Configuration of Territorial Space Development and Protection
Territorial space is the most valuable natural resource of a country. It is the spatial carrier of an eco-civilization. As the conditions of different types of territorial space vary, different development tasks and goals should be determined for specific functional zones to form a rational configuration.
In September 2015, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council jointly issued an Overall Plan to Reform the System for Developing an Eco-civilization, putting forward for the first time the systems for territorial space development and protection. In October 2017, the 19th CPC National Congress announced the decision to establish systems for developing and protecting territorial space, to improve support policies on functional zones, and to develop a system of protected areas composed mainly of national parks.
In creating such systems, China has to strike a balance between population, resources and the environment, allot space to production, daily life and environmental development as appropriate, and coordinate the economic, social and ecological benefits. It will apply law-based, market-oriented regulation over the use of territorial space, control the intensity of territorial space development, and adjust the spatial structure, so as to ensure efficient use of production space and maintain a pleasant living space and a beautiful eco-environment. As a result, there will be more space for nature to restore itself, more fertile land for agriculture, and a homeland with blue skies, green vegetation and clear waters for future generations.
A territorial space plan is a blueprint for sustainable development of China's territorial space, and guides various development and protection activities. In May 2019, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council jointly published guidelines on setting up a system for territorial space planning, and on supervising their implementation. Current separated plans for functional zoning, land use, and urban-rural development will be rolled into one national plan for territorial space development and protection, which as the top-level design will have a binding effect on various special development plans. This will create an appropriate institutional framework.
The 14th Five-year Plan, published in March 2021, lists better development and protection of territorial space as one of the major objectives to be achieved during the period 2021-2025. A new configuration will be created based on the carrying capacity of resources and the environment and the comparative strengths of various regions, and there will be rational flows and concentration of production factors and high-quality development as suited to each area's distinctive functions and complementary strengths.
Territorial space development and protection will benefit China's modernization drive with harmony between humanity and nature. It is also vital to global economic development and ecological security.
国土空间开发保护格局
国土空间是国家和民族最宝贵的自然资源，是生态文明建设的空间载体。不同的国土空间，自然状况不同，需要根据其主体功能定位确定开发内容和发展的主要任务，构建科学合理的空间格局。2015年9月，中共中央、国务院印发《生态文明体制改革总体方案》，首次提出构建国土空间开发保护制度。2017年10月，中共十九大进一步提出，构建国土空间开发保护制度，完善主体功能区配套政策，建立以国家公园为主体的自然保护地体系。
构建国土空间开发保护制度，就是按照人口、资源、环境相均衡，生产空间、生活空间、生态空间三大功能空间科学布局，经济效益、社会效益、生态效益三类效益有机统一的原则，以法律为依据，以空间规划为基础，以用途管制和市场化机制为手段，严格控制国土空间开发强度，调整优化空间结构，促进生产空间集约高效、生活空间宜居适度、生态空间山清水秀，给自然留下更多修复空间，给农业留下更多良田，给子孙留下天蓝、地绿、水净的美好家园。
国土空间规划是国家空间发展的指南、可持续发展的空间蓝图，是各类开发保护建设活动的基本依据。2019年5月，中共中央、国务院印发《关于建立国土空间规划体系并监督实施的若干意见》，提出建立“五级三类四体系”的国土空间规划体系，将主体功能区规划、土地利用规划、城乡规划等空间规划融合为统一的国土空间规划，实现“多规合一”，强化国土空间规划对各专项规划的指导约束作用，这标志着国土空间规划体系顶层设计和“四梁八柱”基本形成。
2021年3月，“十四五”规划《纲要》明确将优化国土空间开发保护格局作为“十四五”时期生态文明建设的一个主要目标，提出立足资源环境承载能力，发挥各地区比较优势，促进各类要素合理流动和高效集聚，推动形成主体功能明显、优势互补、高质量发展的国土空间开发保护新格局。中国构建国土空间开发保护新格局是建设人与自然和谐共生现代化的需要，对全球经济发展和生态安全具有举足轻重的作用。