Children play at an ecological park in Sihong County, Suqian, Jiangsu Province, on July 3. Photo: IC PHOTO

The first volume of selected works of Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, on ecological civilization (hereinafter referred to as the “Selected Works”) has recently been released by the Central Party Literature Press, marking a significant contribution to the study of Xi Jinping Thought on Eco-Civilization. Comprising 79 important texts—including speeches, reports, directives, and written instructions—this authoritative collection spans from December 2012 to April 2025. Several of the pieces appear in print for the first time, offering scholars a wealth of original material for research.

Scholars regard the Selected Works as both an authoritative reference for advancing ecological civilization in the new era and a foundational text for theoretical inquiry. It offers essential guidance for building a Beautiful China and for comprehensively advancing the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature.

Compared with previously published compilations, the volume incorporates Xi’s most essential and fundamental works on the construction of ecological civilization from December 2012 through to April 2025. Noted for its high degree of thematic concentration, it offers the most systematic and comprehensive articulation to date of Xi Jinping Thought on Eco-Civilization.

Huan Qingzhi, a professor from the School of Marxism at Peking University (PKU) and director of the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Eco-Civilization at PKU, noted that the Selected Works is structurally more complete. The newly added chapters address key issues such as the insight that “Chinese modernization is the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature;” the need to properly manage several major relationships in promoting ecological progress; and the imperative of a full-spectrum green transformation in economic and social development. These additions significantly broaden and deepen the thematic scope of Xi Jinping Thought on Eco-Civilization, reinforcing both its practical relevance and its instructive value.

Through its diverse documentary forms, thematic breadth, and multilayered exposition, the Selected Works illuminates China’s theoretical innovations, national strategic arrangements, creative institutional practices, and global environmental governance commitments on ecological civilization construction, said Yang Kaizhong, a Member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Yang observed that the Selected Works’ all-encompassing scope reflects the systematic and forward-looking nature of Xi Jinping Thought on Eco-Civilization. It covers all key elements of ecological governance and their interrelations, linking the vision of a Beautiful China with global environmental governance. The volume integrates ecological, productive, and living spaces, balances near-term needs with long-term goals, and harmonizes state leadership with market mechanisms—thus forming a theoretical framework that is all-encompassing in its dimensions, national in its reach, and continuous in its application.

Yang further pointed out that the Selected Works offers layered guidance across multiple levels of practice. It combines conceptual explanations with concrete policy arrangements, macro-level discourse with operational direction—achieving a seamless unity between theoretical principle and practical implementation.

In the view of Huang Chengliang, secretary general of the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Eco-Civilization at CASS, the Selected Works establishes a “four-in-one” synergy through a strategic and systematic vision.

At the theoretical level, Huang explained, the volume centers on key notions such as “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” and “a community of life for humanity and nature,” while clarifying the civilizational principle that “society will prosper when the environment improves, and lose vigor as the environment degrades.” These ideas together construct an epistemological foundation for understanding what ecological civilization entails.

At the practical level, from the hard-fought battle against pollution to the ambitious goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, the Selected Works reveals China’s ecological progress as a profound green revolution, laying out a clear methodological and operational framework for building an ecological civilization, Huang said.

Institutionally, Huang added, it advocates using the strictest possible standards and most rigorous legal frameworks to safeguard the environment. The volume emphasizes strong prevention at the source, strict oversight throughout the process, and serious consequences for violations—establishing a robust rule-of-law foundation for ecological governance in the new era. On the global stage, the Selected Works advances visions such as “a community of all life on Earth,” contributing Chinese wisdom and solutions to this shared global endeavor.