China's green transformation: a global asset

Tourists visit a scenic area in Fuzhou, east China's Jiangxi province, March 8, 2026. (Photo/Guo Hao)

As China enters the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), the world keenly observes how the nation will advance its green transformation and the subsequent impact on global sustainability.

During this year's "two sessions," the annual meetings of China's top legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), and top political advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), international attention focused on China's new blueprint for accelerating the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development. This renewed focus underscores China's steadfast commitment to achieving harmony between humanity and nature.

Reviewing China's environmental progress reveals a significant record of achievement for a nation of over 1.4 billion people. In 2025, China's carbon dioxide emissions per 10,000 yuan (about $1,450) of GDP fell by 5.0 percent. The proportion of days with good or excellent air quality in cities at or above prefectural level reached 89.3 percent, the best on record. Green electricity accounted for nearly 40 percent of the country's total power consumption, and China has built the world's largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system.

Since 2012, China has carried out afforestation covering more than 1.1 billion mu (733,333 square kilometers), contributing about 25 percent of the world's newly added green areas and becoming the country that has expanded greenery the most and the fastest.

Amidst international concerns about regressive climate policies in some major nations, China's actions provide increasing momentum and hope for the global green transition. These substantial "green achievements" stem from strategic foresight and sustained commitment.

The 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) established the core principles of innovative, coordinated, green, open, and shared development. The subsequent 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) laid out specific requirements for achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals.

The recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan list making major new strides in advancing the "Beautiful China" initiative as one of the major objectives, and include a dedicated section on "Accelerating the Green Transition across the Board and Building a Beautiful China."

The draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan sets five indicators related to carbon reduction, pollution control, and ecological and environmental protection, along with 18 major projects focused on carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, environmental quality improvement, and ecological protection and restoration. The continuity of planning ensures consistency in both policy and action.

As the 15th Five-Year Plan period begins, China is accelerating its comprehensive green transition, making the green foundation of high-quality development ever more pronounced.

Flocks of ruddy shelducks fly northward from a national nature reserve in Zhangye, northwest China's Gansu province, March 5, 2026. (Photo/Yang Yongwei)

Balancing environmental protection with development remains a global challenge. Sustainable transformation requires tangible benefits for people. Guided by the principle that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," China approaches green development with a long-term, holistic, and comprehensive perspective, recognizing that a sound ecological environment is the most inclusive public good for people's well-being.

In Yucun village in east China's Zhejiang province, the closure of mines has given rise to a thriving eco-tourism industry. In the Changjiang village of Fengdu, southwest China's Chongqing municipality, the shift away from fishing following fishing bans has paved the way for the development of featured agriculture.

In Jiangyin, east China's Jiangsu province, industrial transformation has moved from pollution-intensive to green-oriented development. In Guizhou province in southwest China, the once incidental product of rocky desertification control -- Rosa roxburghii fruit, or Chinese prickly pear -- has been upgraded into a "golden fruit" that boosts incomes and prosperity.

These carefully considered choices in green transformation allow people to share in the dividends of development under blue skies and clear waters.

By pursuing eco-friendly policies that benefit, enrich, and serve the people, China has turned the fruits of green development into tangible improvements in people's well-being, offering valuable inspiration to other countries.

An article in the European journal Modern Diplomacy noted that China's high-quality development model provides other Global South countries with a demonstrative pathway for integrating environmental sustainability with economic growth.

China's environmental record also reflects its leadership and responsibility in global green development.

China continues to provide high-quality, efficient green and low-carbon products to countries around the world, especially developing nations. Its wind power equipment, photovoltaic products, and new energy vehicles are exported to more than 200 countries and regions.

China supplies about 70 percent of the world's wind power equipment and 80 percent of photovoltaic components, helping drive down the global cost of wind and solar power generation by more than 60 percent and 80 percent respectively.

At this critical moment in the global green transition, China has actively participated in global governance in related fields, achieved notable achievements in implementing its 2030 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), announced new NDCs, and carried out green energy cooperation projects with more than 100 countries and regions.

Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, noted that China's development of renewable energy has made outstanding contributions to global climate action, and that the achievements made possible by China's combination of long-term planning, industrial capacity, and policy coordination will change the trajectory of global development.

A new picture of China's green development is unfolding. As the 15th Five-Year Plan period begins, China will continue unswervingly to pursue green development that prioritizes eco-environmental conservation and protection, work with all countries to preserve what gives our planet life, jointly address global climate challenges, protect the green Earth, and secure a cleaner and more beautiful world.