How Xi steers China's green transformation and global climate action

BEIJING -- In 2026, the intensifying fallout of global climate change -- manifesting in catastrophic flooding, rampant wildfires, and record heatwaves -- reaffirms the imperative for immediate, coordinated global action.

With global climate tipping points looming, the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference, set to kick off on Monday in Antalya, Turkiye, will offer a new opportunity for the international community to renew momentum for more effective global climate cooperation.

Under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China has over the years stayed committed to advancing ecological protection and green transition domestically, and promoting international climate cooperation, making major global contributions to the world's fight against what many regard as an existential threat to humanity.

"LIKE WE PROTECT OUR EYES"

"We should protect the environment like we protect our eyes." This evocative principle — voiced on various occasions by Xi — frames ecological conservation not merely as a policy choice, but as a vital imperative drawn directly from his own experiences.

"Over four decades ago, I lived and worked for many years in a small village on the Loess Plateau in western China," Xi recalled in reply to a letter from student representatives of the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate in 2020.

Back then, the ecology and environment there was seriously damaged due to over-development, and the local people were trapped in poverty as a result. That experience has taught him that man and nature are a community of life and that the damage done to nature will ultimately hurt humanity.

An avid reader of Chinese classics, Xi has also been deeply influenced by the traditional Chinese philosophy that views man as an integral part of nature. "All beings flourish when they live in harmony and receive nourishment from nature," he has said.

This conviction underpins the signature environmental doctrine that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," which Xi first introduced in 2005 while serving as Party chief of Zhejiang province.

Upon becoming General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee in 2012, Xi made ecological conservation a national priority.

For Xi, ecological conservation requires not only a profound shift in development philosophy, but also robust institutional safeguards. As he has put it, "Eco-environmental protection relies on laws and regulations."

At his direction, environmental performance has become a key criterion for evaluating officials, while environmental inspections have reinforced local governments' accountability for fulfilling their environmental responsibilities. Together, these measures have helped steer China's economic growth toward a more resource-efficient and sustainable path.

Since 2012, China has sustained a 6 percent average annual economic growth rate while capping an average energy consumption increase to just 3.3 percent. This structural decoupling yielded a 26.1 percent cumulative decline in energy intensity, marking one of the steepest efficiency gains globally.

Xi has also led by example in promoting environmental protection and green development. Since becoming China's top leader, he has personally participated in tree-planting activities in Beijing for 14 consecutive years.

Forests have the capacity to conserve water, bring in economic benefits, and boost grain production, and now serve well as a carbon sink, he has noted.

Today, China has expanded its forest coverage to over 25 percent of its land area, planting trees across an area roughly 1.7 times the size of California since 2012. The annual carbon-sink capacity of China's forests and grassland has exceeded 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents.

Fuad Gani, vice director of the Graduate School of Sustainable Development at the University of Indonesia, said that China's ecological conservation philosophy stands out for its ability to translate environmental goals into long-term policies and governance frameworks.

"It is one of China's most valuable contributions to advancing green transformation on the global stage," he said.