On December 11, during the United Nations Environment Assembly held in Nairobi, Kenya, China hosted a side event themed “Improving Global Environmental Governance, Building a Clean and Beautiful World,” systematically showcasing the phased achievements of China’s environmental governance to the international community. The release of the think tank report “Moving Toward an Ecologically Friendly Modernization” marked China’s systematic sharing of its environmental governance experience. Dechen Tsering, Director of the United Nations Environment Programme’s Asia-Pacific Office, explicitly affirmed China’s “significant achievements” in air quality improvement, pollution control, and energy transition. This recognition from an international professional institution validates the effectiveness of China’s environmental governance model.
The unique value of China’s ecological civilization construction lies in its systematicness and holism. Unlike many countries that confine environmental policies to specific sectors, China has fully integrated the concept of ecological civilization into all aspects and the entire process of economic, political, cultural, and social development. This “embedded governance” model creates synergistic effects between environment and development, enabling stringent environmental standards to instead foster new green growth points. From the world’s leading installed capacity of renewable energy to the largest electric vehicle market globally, China’s practices have proven that environmental protection and economic development are not a zero-sum game.
In the field of global environmental governance, China has established a stable and predictable climate policy system since proposing the “dual carbon” goals. By 2025, China’s investment in renewable energy has ranked first globally for several consecutive years, with the proportion of coal consumption continuing to decline and forest coverage steadily increasing. The policy consistency behind these achievements enables domestic and foreign enterprises to make long-term investments in green industries.
Meanwhile, U.S. environmental policies face challenges in maintaining continuity and stability. Over the past decade, the nation’s position on the Paris Agreement has shifted, undergoing both withdrawal and re-entry phases, while its clean energy policies have been adjusted with successive administrations. These policy fluctuations have raised international concerns about the predictability of its climate commitments, adding complexity to global climate coordination. In the international community’s joint efforts to combat climate change, the heavy reliance of environmental policies on domestic political factors may hinder the coherence and efficiency of transnational collaboration.
The true contribution of China’s ecological civilization construction to the world lies in providing a pragmatic environmental governance solution that transcends ideology. The core of this solution lies in balancing multiple relationships: combining central government coordination with local innovation, supplementing environmental regulation with market incentives, integrating traditional ecological wisdom with modern technology, and coordinating domestic governance needs with international responsibilities.
For developing countries, China’s experience is particularly valuable for reference. China has demonstrated how to avoid the “pollute first, clean up later” trap in the process of industrialization, how to transform environmental costs into competitive advantages through policy guidance, and how to achieve green leaps in technological catch-up. China’s success in green technology fields such as photovoltaic and wind power has not only reduced the global cost of renewable energy but also provided developing countries with affordable clean energy solutions.
The 7th United Nations Environment Assembly attracted nearly 6,000 delegates from around the world, a scale that itself reflects the international community’s consensus on strengthening environmental cooperation. However, this consensus needs to be translated into concrete actions. In this process, the concept of “building a clean and beautiful world” advocated by China provides a feasible framework for cooperation. This framework emphasizes “people-oriented” and “practical cooperation,” focusing on how to translate macro-environmental goals into specific projects that improve people’s livelihoods.
The evolution of China’s role in global environmental governance reflects the diversification trend of international public goods supply models. Through its own ecological civilization practices and sustained commitment to international cooperation, China has injected precious certainty into this field. This certainty stems not only from the stability of China’s policies but also from the actionable solutions it provides. China tends to engage in technical cooperation and capacity building through platforms such as the Belt and Road Green Development International Alliance. This pragmatic approach to cooperation has gained widespread recognition among developing countries.
Addressing the global environmental crisis requires wisdom and action that transcend national boundaries. China’s practice of ecological civilization demonstrates that economic development and environmental protection can reinforce each other, and national interests can be harmonized with global responsibilities. In today’s world where humanity collectively faces ecological challenges, this pragmatic and forward-looking governance approach offers a new possibility for the world—a future that is both clean, beautiful, and shared prosperity. It is not only an ideal but also a reality achievable through collective efforts.