Nation's green development accelerating

More than a decade ago, when President Xi Jinping joined deliberations with national lawmakers and political advisers during China's annual two sessions in 2014, he raised pointed questions about fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, for three consecutive days.

"Compared with Beijing, how is the level of PM2.5 in Shanghai?" Xi asked during a panel discussion with Shanghai deputies to the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, on March 5 that year, in a widely reported exchange with the municipality's ecology and environment bureau head.

At the time, images of smog-shrouded skylines in Beijing were making global headlines, turning China's air pollution into an international talking point, and making PM2.5 — airborne particles measuring 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter that can harm the lungs — part of everyday vocabulary.

Today, the term is far less frequently heard. Clearer skies across many Chinese cities have become increasingly common. According to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China's air quality reached its best level on record in 2025, with the average PM2.5 concentration dropping to 28 micrograms per cubic meter.

The change reflects not only targeted pollution-control campaigns, but also a deeper transformation in China's green development philosophy — one that has been repeatedly articulated by Xi at the annual meetings of the NPC and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China's top political advisory body.

In 2015, while joining deliberations with NPC deputies from Jiangxi province, Xi said that "protecting the environment is ensuring livelihood", adding that the eco-environment should be safeguarded as if protecting "one's own eyes and life", showing his resolve to curb the widespread pollution that was choking the world's second-largest economy.

In 2016, during discussions with NPC deputies from Heilongjiang province, he called for drawing red lines for environmental protection and leaving sufficient space for sustainable development, in order to leave a beautiful homeland with blue skies, green land and clear waters for future generations.

In 2018, addressing fellow lawmakers from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Xi stressed efforts to strengthen the protection of forests and wetlands, to step up the fight against desertification and pollution, and to build the "Green Great Wall" along the northern border of the motherland.

Christoph Nedopil Wang, a professor of economics at Griffith University in Australia who specializes in the green economic transition in the Asia-Pacific region, said that earlier stages of China's approach to green development focused primarily on visible issues such as air quality and PM2.5 levels.

"Over the past decade, China's philosophy has shifted from reactive pollution control — often described as a 'pollute first, clean up later' approach — to a proactive, systemic economic transformation," he said.

Xi has repeatedly emphasized during the two sessions the need to maintain "strategic resolve" in advancing ecological civilization. In 2019, while addressing Inner Mongolia deputies to the NPC, he stressed that environmental protection and economic development are closely integrated and complement each other, and warned against sacrificing ecological standards for short-term growth.

During the two sessions in 2020, he described ecological protection as a long-term plan for the benefit of the people, stressing that China must adhere to the principle of prioritizing ecological conservation and pursuing green development.

In September 2020, when delivering a speech at the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Xi announced that China would strive to have carbon dioxide emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060 — marking the first time that Beijing laid out a concrete timeline for net-zero emissions.

Wang, from Griffith University, said Xi's emphasis on strategic resolve signals China's policy continuity and long-term planning. While many Western countries face fluctuating environmental commitments, China's system provides predictability for large-scale green finance and industrial investment, Wang noted.

In his view, China treats the green transition not as a luxury to be discarded during economic uncertainty, but as a fundamental requirement for future competitiveness, resource security and social stability. "By maintaining this course, China aims to solidify its dominance in global green supply chains," said Wang.

Wang Xiaoli, an associate professor in the Department of Social and Ecological Development at the National Academy of Governance, said that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, China's green transformation has gone far beyond the environmental sector itself, contributing to a high-quality development model.

"China's 'green content' in economic development has continued to rise, with green and low-carbon industries now accounting for more than 18 percent of GDP," she said, noting that advanced manufacturing with environmental and climate-friendly characteristics, green technologies, digital transformation, artificial intelligence and high-value-added services have emerged as new growth engines. "The fact that China has been able to achieve rapid economic development while steadily improving environmental quality has demonstrated to the world the effectiveness of this strategic resolve," she said.

Institutional support has also strengthened. During the two sessions in 2023, the CPPCC officially established a new sector, "environment and resources", adding it to the 34 sectors within the top political advisory body, reflecting a heightened priority on ecological protection, sustainable development and green energy goals in national policy planning.

In 2024, when joining the discussion of political advisers, including those from the sector of environment and resources, Xi, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said that the CPC Central Committee always attaches great importance to environmental protection.

He emphasized the need to secure red lines in the development and protection of territorial space, and improve the region-specific environmental management system, in order to further consolidate the ecological foundations of high-quality development.

On the country's plan to control new pollutants following its treatment of smog and black and malodorous water bodies, Xi said that both newfound and persisting environmental problems need to be addressed.

"Today, the focus of China's green development philosophy is firmly on ecological civilization and high-quality development," said Wang of Griffith University. "In recent two sessions, this has culminated in the concept of new quality productive forces," which integrates green technology as a pillar of economic growth and national security, rather than treating environmental protection as a cost, he said.

As this year marks the beginning of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period, analysts said the international community will closely watch for further policy signals regarding China's green development at this year's two sessions, which begin this week.

Wang of the National Academy of Governance noted that the recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan outlined key areas for accelerating the green transition across the board and building a beautiful China. She said that the goal of peaking carbon emissions, before 2030, the final year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, is expected to draw particular attention, especially regarding new policy instruments, accounting systems and supervision mechanisms.

Wang, the Griffith University professor, said that key areas of international interest will likely include expanding the national carbon market to heavy industries such as steel and cement, integrating AI into green manufacturing and offering new incentives for transition finance.

How China balances domestic carbon goals with its role as a leading exporter of green energy equipment amid rising trade tensions will also be closely monitored, he added.