Silk Road of Green Development

Environmental protection is a common concern of humanity. Addressing the Legislative Chamber of the Uzbek Supreme Assembly on June 22, 2016, President Xi Jinping emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation in environmental and ecological protection, so as to build a Silk Road of green development.

This idea had previously been affirmed by the Chinese government in a white paper entitled Joining Hands to Build a Silk Road Economic Belt and a 21st-century Maritime Silk Road – Vision and Actions. The document highlights the importance of a green, low-carbon approach to building and operating infrastructure, taking into full account the imperative to mitigate the impact of climate change. It encourages joint efforts to build a Silk Road of green development by integrating ecological considerations into trade and investment strategies, and expanding cooperation in protecting the environment and biodiversity and addressing climate change.

Contributing to the goal of sustainable development, and informed by the concept of environmentally friendly development, the Silk Road of green development initiative calls for a careful balance between economic growth and environmental protection, with due consideration given to the ecological carrying capacity of the countries concerned. Ecological protection, prevention and control of desertification, and clean energy, among others, already feature prominently in strategic planning exercises for implementing the Belt and Road Initiative. The prospects for a Silk Road of green development look bright.

綠色絲綢之路

環(huán)境問題是人類社會面臨的共同問題。2016年6月22日，習(xí)近平主席在烏茲別克斯坦最高會議立法院發(fā)表演講時指出，要著力深化環(huán)保合作，踐行綠色發(fā)展理念，加大生態(tài)環(huán)境保護(hù)力度，攜手打造綠色絲綢之路。此前中國公布的《推動共建絲綢之路經(jīng)濟(jì)帶和 21 世紀(jì)海上絲綢之路的愿景與行動》也明確提出，強化基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施綠色低碳化建設(shè)和運營管理，在建設(shè)中充分考慮氣候變化影響，在投資貿(mào)易中突出生態(tài)文明理念，加強生態(tài)環(huán)境、生物多樣性和應(yīng)對氣候變化合作，共建綠色絲綢之路。綠色絲綢之路體現(xiàn)了可持續(xù)發(fā)展的理念，它要求在“一帶一路”建設(shè)中秉承綠色和環(huán)保理念，正確處理經(jīng)濟(jì)增長和環(huán)境保護(hù)的關(guān)系，充分考慮沿線國家的生態(tài)承載能力，共建一個良好的生態(tài)環(huán)境。“一帶一路”建設(shè)已將生態(tài)環(huán)保、防沙治沙、清潔能源等列為重點發(fā)展產(chǎn)業(yè)，綠色絲綢之路面臨發(fā)展良機。