The “beautiful China” is a model of green growth and collective well-being.
Saihanba forest farm in Chengde (Hebei), August 27, 2021
The “beautiful China” is not just a fashionable term or a catchy slogan intended to praise the charm of China. In 2015, the fifth plenary session of the 18th central committee of the Chinese Communist Party launched the concept of innovative development, coordinated, green, open and shared. These five aspects were detailed in the 13th five -year plan. In my opinion, the construction of a beautiful China is a concept guided by the idea of green development, centered on the people, focused on concrete results, and supported by solid policies and institutional framework. This initiative embodies a series of theoretical and practical results obtained by China to improve the well-being of the people, protect the ecological environment and promote sustainable development. In addition, it also represents an important initiative of China to act actively in global sustainable development.
Green development
Green development is the striking feature of beautiful China, and promoting low carbon development is the key route to build a beautiful China.
The Green Development Initiative of China is guided by thought on the ecological civilization of Chinese President Xi Jinping, a philosophical and scientific framework founded on more than 40 years of work on different administrative levels. For example, when he worked in the Fujian, he directed the integrated development of Lake Yundang, highlighting governance based on law, respect for nature and scientific management. These principles, focused on the primacy of the people, collective collaboration and shared profits, have inspired the current protection and restoration practices of the sea ecosystem in China. When he worked in the Zhejiang, he proposed the theory “Nature is worth his weight of gold”, stressing the close link between environmental protection and economic development.
Thought on the ecological civilization of the Chinese president is deeply rooted in the ecological wisdom of the Chinese concept “harmony between man and nature”, while integrating global practices of sustainable development. The “double carbon” objective launched by China, which consists in reaching the peak of carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, is a concrete practice of this thought. With the gradual implementation of these plans, the world should witness the miracle of the green and low carbon transition from China. We can expect that after 2030, China considerably reduces its carbon emissions, adopts more ecological modes of production and achieves reinforced ecological security. These ambitious objectives will help China achieve its vision of building a beautiful China by the middle of the century.
TUNGAMIIRA Eric MUPONA participates in a forum on green development in the Anji District (Zhejiang), in November 2023.
Green production
As the leading world manufacturer in global manufacturer, China faces a major challenge: how to increase industrial production while ensuring environmental sustainability?
According to the National Statistics Bureau, China has solidly occupies, since 2010, the world’s leading place in manufacturing industry. In 2012, the industrial added value of China exceeded 20,000 billion yuan, and increased an average of 5.7 % each year between 2013 and 2023. In 2022, the share of China in global manufacturing production Climbed to 30.2 %, compared to 22.5 % in 2012.
Given the central role of China in global industrial economic growth and the continuation of its industrialization process, the whole world observes how China integrates the concept of green development in its manufacturing technologies and industrialization strategies. To find a balance between improving productivity and environmental protection, China has started to accelerate the construction of a green production model and optimize its industrial structure. For industries with high energy consumption and high emissions, such as the production of coal, steel and cement as well as the refining of oil, China has set up strict monitoring and controls, and launched a series Incentive measures to accelerate the green and low carbon industrial transition.
Since 2017, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technologies has organized the selection of green plants at the national level, an initiative that rewards companies that are distinguished in the field of green development. In October 2024, 5,095 factories had already received the title of national green factory, representing more than 18 % of the total value of Chinese manufacturing production. According to forecasts, by 2030, this share should exceed 40 %.
Rural revitalization
The construction of ecological civilization progresses regularly in China, aimed at that everyone can benefit from ecological advantages. In a world increasingly attentive to sustainable development, green initiatives of China, in particular its successes in terms of green transition in rural areas, constitute a source of precious inspiration for other countries, especially countries in development.
The construction of beautiful villages is a key component of the vision of a beautiful China. In 2023, during my field study in the rural areas of Zhejiang, I visited the Anji district, a place of birth of the concept “Nature is worth its weight of gold” and cradle of the construction of beautiful villages in China.
I also visited mountainous regions and relatively less developed districts, such as Jinyun, one of the 26 mountainous districts of Zhejiang. In Jinyun, I was attracted by the beauty of the village of Lianfeng and its well -developed infrastructure. So I asked a village setting how he had succeeded. He explained to me that he had done two things. The first was to make the village clean and the second, to make it beautiful. Before the renovation, the village was messy and dirty, the houses were dilapidated and the community had a debt of more than a million yuan. Thanks to a series of environmental reforms, the village had transformed itself, becoming a popular tourist destination. In addition, he attracted companies that established co-prosperity workshops there, thus solving the employment problems of villagers and stimulating the collective economy of the village.
Western regions of China show diversified models of ecological development. In 2021, in the town of Minning (Ningxia), I witnessed the way in which the targeted assistance mechanism of China contributed to the reforestation of the local desert. Thanks to this mechanism, technologies, funds and professional talents could be transferred without obstacles from Fujian to Ningxia, which greatly favored the ecological and economic development of Ningxia. Minning’s transformation is an example of cooperation success, which illustrates the transition from unilateral aid to win-win cooperation.
China green development practices and the construction of a beautiful China is a complex and global process. It includes both a descending strategic conception and an ascending innovation dynamic, without forgetting the active participation of the people. This approach, which follows the principle of “adapting to local conditions”, allows the thought of ecological civilization to manifest itself in diversified forms of practice. The vitality of green development is thus visible to the four corners of the country.
The approach of China, anchored in traditional knowledge and contemporary experiences, is closely aligned with global consensus on ecological protection and catering. China’s green development model illustrates an inspiring sustainable development route on a global scale. (Editor: Cui Xiaoqin)
*TUNGAMIIRA Eric MUPONA is a Zimbabwean student, and doctor of international affairs and global governance at the University of Zhejiang.
