The 2017 annual general meeting of China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) was held in Beijing between Dec. 9 and 11, under the theme of “Ecological Civilization in Action: A Common Green Future for the New Era”.

Minister Li Ganjie presented at the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech at the general session & High-level Forum on Environment and Development, with a title “Uplift Ecological Civilization in All Aspects for Modernization with Harmony between Man and Nature”.

In his remarks, Li said man and nature is a community of shared destiny; only does mankind observe the laws of nature can they avoid detours in the development and utilization of nature; man’s harmful activities to the nature will backfire sooner or later.

The 19th National Congress in October reckons that the harmony between man and nature is an integral part of the basic policy to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era. It has come up with new philosophies, requirements, objectives, and plans for developing ecological civilization and protecting the ecological environment, said Li.

Over the past five years since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Chinese Government has put the building of ecological civilization at a strategic position in governing the country, said Li. President Xi Jinping has come up with such strategic thoughts on ecological civilization as “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”, “protecting/developing the ecological environment is equivalent to protecting/developing productivity”, and “treat the ecological environment the way we treat our life”, and “adopt green growth models and lifestyles”, which have catalyzed the profound changes in development philosophy and the way the country has being governed.

The CPC report of the new term Congress concluded that notable progress has been made in the building of ecological civilization. A preliminary ecological environment governance model with Chinese characteristics has been established. The environmental protection is more than a solo mission of the environmental protection departments, and the major responsibility has been placed upon the Party committee and government. The air, water, and soil pollution has been cut down significantly. Sixty-eight percent of the coal-fired power generating units with a combined capacity of 640 mil. kW has been upgraded to achieve ultralow emissions. More than 200,000 small coal-fired boilers with a single capacity under 10 steam tons has been eliminated. Integrated environmental management has been completed in 126,000 villages, and 62,000 random polluters in Beijing, Tianjin, and 26 smaller cities in this region have been straightened out.

More than 40 reforms plans on ecological civilization and environmental protection have been adopted by the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms. The environmental compliance inspection has been tougher than ever, and the environmental quality has been remarkably improved.

Moreover, China has been an active player in the global environmental governance, and ratified or acceded to 30 plus multilateral agreements or protocols relevant to ecological environment.

The 19th National Congress of the CPC has sketched an exciting blueprint for ecological and environmental protection, and set forth the following goals: by 2020, we will have put up uphill fights against pollution; by 2035, the ecological environment will have been improved, and the goal of building a beautiful China will have been met; by the middle of this century, we will have built China into a modernized socialist country that is affluent, democratic, civilized, harmonious and beautiful. We will aim for modernization with harmony between man and nature and provide more quality products to meet the ever-growing demands of the people for a beautiful ecological environment.

To this end, we will work to adopt green growth models, said Li. To realize the harmony between man and nature, we have to abandon the old growth model that is overly dependent on material resources, extensive expansion, and energy consumption. We will increase the supply of quality eco-products and continue to tackle air, water, and soil pollution under the action plans. We will deepen institutional reforms on ecological civilization, and safeguard the ecological initiatives with rigorous institutions and strict laws. We will launch green initiatives across the nation, in which the government will play a leading role, the industry will exercise self-discipline, and the general public will take the initiative to participate. Moreover, we will continue to contribute to global environmental governance. We will take part in negotiations on international environmental conventions and assume the international responsibilities as a major developing country.