Accelerate the Establishment and Improvement of an Ecological Economic System

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the "Two Mountains" concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets." [1]1 The "Two Mountains" concept (两山理念) refers to Xi Jinping's formulation that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" (绿水青山就是金山银山), a core principle of China's ecological civilization. The recently published and released *Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Ecological Civilization*, Volume I, systematically reflects the rich connotations, scientific system, and original contributions of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, with the "Two Mountains" concept being an important component. "Lucid waters and lush mountains" refers to ecological and environmental advantages, while "invaluable assets" refers to ecological and economic advantages. Coordinating the relationship between economic development and ecological environmental protection through developing an ecological economy, achieving the unity of high-quality development and high-level protection, is an important topic in the construction of an ecological civilization in the New Era. In *Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Ecological Civilization*, Volume I, *Promoting China's Ecological Civilization to a New Level* proposes that to "accelerate the resolution of ecological and environmental problems at the historical intersection," it is necessary to accelerate the establishment and improvement of "an ecological economic system with industrial ecologicalization and ecological industrialization as its main body"; [2]2 "Industrial ecologicalization" (产业生态化) means making existing industries greener; "ecological industrialization" (生态产业化) means developing new industries based on ecological resources. *Comprehensively Advancing the Modernization of Harmony between Humanity and Nature through the Construction of a Beautiful China* proposes: "Promote ecological industrialization and industrial ecologicalization, cultivate a large number of ecological products to enter the market, and continuously transform ecological advantages into development advantages." Further establishing and improving the ecological economic system is an important task for better promoting the construction of an ecological civilization in the current and future period.

今年是“绿水青山就是金山银山”的“两山”理念提出20年。近期出版发行的《习近平生态文明文选》第一卷，系统反映了习近平生态文明思想的丰富内涵、科学体系和原创性贡献，“两山”理念是其中一个重要内容。“绿水青山”指生态环境优势，“金山银山”指生态经济优势。通过发展生态经济来协调经济发展和生态环境保护的关系，实现高质量发展和高水平保护的统一，是新时代生态文明建设的重要课题。在《习近平生态文明文选》第一卷中，《推动我国生态文明建设迈上新台阶》提出，“加快解决历史交汇期的生态环境问题”，必须加快建立健全“以产业生态化和生态产业化为主体的生态经济体系”；《以美丽中国建设全面推进人与自然和谐共生的现代化》提出：“推进生态产业化和产业生态化，培育大量生态产品走向市场，让生态优势源源不断转化为发展优势。”进一步建立健全生态经济体系，是当前和今后一个时期更好推动生态文明建设的一项重要任务。

Grasping the Rich Connotations of the "Two Mountains" Concept

把握“两山”理念丰富内涵

The "Two Mountains" concept scientifically resolves the contradiction between economic and social development and ecological environmental protection commonly encountered by humanity in the process of achieving modernization. It profoundly reveals the principle that protecting the ecological environment is protecting productive forces, and improving the ecological environment is developing productive forces, laying a scientific foundation for establishing and improving an ecological economic system with industrial ecologicalization and ecological industrialization as its main body.

“两山”理念科学破解了人类在实现现代化过程中普遍遇到的经济社会发展和生态环境保护之间的矛盾，深刻揭示保护生态环境就是保护生产力、改善生态环境就是发展生产力的道理，为建立健全以产业生态化和生态产业化为主体的生态经济体系奠定了科学基础。

A sound ecological environment possesses both natural value and ecological value, as well as social value and economic value. Regarding its economic value, nature plays a fundamental role in the formation of commodity value and the appreciation of economic capital. In the past, people had insufficient understanding of this, and phenomena of "holding a golden rice bowl" yet "waiting for food" or even "begging for food" occurred from time to time. In response, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasizes, "Protecting the ecological environment is protecting natural value and increasing natural capital." A sound ecological environment is the common wealth of the people, the fairest public product, and the most inclusive public welfare. The theory and practice of better meeting the people's growing needs for a beautiful ecological environment through realizing natural value and increasing natural capital can powerfully promote the establishment and improvement of China's ecological economic system.

良好的生态环境既有自然价值和生态价值，又有社会价值和经济价值。就其经济价值而言，自然在商品价值形成和经济资本增值中具有基础性作用。过去人们对之认识不足，不时出现捧着“金饭碗”却“等饭吃”甚至“要饭吃”的现象。对此，习近平总书记强调，“保护生态环境就是保护自然价值和增值自然资本”。良好生态环境是人民群众的共有财富，是最公平的公共产品，是最普惠的民生福祉。通过实现自然价值和增值自然资本更好满足人民日益增长的优美生态环境需要的理论与实践，能够有力推动我国生态经济体系的建立和完善。

The development of productive forces cannot be separated from nature; new quality productive forces are themselves green productive forces. From the perspective of conditions, the natural world is an important environment and material condition for the development of productive forces. From the perspective of composition, not only the two elements of productive forces—objects of labor and means of labor—originally come from nature, but also the main element of productive forces, the laborer, is initially a natural being. From the perspective of process, productive forces are the ability of humanity to utilize and transform nature, a process in which people mobilize their own natural forces to act on external natural objects, and a process of realizing material exchange between humanity and nature. From the perspective of results, labor products are the result of transforming natural materials into economic materials and natural products into economic products. With the vigorous development of the new round of scientific and technological revolution, greening has become a distinctive trait and development direction of new quality productive forces, and new pathways for achieving the synergistic coexistence of development and protection are increasingly clear.

生产力的发展不能离开自然，新质生产力本身就是绿色生产力。从条件看，自然界是生产力发展的重要环境和物质条件。从构成看，不仅劳动对象、劳动资料这两个生产力要素最初都来自于自然界，而且劳动者这个生产力的主体要素最初也是一种自然存在物。从过程看，生产力是人类利用自然、改造自然的能力，是人调动自身的自然力作用于外部自然物的过程，是实现人与自然之间物质变换的过程。从结果看，劳动产品是将自然物质转化为经济物质、将自然产品转化为经济产品的结果。随着新一轮科技革命蓬勃发展，绿色化已成为新质生产力的鲜明特质和发展方向，实现发展和保护协同共生的新路径日益明晰。

"Lucid waters and lush mountains" have multiple values, and the transformation of natural value can generate multiple benefits. Protecting the ecological environment is protecting the potential and stamina of economic and social development; it is enabling lucid waters and lush mountains to continuously exert ecological, economic, and social benefits. Since all economic activities are conducted within the natural environment, ecological benefits must be taken as the foundation of all benefits, and an ecological economic system with industrial ecologicalization and ecological industrialization as its main body must be established and improved. This requires generating the maximum and optimal economic output on the basis of minimizing the ecological and environmental load, promoting the unity of ecological beauty, economic prosperity, people's wealth, and national strength.

“绿水青山”具有多重价值，自然价值的转化可以产生多重效益。保护生态环境就是保护经济社会发展潜力和后劲，就是使绿水青山持续发挥生态效益、经济效益、社会效益。由于所有经济活动都是在自然环境中进行的，所以必须将生态效益作为一切效益的基础，建立健全以产业生态化和生态产业化为主体的生态经济体系。这就要求在尽量减少生态环境负荷的基础上产生最大最优的经济产出，推动实现生态美、经济旺、百姓富、国家强的统一。

Transforming Ecological Advantages into Development Advantages

将生态优势转化为发展优势

The "Two Mountains" concept constructs a new ecological economic system, in which realizing the two-way interaction between industrial ecologicalization and ecological industrialization is an important component. It is necessary to promote the transformation of ecological advantages into development advantages in practice.

“两山”理念构建了一套新的生态经济体系，实现产业生态化和生态产业化的双向互动是其中一个重要内容，必须在实践中推动生态优势转化为发展优势。

Industrial ecologicalization means reducing the ecological and environmental load of industrial development, transforming and optimizing the industrial structure in accordance with the requirements of the "Two Mountains" concept, increasing the proportion of green, low-carbon, and circular industries, and achieving industrial green transformation in promoting the harmony and unity of industry and nature. As *Several Major Relationships That Need to Be Handled Well in Promoting the Construction of an Ecological Civilization* proposes, "It is necessary to optimize and adjust the industrial structure, vigorously develop green and low-carbon industries, and base development on the foundation of efficient resource utilization, strict ecological environmental protection, and effective control of greenhouse gas emissions." Ecological industrialization means transforming resources into assets and capital, increasing the proportion of ecological industries in the industrial structure, and fully leveraging the comprehensive benefits of a sound ecological environment. The key is to produce and supply more high-quality ecological products, that is, products used to meet the people's needs for a beautiful ecological environment such as blue skies, clean soil, and clear water.

产业生态化，就是要降低产业发展的生态环境负荷，按照“两山”理念的要求改造和优化产业结构，提升绿色低碳循环产业的比重，在促进产业和自然的和谐统一中实现产业绿色转型。正如《推进生态文明建设需要处理好几个重大关系》提出的，“要优化调整产业结构，大力发展绿色低碳产业，使发展建立在高效利用资源、严格保护生态环境、有效控制温室气体排放的基础上”。生态产业化，就是要将资源转化为资产和资本，提升生态产业在产业结构中的比重，充分发挥良好生态环境的综合效益，关键是生产和提供更多优质的生态产品，即用来满足人民对蓝天、净土、碧水等优美生态环境需要的产品。

To transform ecological advantages into development advantages, the focus must be on the word "transformation." Vigorously developing ecological agriculture, ecological industry, and ecological service industries is the foundation and intermediary for realizing the transformation of the "Two Mountains," which can unify industrial ecologicalization and ecological industrialization, and further improve the ecological economic system with industrial ecologicalization and ecological industrialization as its main body.

将生态优势转化为发展优势，重点需在“转化”二字上做文章。大力发展生态农业、生态工业、生态服务业是实现“两山”转化的基础和中介，能够将产业生态化和生态产业化统一起来，进一步健全以产业生态化和生态产业化为主体的生态经济体系。

On the basis of maintaining the sustainability of agricultural production, it is necessary to draw on the experience of organic agriculture such as the "mulberry fish pond" model, [3]3 The "mulberry fish pond" (桑基鱼塘) is a traditional Chinese agricultural model integrating mulberry cultivation, silkworm rearing, fish farming, and pond mud recycling, often cited as an example of ecological circular agriculture. persist in using modern science and technology, especially digital technology and green technology, to enhance the technological level and economic benefits of ecological agriculture, follow the principles of simultaneously increasing yield and efficiency, matching improved varieties with improved methods, combining agricultural machinery with agronomic techniques, and coordinating production with ecology, adhere to the unity of intensive management and ecological production, form an industrial system that coordinates grain, cotton, oil, and feed crops and simultaneously develops agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fisheries, and ensure that the Chinese people's rice bowl is firmly held in their own hands.

在维持农业生产可持续的基础上，应借鉴“桑基鱼塘”等有机农业经验，坚持用现代科技尤其是数字技术和绿色技术提升生态农业的科技水平和经济效益，按照增产增效并重、良种良法配套、农机农艺结合、生产生态协调的原则，坚持集约化经营与生态化生产的统一，形成粮经饲统筹、农林牧渔多业并举的产业体系，确保中国人的饭碗牢牢端在自己手中。

In persisting in taking the path of new-type industrialization, it is necessary to learn from the lesson of Western industrialization's "pollute first, treat later," unify industrialization, informatization, and greening, promote the deep integration of digitalization, intelligence, and greening, advance the construction of ecological industry and ecological industrial parks in accordance with the full life cycle concept, and scientifically lay out industrial development.

在坚持走新型工业化道路方面，必须吸取西方工业化“先污染后治理”的教训，将工业化、信息化、绿色化统一起来，促进数字化智能化绿色化深度融合，按照全生命周期理念推进生态工业和生态工业园区建设，科学布局产业发展。

Ecological service industries are the development direction of the service industry. It is necessary to both promote the greening of consumer services, vigorously developing industries such as ecological tourism, for example, promoting the development of the entire industry chain of ice and snow sports, ice and snow culture, ice and snow equipment, and ice and snow tourism, so that ice and snow become invaluable assets; and promote the greening of producer services, vigorously developing industries such as green technology research and development, for example, by providing green technology services to strengthen ecological restoration and ecological protection, which can promote industrial heritage and the like to become new cultural tourism resources, enabling the restoration of lucid waters and lush mountains to also yield invaluable assets.

生态服务业是服务业的发展方向。既要促进生活性服务业的绿色化，大力发展生态旅游等产业，如推动冰雪运动、冰雪文化、冰雪装备、冰雪旅游全产业链发展，促进冰天雪地成为金山银山；又要促进生产性服务业的绿色化，大力发展绿色科技研发等产业，如通过提供绿色科技服务加强生态修复和生态保护，能够促进工业遗产等成为新的文化旅游资源，使恢复绿水青山也能够获得金山银山。

Strengthening the Guiding Role of Economic Policies

强化经济政策牵引作用

An important measure for accelerating the establishment and improvement of the ecological economic system is to provide policy support and guarantees through further comprehensively deepening reform. As *New Quality Productive Forces Are Themselves Green Productive Forces* proposes: "Continuously optimize the economic policy toolbox supporting green and low-carbon development, leverage the guiding role of green finance, and build efficient, ecological, and green industrial clusters."

加快建立健全生态经济体系，一个重要举措就是通过进一步全面深化改革提供政策支撑和保障。正如《新质生产力本身就是绿色生产力》提出的：“持续优化支持绿色低碳发展的经济政策工具箱，发挥绿色金融的牵引作用，打造高效生态绿色产业集群。”

Specifically, in terms of planning and policy, it is necessary to fully leverage the unique advantage of guiding economic and social development through the formulation and implementation of national development plans, incorporating the key points of developing ecological green industry clusters into the layout of the 15th Five-Year Plan [4]4 The 15th Five-Year Plan refers to China’s national economic and social development plan for 2026–2030, succeeding the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025)., and scientifically guiding the production, circulation, distribution, and consumption of green products and ecological products. In terms of evaluation policy, fully utilize the baton role of evaluation policy, introduce green GDP into the evaluation system, and consolidate responsibility for ecological civilization construction. In terms of fiscal policy, fully leverage the guarantee role of national finance, and strengthen investment in ecological green industry clusters that are public and strategic in nature. In terms of tax policy, fully leverage the guiding role of taxation, further implement tax preferential policies for energy and water conservation and environmental protection, comprehensive resource utilization, energy performance contracting, and third-party governance of environmental pollution, and properly carry out related fee-to-tax reforms. In terms of financial policy, fully leverage the supporting role of green finance, improve the environmental rights trading market and carbon emissions trading market, and promote innovation in green technology and green industries. In terms of pricing policy, it is necessary to accelerate the reform of natural resource and product prices, improve the system of paid use of resources, incorporate ecological and environmental costs into economic operating costs, fully reflect the value of natural resource products, and promote the green and low-carbon transformation of industries.

具体来看，在规划政策上，需充分发挥以编制和实施国家发展规划引领经济社会发展的独特优势，将发展生态绿色产业集群的重点列入到“十五五”规划的谋篇布局中，科学引导绿色产品和生态产品的生产、流通、分配、消费。在评价政策上，充分发挥评价政策的指挥棒作用，将绿色GDP引入到评价体系中，压实生态文明建设责任。在财政政策上，充分发挥国家财政的保障作用，加强对具有公共性和战略性的生态绿色产业集群的投入。在税收政策上，应充分发挥税收的导向作用，进一步落实节能节水环保、资源综合利用以及合同能源管理、环境污染第三方治理等方面的税收优惠政策，做好相关的费改税工作。在金融政策上，应充分发挥绿色金融的扶持作用，健全环境权益交易市场、碳排放权交易市场，推动绿色技术和绿色产业的创新。在价格政策上，需加快自然资源及其产品价格改革，完善资源有偿使用制度，将生态环境成本纳入经济运行成本，充分体现自然资源产品的价值，推动产业绿色低碳转型。

Entering the New Era, guided by the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, China’s land has seen bluer skies, greener mountains, cleaner waters, and a more beautiful environment, with the people’s sense of ecological gain and happiness continuously improving. Looking to the future, we must continue to be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, achieve the unity of high-quality development and high-level protection, continuously improve the ecological economic system, and turn the process of strengthening ecological protection and restoration into a process of creating new value and spawning new industries. In practice, we must adhere to the systems concept, organically unify an effective government and an efficient market, the external constraints of ecological rule of law and the internal driving forces of ecological culture, and green institutional innovation and green technological innovation, injecting a continuous stream of momentum and vitality into the construction of the ecological economic system.

进入新时代，在绿水青山就是金山银山理念引领下，中华大地天更蓝、山更绿、水更清、环境更优美，人民群众生态获得感和幸福感持续提升。面向未来，我们要继续以习近平生态文明思想为指引，实现高质量发展和高水平保护的统一，不断完善生态经济体系，使加强生态保护和修复的过程成为创造新价值、催生新产业的过程。在实践中，必须坚持系统观念，将有为政府和有效市场、生态法治的外在约束和生态文化的内生动力、绿色体制创新和绿色科技创新有机统一起来，为生态经济体系建设注入源源不断的动力活力。

(The author is a researcher at the National Academy of Development and Strategy and a professor at the School of Marxism Studies, Renmin University of China)

（作者系中国人民大学国家发展与战略研究院研究员、马克思主义学院教授）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心