Source: Global Times
On October 21, a press conference with the theme of "Building a Beautiful China in Harmony with Man and Nature" attracted reports from many national media during the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China: "China's air quality has improved significantly in the past 10 years", "China is the main force of global greening", "China announces that it is in the leading position in the field of renewable energy"... A reporter from the US Bloomberg News Agency wrote: The 20th National Congress was held under a fresh, blue sky, which is a symbol of China's environmental management and green dream. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post said that at a time when the world is facing an energy crisis, China is taking a cautious approach to balancing its carbon neutrality commitment with the need for energy security. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, "beauty" has increasingly appeared in the policy documents of the Communist Party of China: "realizing the people's aspiration for a better life", "promoting the construction of a beautiful China", "building the mainland into a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious and beautiful socialist modern power" - at the same time, "beautiful China" is also resonating more and more around the world and becoming a new business card of China's soft power.
Green water and green mountains, deeply rooted in the hearts of the people
The press conference began at 10 o'clock on the 21st, and Zhai Qing, member of the party leading group and vice minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, presided over the meeting and communicated with reporters. The Global Times reporter saw at the venue that the press conference hall, which could accommodate more than 200 reporters, was full, and many foreign reporters also enthusiastically raised their hands to ask questions.
When asked, a reporter from Brazil's 247 News Network said: General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed in the report of the 20th National Congress that it is necessary to firmly establish and practice the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are golden mountains and silver mountains, and plan and develop from the height of harmonious coexistence between man and nature. He said that Latin America also has many original ecological resources, such as the Amazon forest and the Andes Mountains, and hopes to learn from China's good experience and practices in promoting green development and harmonious coexistence between man and nature.
Dominican journalist Garcia told the Global Times reporter after the press conference that he often hears people in China say that "lucid waters and lush mountains are golden mountains and silver mountains", "I think this is a very wise judgment, a good environment is the foundation of all development." Dominica is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea, and the effects of climate change are particularly pronounced, he said. The report of the 20th Party Congress made him understand that while China's rapid economic development, it has not neglected the work of ecological environmental protection.
Since the 18th Party Congress, the Chinese government has significantly reduced the air pollution plaguing city dwellers, developed a world-leading clean energy industry, and made perhaps the most important climate commitment in history in 2020: setting a goal of net zero emissions within 40 years. When President Xi Jinping visited local governments in the early days of his tenure, he warned that he "owed too much debt" in terms of ecology and the environment, and his phrase when he took office at the local level - "lucid waters and lush mountains are golden mountains and silver mountains" has become the guide of China's environmental policy. Turner, an environmental expert at the Stimson Center in the United States, said: "The CCP has realized since the 90s that pollution can be a destabilizing factor, it can damage the economy, and the CCP leadership has been very pragmatic in dealing with this issue. ”
Beautiful China, for all to see
According to Zhai Qing at the press conference, the annual average value of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in cities at and above the prefecture level has dropped from 46 micrograms per cubic meter in 2015 to 30 micrograms per cubic meter in 2021, making China the fastest improving country in the world in air quality. The proportion of excellent surface water sections in the country has reached 84.9%, which is close to the level of developed countries.
Argentina's news website Infobae said Beijing became cleaner between 2015 and 2021 as the concentration of harmful particulate matter in the air dropped by 34.8 percent. The collection of garbage has also been gradually promoted, and the awareness of Chinese environmental protection has generally increased significantly. Germany's "China-info24" website said on the 20th that "Beijing blue" is now the norm, and the success story of air quality is only a microcosm of China's green development. According to Bloomberg, according to the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, the number of harmful particulates in China's air fell by 40% in the seven years from 2013 to 2020, almost as much as the 30 years since the United States passed the Clean Air Act in 1970.
The Russian Satellite News Agency quoted Zhai Qing at a press conference on the 21st as saying that China has become the country with the largest increase in forest resources in the world and the main force of global "greening". Singapore's "Lianhe Zaobao" said on the 21st that Zhai Qing also stressed at the meeting that China has completely banned the entry of foreign garbage and achieved the goal of zero solid waste import.
In an interview with the Global Times, UN Deputy Secretary-General Solheim talked about what he sees as "beautiful China". He said Zhejiang has made incredible progress in water management, and the former "milk river" has been completely treated, "now it is perfectly fine to let a two-year-old child take a bath"; In Inner Mongolia, the level of combating desertification and greening is first-class; Sichuan's national parks introduce high-tech means to protect giant pandas; In both the upper Yellow and Yangtze rivers, "smart" fishing bans have been implemented to help restore ecosystems.
"The revival of 'beautiful countryside'", the German "China Platform" website reported on the 20th that more and more Chinese young people come to the countryside from the city to build "beautiful villages". In 2017, Beijing first proposed the "rural revitalization" strategy, which includes green development measures such as promoting organic farms to make rural life more attractive, and "beautiful villages" have become one of the engines of China's economy.
Commitment to reduce emissions, major countries take responsibility
Hong Kong's "South China Morning Post" said on the 21st that although China still continues to use coal, Beijing's message on climate change in the report of the 20th National Congress is reassuring, indicating that China's attitude towards reducing emissions has not changed. Zhai Qing said on the 21st: "Responding to climate change is not what others want us to do, but what we have to do, which is an inherent requirement for the sustainable development of the continent and a responsibility to promote the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind." The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly pointed out that the adjustment of industrial structure, pollution control, ecological protection and climate change should be coordinated; Actively and steadily promote carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. We will resolutely implement it. According to the report, this is also the first time that the "dual carbon" goal has been mentioned in the party congress and report, which is of great significance.
Wei Fulei, deputy director of the New Energy and Low-carbon Development Research Center of the China (Shenzhen) Comprehensive Development Research Institute, told the Global Times reporter on the 21st that under the influence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the energy crisis, European countries are facing great uncertainty in responding to climate change, while China is still unswervingly promoting the "dual carbon" strategy at its own pace, fully demonstrating the responsibility and high sense of responsibility of a major country to address climate change.
According to Zhai Qing, China's carbon emission intensity in 2020 fell by 48.4% compared with 2005, exceeding the target promised to the international community, according to the Russian Satellite News Agency; In 2021, China's coal accounted for 56.0% of total energy consumption from 72.4% in 2005, non-fossil energy consumption accounted for 16.6%, renewable energy power generation capacity exceeded 1 billion kilowatts, and wind, solar, water and biomass power generation capacity ranked first in the world.
Zhai Qing also reiterated at the meeting that China has pledged not to build new overseas coal power projects. According to the website of the Spanish news magazine Change 16, China is the country that invests the most in clean energy and is about to break the record for solar installations this year. China's environmental protection industry is booming, and its renewable energy sector has obvious advantages, and it is well positioned to play a leading role in combating climate change.
People-oriented, green development
According to the World Bank's latest National Climate and Development Report, China is well positioned to meet its economic development goals while meeting its climate commitments and transitioning to a green economy. The report estimates that there are already 54 million "green jobs" in China, of which more than 4 million are in the renewable energy industry.
According to the Russian newspaper, China's air quality has improved significantly in the past 10 years, which is an indicator that directly affects the health of residents. Over the past 10 years, the concept of harmonious coexistence between man and nature has been deeply rooted in Chinese society, and China's ecological scars are gradually healing. The Russian "expert" network commented that the Communist Party of China adheres to the concept of "people first". After more than 40 years of reform, China has long passed the stage of meeting the basic material needs of the people. At present, on China's agenda are improving people's quality of life, improving the social security system, promoting the construction of a healthy China and promoting green development.
"South China Morning Post" said on the 21st that in last year's "14th Five-Year Plan", the Chinese government did not set an overall GDP target for the first time, only promised to maintain the average annual growth in a "reasonable range" and set annual growth targets according to the actual situation. Over the years, China has emphasized other, more important indicators, including green development, common prosperity and reducing carbon emissions, emphasizing social equity and the quality of economic growth rather than the speed. Wei Fulei told the Global Times reporter that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China has continued to promote energy supply-side structural reform and resolutely promote green, low-carbon and high-quality development, the most important reason is to meet the needs of the Chinese people for a better life.
【Global Times reporter Zhao Jueheng, Li Xiaoxiao, Li Aixin, special correspondent of Global Times in Germany and Singapore, Aoki Xin Bin, Liu Yupeng】
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