Vision drives ecological achievements

Narentuya, who was a deputy from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region to the 13th National People's Congress, vividly recalls the transformative impact of President Xi Jinping's unwavering commitment to green development during the two sessions, the annual meetings in Beijing of the NPC and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

President Xi "has consistently stressed the importance of adhering to the idea that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, and steadfastly keeping to a path of prioritizing ecological conservation and promoting green development", said Narentuya, a member of the Mongolian ethnic group, when recalling panel discussions that Xi attended with the Inner Mongolia delegation from 2018 to 2022.

Reflecting on Xi's emphasis on safeguarding Inner Mongolia's ecological heritage, particularly that of Ulansuhai Nur, a lake in the western part of the region, the 54-year-old noted the remarkable change in her hometown.

Ulansuhai Nur, which once emitted a pungent odor, now boasts "clear waters, flourishing wildlife and a rejuvenated natural ecosystem", said Narentuya, a music teacher at a primary school in Bayannuur.

As she lives near the lake, she has keenly observed the positive impact these changes have had on the local community. She has seen that, with the influx of tourists, local residents have experienced a notable increase in income.

According to the local tourism authority, the lake received 361,800 tourist visits from May to October 2023, an increase of 696 percent year-on-year. That generated over 26 million yuan ($3.58 million) in direct income, an increase of 499 percent from the same period in 2022.

Huang Chengliang, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Research Institute for Eco-civilization, understands the logic behind the transformation in the lake and beyond.

Xi's tenure as an NPC deputy of the Inner Mongolia delegation from 2018 to 2022 marked a significant period when his commitment to ecological civilization was notably pronounced, said Huang.

Inner Mongolia is a region where traditional resource-intensive industries such as coal and nonferrous metal mining play a dominant role, Huang noted. From 2018 to 2022, Xi consistently emphasized the importance of better coordinating development and protection under the premise of supply-side structural reform, promoting the development of new forms of business, and replacing old growth drivers with new ones.

The fundamental solution to ecological and environmental challenges lies in transforming the economic development approach, transitioning traditional resource-intensive industries toward low-carbon, green and circular practices, and making necessary adjustments to industrial structures, Huang said.

During panel discussions with his fellow deputies from Inner Mongolia in March 2019, Xi underlined that, fundamentally speaking, environmental protection and economic development are closely integrated and complement each other.

In the Chinese economy's transition from a phase of rapid growth to a phase of high-quality development, pollution control and environmental governance are two major tasks that must be accomplished, Xi said. The country should explore a new path of high-quality development that prioritizes ecology and highlights green development.

Huang, the CASS researcher, said that Xi's strong emphasis on ecological civilization also showcased his people-centered development philosophy. This focus aligns with the evolving principal contradiction in Chinese society, which now centers on unbalanced and inadequate development and the people's ever-growing expectations for a better life.

While attending a panel discussion with deputies in 2019, Xi underlined the resolute and effective fight to prevent and control pollution, saying prominent environmental issues that the people are strongly concerned about must be addressed properly.

Huang pointed out that meeting the people's aspirations for a better life fundamentally involves ensuring that they live in a pristine ecological setting characterized by blue skies, lush landscapes and lucid waters.

After Xi was elected as a deputy to the 14th NPC at the first session of the 14th Jiangsu Provincial People's Congress in January 2023, his commitment to green development and harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature has remained unwavering.

"At no time should we take hasty and reckless actions, drain the pond to catch the fish, or focus only on GDP growth," he said, while attending a discussion with deputies from Jiangsu in March 2023.

Xi emphasized the importance of protecting ecology, citing as an example Taihu Lake, China's third-largest freshwater lake, which is in the lower Yangtze River region. Blue-green algae once persisted in Taihu and caused the water quality to severely deteriorate.

The discharge of industrial and domestic waste caused serious pollution in Taihu, and it took great efforts to rectify the situation, Xi noted.

"We say that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, but if we fail to protect the ecology, we will end up with losses rather than benefits," Xi said.

Substantial advancements have been achieved in treating Taihu, and the Taihu region has served as a prime example demonstrating that economic development and environmental conservation can go hand in hand without contradiction.

Monitoring showed that the quality of water in Taihu reached Grade III last year, which is unprecedented in the past 30 years, according to Jiangsu's department of ecology and environment. Water with a quality of Grade III is considered fairly good and is suitable for most aquatic life to live in.

With comprehensive and systematic governance since 2007, the lake's water quality has improved each year, authorities in Jiangsu said. This has not only been accomplished without hindering economic development, but has also driven industrial upgrading, they said.

Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou, three major cities near Taihu Lake, have seen the services sector surpass the manufacturing sector as the largest part of their industrial structures since 2014. In 2023, the contributions of high-tech industries to the total added value of industrial enterprises reached 53 percent in Suzhou, 51.8 percent in Wuxi and 56 percent in Changzhou.

"The treatment practices in Taihu fully demonstrate that ... economic progress and the development of ecological civilization can mutually benefit and support each other effectively," said Jiang Wei, head of Jiangsu's department of ecology and environment.

Wu Shourong, a professor at the School of Marxism at Beijing Forestry University, highlighted the unique importance of Xi's emphasis on ecological civilization during the annual two sessions, saying that this will strongly propel Chinese modernization that features harmonious coexistence between mankind and nature.

Highlighting that NPC deputies are a crucial link between the Party, the government and the people, Wu said that by engaging in discussions with NPC deputies, Xi can attentively listen to problems encountered by people in their living environments and other spheres, understand their needs, collect diverse opinions and suggestions, and unify the people's aspirations into a cohesive consensus on national environmental governance.

Such discussions can promote the dissemination of decisions made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, thereby guiding the development of ecological civilization, she said.

Xi's deep concern regarding ecological civilization during the annual two sessions is "conducive to rallying and mobilizing the immense power and practical actions of the masses, and promoting a strong advancement of Chinese modernization featuring harmonious coexistence between humans and nature", Wu added.

Xinhua contributed to this story.