Beijing, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection was held in Beijing from July 17 to 18. Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Chinese President, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended the conference and delivered an important speech. He emphasized that the next five years will be a crucial period for building a beautiful China. It is essential to thoroughly implement the ecological civilization philosophy of socialism with Chinese characteristics for the new era, adhere to a people-centered approach, firmly establish and practice the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," prioritize the construction of a beautiful China in the efforts to build a strong country and achieve national rejuvenation, significantly improve urban and rural living environments, achieve notable results in building a beautiful China, support high-quality development with a high-quality ecological environment, and accelerate the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature.

Li Qiang presided over the meeting. Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, and Li Xi attended the meeting. Ding Xuexiang delivered a concluding speech.

Xi Jinping stressed in his speech that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, we have taken ecological conservation as a fundamental plan vital for sustaining the Chinese nation's development. We have launched a series of trailblazing initiatives and adopted a mindset and measures of unprecedented intensity to produce results of historic significance. Historic, transformative, and sweeping changes have been made in ecological conservation both in theory and practice, and major strides have been taken in building a Beautiful China. We began by tackling prominent ecological and environmental problems, with a focus on both symptoms and root causes, to bring about a major shift from focused remediation to systematic governance. We have worked to transform mindsets and assume responsibility, to strengthen the commitment and initiative of the entire Party and the country in advancing ecological conservation, thereby achieving a major shift from passive to active action. We have stayed abreast of the times and the world, and lived up to our responsibility as a major country, to bring about a major shift from participant to leader in global environmental governance. We have gained a deeper understanding of the laws governing ecological conservation, and developed Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Conservation for the New Era, achieving a major shift from practical exploration to guidance by scientific theories. Thanks to tenacious efforts, China now enjoys more blue skies, greener mountains, and cleaner rivers, and its landscape is more picturesque than ever. The achievements in ecological conservation in the new era have attracted global attention and serve as a vivid example of the historic achievements and transformation in the cause of the Party and the country in the new era.

Xi Jinping noted that the structural, root, and trend-induced pressure on China's ecological conservation has yet to be fundamentally eased. The country's economic and social development has entered a stage of high-quality development featuring faster green and low-carbon growth, but ecological conservation remains a critical period when we need to carry a heavy load while climbing steep hills. We must plan and advance ecological conservation on the new journey and write a new chapter in building an ecological civilization in the new era from a higher standpoint, with a broader vision, and stronger moves.

Xi Jinping pointed out that to sum up the practical experience of the past decade in the new era, analyze the new situations and problems currently faced, and continue advancing ecological conservation, it is imperative to follow the Thought on Ecological Civilization of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era as the guide and properly handle several major relationships. First, the relationship between high-quality development and high-standard protection. We should plan development from the perspective of harmonious coexistence between man and Nature, and through high-standard environmental protection, we should continuously foster new growth drivers and strengths for development, strive to build a green, low-carbon, and circular economic system, effectively reduce the resource and environmental cost of development, and sustain the potential and momentum of development. Second, the relationship between focusing on key battles and coordinated governance. We should uphold the systemic approach, identify and address principal problems and their aspects, take forceful measures to solve prominent ecological and environmental problems, and strengthen synergy between different objectives, the control of multiple pollutants, the efforts of different departments and regions, and the implementation of various policies. This way, we will steadily enhance the systemic, holistic, and synergetic nature of our work. Third, the relationship between natural restoration and artificial restoration. We should protect and restore mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts in a coordinated and systematic manner, build an overarching framework for conservation and governance from mountaintops to oceans, and apply both natural restoration and artificial measures appropriately in light of local conditions and the timing, and through differentiated zoning and categorization of measures, so as to find the best solutions for ecological conservation and restoration. Fourth, the relationship between external constraints and internal drive. We must always protect the eco-environment with the strictest institutions and the tightest rule of law, and maintain regular external pressure, while inspiring an internal drive of the whole society to protect the eco-environment. Fifth, the relationship between our carbon peak and carbon neutrality commitments and our independent actions. Our carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals are unshakable. However, the path, methods, pace, and intensity to reach these goals should and must be determined by ourselves, and never swayed by others.

Xi Jinping emphasized the need to continue the tough battle against pollution, ensure precise, law-based, and science-based pollution control, maintain the intensity, extend the depth, and broaden the scope of our efforts, go all out to keep our skies blue, waters clear, and lands clean, and steadily improve the quality of the eco-environment. We should facilitate green and low-carbon transition in development, pursue green and low-carbon development as the fundamental solution to ecological and environmental problems, accelerate efforts to shape green modes of production and ways of life, and add more green elements to high-quality development. We should make more efforts to improve the diversity, stability, and sustainability of the ecosystems, strengthen ecosystem conservation, tighten eco-environment conservation and restoration supervision, and create more ways to turn lucid waters and lush mountains into invaluable assets, so as to leave future generations with picturesque ecological space featuring lucid waters and lush mountains. We should take prudent and steady steps to achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality, follow the principle of nationwide coordination, conservation first, dual drivers, smooth domestic and international flows, and risk prevention, implement the “1+N” policy framework for carbon peak and carbon neutrality, build a clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient energy system, accelerate the building of a new power system, and enhance our capacity to ensure the security of oil and gas supply. We should ensure that the red line for building a Beautiful China is not crossed, act on the holistic approach to national security, actively and effectively respond to risks and challenges of various kinds, and effectively safeguard ecological, nuclear, and radiation security among others, so as to protect the natural environment and conditions that we live on and develop with from being threatened or damaged.

Xi Jinping stressed the need to put in place a sound supporting system for building a beautiful China. We must coordinate resources in various areas and pool strengths from all sides to take a holistic approach in law-based, market-oriented, sci-tech, and policy measures. We must strengthen legal safeguards, coordinate efforts to revise and formulate laws concerning eco-environmental protection, and the conservation of resources and energy, implement the strictest eco-environmental governance system that takes into account all factors—above and below the ground, on land and at sea, and in different regions—and put in place a comprehensive permit system for pollutant discharge. We must improve the system for managing natural resource assets and the regulation system for territorial space use. We must improve economic policies for green and low-carbon development and strengthen fiscal, taxation, financial, and pricing support. We must ensure that the market and the government function better together, include carbon emission rights, energy-use rights, water-use rights, and pollution discharge rights regarding resources and the environment in the overall efforts to reform the market-based allocation of production factors, support market transactions such as transfer, transaction, and mortgage of such rights and their use as equity contribution, expedite the establishment of a credit-based environmental regulation system, standardize the environmental governance market, and promote the sound development of environmental protection industries and environmental services. We must enhance the role of science and technology. We must promote greater self-reliance and strength in green and low-carbon science and technology, take climate change response and the treatment of new pollutants as key areas in the country’s basic research and innovation in science and technology, dedicate strenuous efforts to achieving breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields, launch major projects for scientific and technological innovation in eco-environmental protection, and train a contingent of highly competent personnel in this field. We must deepen the application of digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, establish a digital governance system for building a beautiful China, and develop a digital eco-civilization that is green and smart.

Xi Jinping stressed that building a beautiful China is an important goal in building a modern socialist country in all respects, and the Party's overall leadership must be upheld and strengthened. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council will soon make systematic arrangements for advancing the building of a beautiful China. All localities and departments must continuously enhance their sense of responsibility and mission and faithfully implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee. Party committees and governments at all levels must firmly shoulder the political responsibility for building a beautiful China, quickly study and formulate a responsibility system for local Party and government officials regarding eco-environmental protection, and establish a comprehensive, consistent, well-defined and interlocking responsibility system. Relevant departments must conscientiously implement the responsibility list for eco-environmental protection, strengthen division of responsibilities and coordination, and form a powerful synergy for joint management. People's congresses and their standing committees at all levels must step up efforts to improve the legal system concerning eco-environmental protection and supervise law enforcement, and the CPPCC committees at all levels must strengthen thematic consultations and democratic supervision concerning eco-environmental protection. The central eco-environmental protection inspection mechanism must continue to play its cutting-edge role.

Li Qiang noted in presiding over the meeting that General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech comprehensively summarized the remarkable achievements China has made in advancing eco-environmental protection, especially the historic, turning-point and overall changes, analyzed the current situation regarding eco-environmental protection, expounded on the major relationships that need to be properly handled in advancing eco-environmental protection on the new journey, and made systematic arrangements for the strategic tasks and major measures for building a beautiful China, providing guidance and fundamental principles for further strengthening eco-environmental protection and advancing ecological conservation. We must study and implement the guiding principles of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech, gain a deep understanding of the decisive significance of establishing Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and establishing the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, resolutely uphold the core position of the Party Central Committee and the whole Party and the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, combine the implementation of the guiding principles of the meeting with the in-depth study and implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, further stimulate the strong driving force for advancing eco-environmental protection, solidly promote ecological conservation, and accelerate the building of a beautiful China.

Ding Xuexiang noted in his concluding speech that it is necessary to thoroughly study and implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress and General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech, follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, especially Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, firmly shoulder the political responsibility for building a beautiful China, and accelerate the modernization featuring harmony between humanity and nature. It is necessary to make persistent efforts to win the battle against pollution and continuously improve the quality of the eco-environment; take green and low-carbon development as the fundamental solution, and accelerate the formation of spatial layouts, industrial structures, production modes and lifestyles that save resources and protect the environment; uphold harmony between humanity and nature, intensify efforts to protect and restore ecosystems, and improve the supervision system for ecological protection and restoration; actively and prudently work toward the goals of reaching peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality, uphold the principle of building the new before discarding the old, and solidly advance the green and low-carbon transition in energy; strengthen bottom-line thinking, regularly monitor and control eco-environmental risks, and consolidate the ecological security foundation for building a beautiful China; maintain strict discipline, carry out in-depth central eco-environmental protection inspections and law enforcement supervision, and crack down on activities that violate laws and regulations concerning eco-environmental protection. All localities, departments and units must strengthen organizational leadership, strictly implement responsibilities, enhance support and guarantees, and ensure that the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee are implemented and yield results.

Heads of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Zhejiang Province, Hubei Province, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region delivered exchange speeches.

Attendees included members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, secretaries of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, relevant leading comrades from the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, State Councilors, President of the Supreme People's Court, Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and relevant leading comrades from the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

The meeting was convened via video-teleconference. Participants included principal leading comrades from party and government bodies of provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, cities specifically designated in the state plan, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, as well as heads of relevant departments; principal leading comrades from relevant departments of central and state organs, people's organizations, and military units; and heads of some centrally-managed financial institutions and enterprises.