This year's World Environment Day is being celebrated on Saturday. On this special occasion, a revisit of Chinese President Xi Jinping's vision of a "prosperous, clean and beautiful world" bears a particular significance for the protection of nature.
Calling for the world's concerted efforts to protect the environment, tackle climate challenges and achieve harmony between humanity and nature has been ranking high on the agenda of China's diplomatic priorities, also an indispensible part of Xiplomacy.
"Faced with unprecedented challenges in global environmental governance, the international community needs to come up with unprecedented ambition and action," Xi said when addressing the Leaders Summit on Climate via video link from Beijing on April 22.
"We need to act with a sense of responsibility and unity, and work together to foster a community of life for man and nature," he said.
As the world's largest developing country, China has been taking the lead in the global response to climate change.
China has announced that it will strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. It means the country will complete the world's largest reduction in carbon emission intensity, and realize carbon neutrality from carbon peaking in the shortest time in global history.
The task is extremely challenging, but China will deliver on its promise, Xi said at a video summit with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in April, while stressing that responding to climate change is the common cause of all humanity.
To promote effective global cooperation in this regard, China has put forward its solutions.
"We need to focus on green development and forge drivers of future-oriented cooperation," Xi noted in a keynote speech when chairing the China-Central and Eastern European Countries Summit in February.
Xi at the summit called on countries "to steadfastly advance international cooperation on climate change, jointly implement the Paris Agreement and contribute to the success of COP26 (the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and COP15 (the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties) of the Convention on Biological Diversity, both to be held this year."
"COVID-19 reminds us of the interdependence between man and Nature. It falls to all of us to act together and urgently to advance protection and development in parallel, so that we can turn Earth into a beautiful homeland for all creatures to live in harmony," Xi said at the UN Summit on Biodiversity in September 2020.
To achieve such a goal, Xi proposed that "we need to find a way for man and nature to live in harmony, balance and coordinate economic development and ecological protection, and work together to build a prosperous, clean and beautiful world."
At this summit, Xi also shared China's wisdom and experience in environmental protection with the international community.
From the traditional Chinese wisdom that the laws of Nature govern all things and that man must seek harmony with Nature, to the new development philosophy emphasizing innovative, coordinated, green and open development for all, China has always prioritized ecological progress and embedded it in every dimension and phase of its economic and social development, Xi said.
Xi has urged actions to protect the environment on different occasions, both domestically and internationally. "Only by doing so could we leave to our future generations a working and living environment of blue skies, green fields and clean water."
"As long as we unite in our purposes and efforts and work together with solidarity and mutual assistance, we will rise above the global climate and environment challenges and leave a clean and beautiful world to future generations." Xi said in April's climate summit with world leaders.
