳定性。

Plan development based on the carrying capacity of resources and the environment, and correctly handle major relationships such as that between high-quality development and high-level protection. The carrying capacity of resources and the environment is the objective upper limit of the natural ecosystem and a rigid constraint on human activities. To advance modernization, it is necessary to adhere to the premise of the carrying capacity of resources and the environment, reasonably determine the scale, structure, layout, and speed of development, and achieve a balance between population, economy, resources, and the environment. At the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection, [16]16 This conference was held in July 2023, where Xi Jinping delivered a major speech on ecological civilization. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly elucidated several major relationships that need to be properly handled in the new journey to continue advancing ecological civilization construction. Among them, the relationship between high-quality development and high-level protection occupies the first place, reflecting the dialectical wisdom and systematic governance logic of planning development based on the carrying capacity of resources and the environment, and unifying adherence to the ecological bottom line with achieving quality and efficiency improvement. At the same time, it is necessary to adhere to the unity of key breakthroughs and coordinated governance, and the unity of natural restoration and artificial restoration, guide ecological security practice with scientific methodology, achieve precise policy implementation, targeted efforts, and coordinated efforts, and continuously improve the systematic, holistic, and synergistic nature of ecological security governance.

立足资源环境承载力谋划发展，正确处理高质量发展和高水平保护等重大关系。资源环境承载力是自然生态系统的客观上限，也是人类活动的刚性约束。推进现代化建设，必须坚持以资源环境承载力为前提，合理确定发展规模、结构、布局和速度，实现人口、经济、资源、环境相均衡。习近平总书记在全国生态环境保护大会上深刻阐明了新征程继续推进生态文明建设需要处理好几个重大关系，其中高质量发展和高水平保护的关系居于首位，体现了立足资源环境承载力谋划发展、坚守生态底线与实现提质增效相统一的辩证智慧和系统治理逻辑。同时，要坚持重点攻坚和协同治理相统一、自然恢复和人工修复相统一，以科学的方法论指导生态安全实践，做到精准施策、靶向发力、协同发力，不断提升生态安全治理的系统性、整体性、协同性。

Taking the Practical Path of All-Region Coordination and Systematic Prevention and Control

走好全域协同、系统防控的实践路径

Building a solid national ecological security shield is a long-term and arduous systematic project. It is necessary to adhere to the unity of goal orientation, problem orientation, and result orientation, take spatial pattern as the foundation, risk prevention and control as the key, governance system as the guarantee, and global cooperation as the expansion, and build an ecological security guarantee system that is all-region coverage, linked from top to bottom, systematically complete, and coordinated and efficient. This will transform the ecological security shield from a strategic deployment into concrete actions and tangible results.

筑牢国家生态安全屏障是一项长期艰巨的系统工程，必须坚持目标导向、问题导向、结果导向相统一，以空间格局为基础、以风险防控为关键、以治理体系为保障、以全球合作为拓展，构建全域覆盖、上下联动、系统完备、协同高效的生态安全保障体系，把生态安全屏障从战略部署转化为扎实行动和实际成效。

In terms of spatial layout, we must construct an ecological security pattern of “three zones and four belts” and strictly observe the red line for ecological protection. Based on China’s ecological and geographical pattern and ecological security needs, we must accelerate the construction of an ecological security pattern of “three zones and four belts” with the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau ecological barrier zone, the Yellow River key ecological zone, the Yangtze River key ecological zone, and the northeast forest belt, the northern sand prevention belt, the southern hilly and mountainous belt, and the coastal belt as the main body. This highlights the systematic protection of important ecological function zones, major rivers, important wetlands, and biodiversity priority areas, ensuring that ecological space is not compressed, ecological functions are not reduced, and ecological capacity is not diminished, thereby forming a stable, reliable, and territory-wide ecological security framework. In terms of risk prevention and control, we must improve the ecological security system and strictly prevent and control environmental risks, biosecurity risks, and climate security risks. We must fully implement the major deployments of the Party Central Committee on safeguarding ecological security, focusing on four key tasks: improving the ecological security system, strictly preventing and controlling environmental risks, strengthening biosecurity management, and enhancing the capacity to adapt to climate change. Through whole-process, whole-chain risk prevention and control, we must resolutely hold the bottom line of not having major ecological and environmental incidents. In terms of governance and guarantee, we must improve the legal, policy, monitoring, and emergency response systems, and raise the level of modernization of ecological security governance. We must adhere to using the strictest systems and the most rigorous rule of law to protect the ecological environment, improve policy tools such as ecological protection compensation and ecological environmental damage compensation, accelerate the establishment of a modernized ecological environment monitoring system, establish and improve the emergency response system and emergency material reserve system, and promote the modernization of the ecological environment governance system and governance capacity. We must promote the building of a community of all life on Earth and actively participate in global ecological governance. China has always been guided by the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind. While consolidating China’s ecological security barrier, it actively participates in global ecological and environmental governance, actively carries out international cooperation on ecological and environmental protection, and continuously promotes the development of global ecological governance in a more equitable, reasonable, and win-win direction.

在空间布局上，构建“三区四带”生态安全格局，严守生态保护红线。要立足我国生态地理格局和生态安全需求，加快构建以青藏高原生态屏障区、黄河重点生态区、长江重点生态区和东北森林带、北方防沙带、南方丘陵山地带、海岸带为主体的“三区四带”生态安全格局，突出对重要生态功能区、大江大河、重要湿地、生物多样性优先区域的系统性保护，确保生态空间不压缩、生态功能不降低、生态容量不减少，形成稳固可靠、覆盖全域的生态安全骨架。在风险防控上，健全生态安全体系，严密防控环境风险、生物安全、气候安全风险。要全面贯彻落实党中央关于维护生态安全的重大部署，着力抓好完善生态安全体系、严密防控环境风险、加强生物安全管理、提升适应气候变化能力四项关键任务，通过全过程、全链条风险防控，坚决守住不发生重大生态环境事件的底线。在治理保障上，完善法治、政策、监测、应急体系，提升生态安全治理现代化水平。要坚持用最严格制度、最严密法治保护生态环境，健全生态保护补偿、生态环境损害赔偿等政策工具，加快建立现代化生态环境监测体系，建立健全应急响应体系和应急物资储备体系，推动生态环境治理体系和治理能力现代化发展。推动构建地球生命共同体，积极参与全球生态治理。中国始终以构建人类命运共同体理念为引领，在筑牢我国生态安全屏障的同时，积极参与全球生态环境治理，积极开展生态环保国际合作，持续推动全球生态治理朝着更加公平合理、合作共赢的方向发展。

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, “We must stand at the height of safeguarding national ecological security, the sustainable development of the Chinese nation, and being responsible for human civilization, strengthen ecological protection and restoration, and leave a green and clean ecological space for future generations.” Standing at a new historical starting point, we must thoroughly implement Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, adhere to the modernization in which humanity and nature coexist in harmony, and consolidate the ecological security barrier with a higher stance, a broader vision, and greater efforts, laying a solid ecological foundation for the sustainable development of the Chinese nation, and contributing Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to jointly building a clean and beautiful world.

习近平总书记强调，“要站在维护国家生态安全、中华民族永续发展和对人类文明负责的高度，加强生态保护和修复，为子孙后代留下山清水秀的生态空间”。站在新的历史起点上，必须深入贯彻习近平生态文明思想，坚持人与自然和谐共生的现代化，以更高站位、更宽视野、更大力度筑牢生态安全屏障，为中华民族永续发展奠定坚实生态根基，为共建清洁美丽世界贡献中国智慧和中国方案。

(The author is a researcher at the Shaanxi Basic Education Quality Monitoring and Evaluation Research Center, Shaanxi Normal University)

（作者系陕西师范大学陕西基础教育质量监测与评估研究中心研究员）