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Concept of “Ecological Civilization” as a Foundation of China’s “Green” Strategy

169
Rubric: China: Domestic and Foreign Policies
DOI: 10.20542/0131-2227-2024-68-9-89-100
EDN: FBSZYH
T. Rovinskaya, mirtania@gmail.com
Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO), 23, Profsoyuznaya Str., Moscow, 117997, Russian Federation.
PDF (RUS)

Received 24.05.2024. Revised 30.05.2024. Accepted 17.06.2024.

Acknowledgements. This article was prepared with the support of a grant from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation for major scientific projects in priority areas of scientific and technological development no. 075-15-2024-551 “Global and Regional Centers of Power in the Emerging World Order”.


Abstract. The article is devoted to the Chinese concept of “ecological civilization”, which underlies the modern “green” strategy of the PRC. The prerequisites for its emergence are thoroughly examined: the influence of the international “green” agenda, current environmental problems in China, the background to the formation of an integrated state environmental policy in the PRC. The essence of the “ecological civilization” concept is revealed in terms of the aspiration of the Chinese leadership, on the one hand, to implement its unique approach to the interaction between human society and nature, based on the principles of harmony from traditional Chinese culture, and opposite to the “violent”, hegemonic Western approach; on the other hand – to play a leading role in the current global “green” development within the framework of the “green transition” launched by Western states, while becoming a unifying power for the Third World countries in this direction. In practice, the PRC’s environmental policy, implemented through five-year development plans, has achieved notable success over the past two decades. The combination of caution with pragmatism and pedantry in the political and economic spheres strengthens China’s leadership position in the world. The current political and energy global crisis, which at a deeper level reveals a struggle of ideological and cultural paradigms, the process of establishing a new world order, creates favorable conditions for the realization of the Chinese “ecological civilization” concept, since it contains a harmonizing principle contrary to the “aggressive” approach of man to nature, that has prevailed over the past few centuries and has caused a rough dissonance between the direction of human development and the environment.

Keywords: China, “ecological civilization”, Pan Yue, Green Revolution, Sustainable Development, green agenda, environmental policy, green transition, green economy, five-year plan


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For citation:
Rovinskaya T. Concept of “Ecological Civilization” as a Foundation of China’s “Green” Strategy. World Eñonomy and International Relations, 2024, vol. 68, no. 9, pp. 89-100. https://doi.org/10.20542/0131-2227-2024-68-9-89-100 EDN: FBSZYH

Contents World Eñonomy and International Relations. 2024, vol. 68, no. 9

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