Recently, in July, Chinese President Xi Jinping made some considerations regarding ecological and environmental protection. The next five years will be a crucial period to sustain high-quality development in the People’s Republic of China in an ecologically sustainable environment, as well as to promote modernisation characterised by the harmonious coexistence of man and nature.

President Xi Jinping said that the country’s ecological framework has undergone historical, transformative and comprehensive changes, with significant strides made in building a more liveable People’s Republic.

While noting that China’s economy and society have entered a phase of high-quality development, this must be balanced by faster progress in promoting green and low-carbon growth, for which President Xi called for a broader perspective and greater efforts in planning and advancing ecological and environmental protection.

He emphasised the proper management of the relationship between quality development and high-level protection, to address major challenges and coordinate governance between natural and human-assisted restoration, and between external constraints and internal driving forces.

Environmental protection must be implemented to continuously create new driving forces and development benefits so as to build a green, low-carbon economy and effectively reduce the resource and environmental costs of development to increase potential and sustainability.

Both natural and human-assisted restoration methods should be comprehensively adopted in accordance with local circumstances so as to find the best ways to protect and restore liveable places.

He urged efforts to protect the ecological environment with stricter laws and regulations, and stimulate the internal impulse of the whole society to jointly care for the environment.

In terms of actions taken by China on the carbon issue, its international commitments are serious, but the path to reach these goals, as well as the manner, pace and intensity of efforts to achieve them, must be decided by the country itself rather than influenced by others.

Efforts must be made to step up the transformation of development models and adhere to green and low-carbon development as a fundamental solution to ecological and environmental problems.

Therefore, the People’s Republic of China has long been working to improve the diversity, stability and sustainability of the ecosystem and step up efforts to protect the environment.

At the same time, however, efforts to work proactively and steadily towards solving the carbon issue must strengthen the country’s ability to ensure oil and gas security.

The People’s Republic of China effectively safeguards ecological safety, as well as nuclear and radioactive safety, and ensures that the environment and natural conditions – which are the basis of survival and development – are not threatened or damaged. While urging a combination of efforts on the legal, market, technological and political fronts to facilitate the construction of a liveable China, President Xi said that support should be strengthened in financial areas, as well as in tax and price policies.

Rights on carbon emissions, on energy and water use, as well as pollution discharge, will be allocated in a market-oriented manner through reforms.

The People’s Republic of China has been calling for more support for science and technology in recent decades, so that all-out efforts will be made to achieve breakthroughs in basic technologies in key areas, while the implementation of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, will be more advanced.

On the latter point, it must be said that environmental protection goes hand in hand with the work on cybersecurity and computerisation.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, the People’s Republic of China has made significant progress in its work on cybersecurity and computerisation. It has put in place a system for integrated cyberspace management, and its cybersecurity system and capability are constantly improving.

The country has stepped up its efforts to increase its self-sufficiency and strength in science and technology, while at the same time strengthening the careful management of cyberspace based on national and international laws. Today the role of cybersecurity and computerisation work is becoming increasingly important, as there is a need to coordinate development and security, strengthen the country’s ability to ensure cybersecurity, and promote community building for a shared future in cyberspace.

In this regard, vigorous efforts are being made to promote the development of cybersecurity and computerisation initiatives, and new results are being achieved in terms of Chinese authoritativeness on cyberspace issues. New contributions are therefore being made to the construction of a modern socialist country in all respects, promoting not only the rejuvenation of the nation, but also of the Marxist principles upon which it is founded.

Well-defined paths are currently being charted to advance the cybersecurity and computerisation work, as concrete efforts to implement the strategic agreements in this regard reached at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2022.  

Promoting the development of high quality cybersecurity and computerisation work is providing strong support for turning the People’s Republic of China into a great country at the forefront of every field.

The coordination and development of cybersecurity promotes the building of a community for a future regulated by international standards that protect rights for and within cyberspace.

Regulation is needed because some countries see cyberspace as a new battleground for military superiority. They promote the concept of deterrence and attack; introduce military alliances into it; favour the definition of cyber engagement rules, and increase the risk of cyber friction and conflict between countries, thus threatening international peace and security.

The critical IT infrastructure faces increased risks and hidden dangers. Cyberattacks and cybercrime have increased dramatically and cyberterrorism has become a global public danger. Fake news is rampant on the Internet and large-scale user data has been leaked and misused. The global system of allocation and management of the Internet’s basic resources is unfair and unreasonable. The uneven development between rich and poor countries and macro-regions is evident, and the digital divide continues to grow.

Some countries politicise technology and cybersecurity issues; arbitrarily suppress IT companies in other countries, and create unfair and inequitable barriers to global information and communication supply chains and to trade in products, thus undermining global development and cooperation.

In the meantime, the People’s Republic of China is fighting against all this to promote equal sharing in cyberspace. The international community should promote – within the appropriate UN fora – the definition of international rules for cyberspace that are generally accepted by the international community, and jointly respond to risks and challenges, in order to maintain peace, security and prosperity in cyberspace and hence in the whole world.