
一 |

"Building an ecological civilization concerns the well-being of the people and the future of the nation."
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, once pointed out: "Respecting, adapting to, and protecting nature is essential for building China into a modern socialist country in all respects."
In the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for national economic and social development, securing major breakthroughs in strategic tasks of overall importance to Chinese modernization and making major new progress in the Beautiful China Initiative are key objectives.
The Global Times is launching a series of articles titled "BeautifulChinaING." From the perspectives of the beauty of nature, the beauty of systems and the beauty of lifestyles, the series uses both Chinese and international cases as entry points. Through field reporting and video storytelling, it explores how green development has become a defining feature of Chinese modernization while showcasing China's role as a responsible major country providing global public goods.
In this installment, we turn our focus to China's Ecological and Environmental Code and the changes it may bring to everyday life. From neighborhood noise and restaurant fumes to ecological conservation and green development, this article examines how the code brings scattered environmental rules into a unified framework, strengthens public participation and turns the vision of a Beautiful China into concrete rules for environmental governance.
A power drill starts in a neighboring apartment just as someone is trying to sleep. Cooking fumes from the restaurant downstairs drift through an open window. A modified car roars past a residential compound, while a food delivery arrives wrapped in layers of plastic. According to China's new Ecological and Environmental Code, these seemingly minor, everyday frictions - closely tied to how people live, sleep, cook, commute and consume - are precisely where environmental governance begins.
The code will take effect on Saturday. Spanning 1,242 articles across five books, it is China's second law to be formally titled a "code," following the Civil Code. It brings pollution control, ecological conservation and green and low-carbon development under one legal framework, while incorporating 10 existing laws.
Speaking at a press conference held on Thursday, Minister of Ecology and Environment Li Gao said that the Ecological and Environmental Code is of major and far-reaching significance for safeguarding the public's ecological and environmental rights and interests in accordance with the law, consolidating the legal foundation for building a Beautiful China, and accelerating modernization characterized by harmony between humanity and nature.
As China puts the vast environmental code into force, a practical question arises: How will it make daily life quieter, cleaner and easier to navigate - and turn the vision of a Beautiful China into rules that people can see, use and help enforce?
From doorsteps to ecosystems
In Mengla county, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, elephant ranger Li Shengqian once walked through a large area of flattened cornfields. While local rangers were attending training, more than 40 wild Asian elephants descended from the mountains, ate the ripe sweet corn, rolled in a mineral-rich pond and then retreated into the forest to sleep.
A local forestry official told the Global Times that an insurance company would assess the damage and compensate the villagers.
Yunnan has gradually turned such compensation from an improvised response into an institutional arrangement. Under its wildlife-damage public liability insurance system, governments pay the premiums, affected farmers do not contribute, and insurers assess and compensate their losses.
By August 2024, Xishuangbanna had invested 225 million yuan ($33.3 million) in the scheme and paid 215 million yuan in compensation for wildlife damage, including 188 million yuan for losses caused by Asian elephants.
The code gives such practices a clearer legal foundation. Article 828 requires local governments in areas seriously affected by wildlife damage to combine compensation with preventive measures, including protective barriers, warning signs and monitoring and early-warning systems. It also stipulates compensation for deaths, injuries and losses to crops or other property resulting from the protection of specified wildlife. In this way, the cost of conservation is not left solely to those living closest to protected animals.
For environmental volunteers, the change may be felt in a different way. Yun Jianli founded the Green Hanjiang environmental group in Central China's Hubei Province in 2002 and has spent more than two decades investigating pollution along the Hanjiang River.
Yun said volunteers previously often had difficulty dealing with legal matters. "When dealing with some environmental issues, we often had to search across different laws to find a legal basis," she told the Global Times. "The new code integrates these systems, providing clearer and more authoritative legal support for environmental actions."
That support extends beyond a general recognition of participation. The code requires public consultations in environmental planning, standard-setting and impact assessments; mandates accessible reporting channels and feedback for real-name reports; and prohibits employers from retaliating against workers who report pollution by their own organizations.
For volunteers such as Yun, public participation is therefore no longer only an appeal to civic responsibility. It is positioned as a legally protected part of environmental governance.
After Saturday, the code's practical effect will be tested in equally concrete ways.
From blueprint to reality
Turning this wide breadth of laws into a single code requires more than collecting existing statutes. Lawmakers first had to decide which rules should be fully integrated, which specialized laws should remain in place and where new legal foundations were needed.
Compilation formally began on November 3, 2023. A leadership group coordinated major issues, a drafting task force handled the text, and an expert committee provided specialist input. The draft was reviewed twice as a whole and twice in separate books before it was adopted on March 12, 2026, completing a process of nearly two and a half years.
The approach was described as "moderate codification." Huang Wei, a deputy director of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee and coordinator of the drafting task force, told the People's Daily that the aim was not to absorb every environmental law into one volume. Instead, different groups of laws were treated differently.
Ten laws covering environmental protection, environmental impact assessment, cleaner production and major forms of pollution control were revised and incorporated in full, and will no longer remain as separate statutes once the code takes effect. Core provisions from more than 20 other laws involving forests, grasslands, major river basins, national parks, energy and resource conservation were included while those laws were retained. For newer fields such as climate governance and the carbon-peaking and carbon-neutrality goals, the code establishes guiding principles while leaving room for more detailed legislation.
The code was also shaped outside meeting rooms in Beijing. In May 2025, Chinese and international students at a vocational university in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality discussed the draft, with their suggestions sent to the national legislature through a grassroots legislative contact point, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, also took part in seminars organized by the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee and other departments during the code's drafting. His organization later submitted detailed proposals when the draft was released for public comment, he told the Global Times.
"The open legislative process was significant in itself, as it prompted broad public discussion of decades of environmental legislation and the major issues of our time," Ma said. "It has enabled the code to engage with cutting-edge international legislative theories while remaining grounded in the practical challenges China faces," Ma said.
During the four rounds of public consultation, more than 7,000 people participated and submitted over 20,000 comments. The drafting team conducted research in more than 30 localities and held 17 seminars in Beijing with national legislators, government departments, companies, social organizations and scholars, the People's Daily reported.
Suggestions from the public and grassroots contact points helped shape rules on emerging pollutants, urban greening, climate governance and legal liability. Following deliberations at the final NPC session, more than 200 additional changes were made, including over 100 substantive revisions, Xinhua reported.
Passing the code, however, did not automatically align the many rules beneath it. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment said it was reviewing more than 500 related documents, including over 30 administrative regulations, more than 80 departmental rules and over 400 normative documents. Provisions that conflict with, fail to connect with or no longer fit the code will be revised or repealed, while supporting rules and technical standards are being updated.
Innovative tools have also been used in preparation for the code's implementation. An AI-assisted system has been developed to address the difficulties and high costs involved in assessing ecological and environmental damage. The system has been piloted free of charge in 28 provincial-level regions and applied in more than 300 cases, reducing average assessment time by over 80 percent, according to the ministry.
Wider legal practice
Environmental codification is not unique to China. Sweden adopted its Environmental Code in 1998 and brought together rules previously contained in 15 acts. It then entered into force on January 1, 1999. France issued the legislative part of its Environmental Code in September 2000. Germany also attempted to establish a unified environmental code, but the project stalled in 2009.
In terms of the Ecological and Environmental Code of China, an article published in the international journal Carbon Research described it as a systemic response to the interconnected crises of pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change, while also identifying incomplete supporting rules, uneven legal coordination and limited public awareness as implementation challenges.
An editorial by the People's Daily published on Thursday noted that the enactment of the Ecological and Environmental Code signifies a major transformation in China from a participant to a leader in global environmental governance, providing a legislative model that can be studied by countries around the world, especially developing countries.
Lu Weifu, a researcher at the University of Science and Technology of China, wrote in an article published by China Environment News that the code's distinctive feature lies in combining systematic integration with an open structure. Unlike environmental codes primarily shaped around conventional pollution control, China's code places pollution prevention, ecological conservation and green and low-carbon development within the same framework. Its separate book on green and low-carbon development also brings climate change and economic transformation into the core structure of environmental law.
Ma said that conventional air-pollution control and climate governance had long operated in relatively separate legal systems. By connecting the control of conventional pollutants with reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions, he said, the code could support more coordinated regulation and reduce duplicated systems and administrative work.
The larger shift is from dealing with environmental harm only after it occurs to addressing how energy, industry and consumption generate that harm in the first place, he said.


二 | 但真正值得分析的问题是,这种策略到底能不能改变南海力量格局?美国提供的支持,到底能给菲律宾多少底气?
在我看来,菲律宾现在走的是一条非常典型的“低成本博弈路线”,通过有限行动制造国际关注,通过外部合作提高谈判筹码,但又刻意避免直接进入军事冲突。问题在于,这种策略可以制造新闻,却很难改变现实。 三架轻型飞机背后 可以断定,8月21日菲律宾飞机进入黄岩岛相关空域,并不是一次以军事打击为目的的行动。从公开信息看,菲方出动的飞机包括“岛人”双发轻型飞机、C-208单发通用飞机以及PA-31T轻型公务机,这些航空器本身并不具备对地、对海攻击能力,也没有携带明显军事武器。 如果从纯军事角度看,这几架飞机很难对中国形成实质威胁,那么问题来了,既然改变不了力量对比,为什么还要冒险行动?答案其实就在行动本身。 这类轻型航空器最大的价值,不是作战,而是接近、拍摄和传播。飞机上如果搭载媒体人员或者相关拍摄设备,一旦出现中方进行识别、喊话、驱离的画面,就可以被包装成新的舆论素材,这也是近年来南海争议中的一个明显变化。
三 |
过去菲律宾更多依靠海上公务船、渔船制造现场摩擦,现在开始尝试把场景扩大到空中。原因很简单,飞机速度更快,画面冲击力更强,国际传播效果也更明显。 但从逻辑上看,这种方式解决不了核心问题。
四 | 因为南海博弈最终比拼的不是谁制造了一段视频,而是谁能够长期维持实际控制能力、规则执行能力以及风险承受能力。
中国南部战区此次采取的是快速识别、跟踪监视、喊话警告的方式,没有让事件进一步升级,这实际上体现的是一种控制风险的处理方式。
五 |
对于大国之间的海空互动来说,真正重要的不是每一次都把事情推向冲突,而是在确保底线的情况下,把局势控制在可管理范围内。 从仁爱礁到黄岩岛 依我看,黄岩岛事件不能单独看待,它和仁爱礁方向的变化实际上属于同一条逻辑线,菲律宾长期以来在南海采取的一种方式,就是通过持续行动维持争议热度。
六 |
仁爱礁问题始于1999年,当年菲律宾将“马德雷山号”登陆舰驶入仁爱礁并长期坐滩,此后这艘老旧军舰一直停留在那里,成为双方长期争议焦点。 过去多年,中方在处理这一问题时保持克制,允许菲方进行必要生活补给,同时保留外交沟通空间。
七 | 但随着时间推移,双方围绕补给规则出现变化。
据相关公开报道,菲律宾曾试图借补给机会运输额外物资,用于加强坐滩舰状态,这使原本维持的人道安排逐渐转变为新的争议来源。 2025年以后,菲律宾在黄岩岛方向的动作也明显增加,包括海上活动、舆论宣传以及外交操作。可以看到,菲律宾并不是希望通过一次行动直接改变南海现实,而是在尝试不断制造“小事件”。 这种方式有一个特点,就是成本低、传播快,对于菲律宾国内政治来说,南海议题具有天然的情绪动员能力。一个国家如果经济、社会问题较多,政治人物往往更容易利用外部议题凝聚支持。 但问题也在这里,制造争议和解决争议是两回事,一段视频、一场对峙,可以带来短期关注,但无法改变双方综合实力差距,也无法让菲律宾获得真正的控制能力。 美国支持菲律宾 很多人看到菲律宾不断行动,会认为背后完全是美国推动,这件事不能简单理解,美国确实加强了与菲律宾的军事合作。根据《加强防务合作协议》,美军可以使用更多菲律宾军事设施,两国也持续开展联合训练和安全合作。
八 |
这些因素确实提高了菲律宾的战略信心,但从现实利益计算来看,美国支持菲律宾,并不意味着美国愿意为菲律宾承担所有后果。
九 | 本质上,美国关注的是自身在亚太地区的战略利益,而不是替菲律宾解决所有南海问题。
此次菲律宾飞机进入黄岩岛相关空域,美国并没有派出军机伴随行动,也没有直接参与现场处置。这说明一个现实,同盟关系可以提供政治支持,但并不等于无限兜底。 历史上,美国在很多地区问题上的做法都体现出类似特点,支持盟友是一回事,直接进入高风险冲突是另一回事。菲律宾如果把美国的外交支持理解成可以无限试探中国,那实际上容易产生战略误判。因为最终承担现场风险的,还是菲律宾自身,而且菲律宾国内对于这条路线也并非没有争议。
十 |
一些力量希望通过强化美菲合作提高谈判筹码,但另一部分经济和社会群体也担忧,持续升级摩擦会影响中菲贸易、投资以及地区稳定。对于一个经济规模有限的发展中国家来说,安全问题和经济发展之间必须寻找平衡。 南海真正的较量 从目前情况看,菲律宾仍然会继续尝试利用灰色地带行动维持影响力。所谓灰色地带,就是介于和平和战争之间的行动,例如执法船活动、舆论宣传、外交施压等。这类行动不会立即引发全面冲突,但可以持续制造压力。 菲律宾选择轻型飞机、非武装平台,其实也说明它知道风险边界在哪里。它希望制造影响,却不希望承担战争后果,中国的应对方式也非常明确。 一方面,通过海空力量保持常态化巡护,提高快速反应能力,另一方面,在具体事件中保持克制,避免因为局部摩擦导致不可控升级。 我觉得,这种处理方式的核心不是示弱,而是把主动权掌握在自己手里,如果每一次挑衅都被情绪推动,反而容易落入对方设定的节奏。真正有效的反制,不一定表现为一次激烈回应,而是让对方清楚知道,任何突破规则的行为都会产生成本。 所以,菲律宾这次空中行动最大的意义,不在于几架飞机飞到了哪里,而在于它暴露出菲律宾当前的一种战略困境,希望通过外部力量和舆论操作提升影响力,但自身又没有能力承担全面升级带来的后果。 南海未来的走势,最终还是取决于现实力量,而不是一次次制造出来的热点。
十一 | 对于菲律宾来说,短期制造关注或许能够获得政治收益,但长期稳定发展离不开地区和平。
对于中国来说,维护主权底线和避免局势失控,同样需要保持战略定力。真正决定结果的,从来不是谁制造的声音最大,而是谁能够在长期竞争中保持稳定。 返回,查看更多。Current article:http://u78by05.yinkataizengquge.bond/news/20260826_788.html
Published on:22:17:45
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