Global Times: Beautiful China as a case study for developing nations

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Jul 25, 2023, 03:28 ET

BEIJING, July 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- At a national conference on ecological and environmental protection held from Monday to Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China should support high-quality development with a high-quality ecological environment and promote the modernization featuring the harmonious co-existence between human and nature. From a participant in global environmental governance to a leader, China's achievements in the development of ecological civilization have been remarkable. The Global Times selected the opinions of observers both home and abroad on China's ecological civilization and its implications for developing countries.

Beautiful China as a case study for developing nations

By Bradley Blankenship

For the past week, I've been in the Chinese capital, Beijing, for the first time. I must admit that I expected the city to be smoggy and congested. To the contrary, it has beautiful blue skies.

China has been successful in beautifying Beijing, as well as other cities and towns, by transitioning from coal power to gas, establishing emission standards for coal-fired stations, implementing tougher standards for other industries such as steel and cement and seeking high-quality development with a high-quality ecological environment. These achievements have been so successful that Beijing now stands as an example for mega-cities around the globe, particularly those in the global south.

The situation in Beijing serves as a microcosm of why China is considered a model for the world. This is not only due to its ambitious climate goals and pioneering green sector but also because of the significant efforts and changes the country has made.

Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed efforts to promote the building of a Beautiful China in all respects and accelerate the advancement of modernization featuring harmony between human and nature, addressing at a national conference on ecological and environmental protection held from Monday to Tuesday. Noting that China's economy and society have entered a stage of high-quality development marked by faster progress in promoting green and low-carbon growth, Xi called for a higher standpoint, a broader perspective and stronger efforts in planning and advancing ecological and environmental protection on the new journey, as well as writing a new chapter of ecological conservation in the new era.

While reiterating China's unswerving commitment to peak its carbon emissions before 2030 and attain carbon neutrality before 2060, Xi insisted that the pathways, methods, pace and intensity of work to reach these goals "should and must be" determined by China and be free from outside interference.

It was believed by analysts that this was directed at the US, whose climate envoy, John Kerry, was in Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterpart. Kerry reportedly called on China to curb its emissions quickly, despite the fact that the US has the highest historical emissions of any country by an extremely wide margin and has among the worst current per capita emissions.

As I already described with the Beijing anecdote, China has already taken bold steps to beautify the country for decades. It is also setting the stage for high-quality growth that will be able to advance the standard of living of the Chinese people while leaving less of an ecological footprint. As The Guardian reports, China is on pace to break its wind and solar goals five years ahead of time. As Forbes noted, in 2021 China connected more offshore wind generation capacity than every other country in the world managed to install in the last five years, and it's building even more this year. If there was any doubt regarding whether China was already addressing the threats of climate change and pollution with a comprehensive societal response, President Xi's remarks unequivocally provide the answer: a resounding "yes."

Similar to how Beijing serves as a case study for mega cities in the global south, the concept of Beautiful China has a universal appeal, extending to a Beautiful World. However, each country must tailor its own approach to suit its specific circumstances and development needs. Nevertheless, China's new regulatory framework could serve as a foundation for countries in the global south to learn from. It is hoped that China will document its experiences and share its expertise in multilateral platforms, such as the upcoming and highly significant COP28, as well as through people-to-people exchanges.

The author is a Prague-based American journalist, columnist and political commentator. He is now traveling in China. [email protected]

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202307/1294719.shtml

Striving for 'ecological renaissance' of human modernization

By Jia Weilie

In the 21st century, the development of an ecological civilization has become a national development strategy for China. Over the past decade, significant advancements have been made in the construction of Beautiful China, resulting in remarkable achievements in the development of ecological civilization. China has achieved a significant transformation from remediation of major areas to systematic governance; realized an important shift from passively responding to ecological issues to taking proactive actions to address them; has become a leader from a participant in global environmental governance; has developed the thought on socialist ecological civilization with Chinese characteristics for a new era, realizing a major shift from practical-exploration-based conservation to the one with theoretical guidance.

China has made active and steady progress toward achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and has established a robust economic system based on green, low-carbon, and circular development. The comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development is accelerating, and efforts to achieve harmonious coexistence between humans and nature are constantly gaining momentum.

The harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature serves as the foundation for the construction of an ecological civilization and forms the cornerstone of the second modernization of human society, known as ecological modernization. Human society must undergo modernization once again, and ecologization represents the modernization that the entire world must embrace in this new era of human civilization. If the Renaissance in Europe propelled the development of world culture, human enlightenment, and initiated the process of modernization, then the construction of ecological civilization in China can be seen as an "ecological renaissance" in the annals of human civilization. It has unveiled the reconstruction of the world's landscape, the transformation of existential concepts, and the reformation of development models.

China's national conditions have determined its unique role in progressing toward the second modernization of human society, which holds significant implications for the ecological modernization of other countries. This is particularly relevant to the industrial modernization of underdeveloped nations and the ecologization of countries after their industrialization. While different countries and regions possess varying natural environments, economic and cultural development, and national conditions, the commonality lies in modernization that emphasizes harmony between humans and nature. Based on this principle, China's successful ecological conservation practices have demonstrated to the world the practical implementation of modernization toward ecological rejuvenation.

First and foremost, it is crucial to foster a favorable climate. Climate change represents the most pressing challenge confronting humanity, and the modernization of human society must align with the objectives outlined in the Paris Agreement. These objectives include limiting the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and striving to restrict the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Achieving these goals necessitates the participation of all countries.

Secondly, we need to ensure the sustainability of our environment. Strengthening environmental governance, ecological protection, and restoration form the foundation for the survival of human society. It is imperative to maintain ecological security and strive for a pristine environment with clear skies, green landscapes, and clean water. These efforts aim to restore tranquility and beauty to nature.

Thirdly, we must actively pursue a green economy. This entails fostering a model of development that is environmentally friendly, promoting the development of a green economy, and vigorously developing green industries.

Fourthly, we need to ecologize our culture. We have to construct a new ecological culture, realize the ecological transformation of concepts, and respect and return to the laws of nature at a higher level.

Fifthly, we need to innovate science and technology, realize the ecological transformation of technology, and use science and technology with ecological value.

Sixthly, we need to seek social harmony. We should realize the ecological transformation of society and consumption, build a resource-conserving and environmentally friendly society, and ensure harmony between human development and nature and between human beings, so as to practice and promote eco-justice and realize social equity.

The author is vice president of the Beijing Academy of Ecocivilization and a researcher at the Budapest Centre for Long-term Sustainability. [email protected]

SOURCE Global Times