"Green mountains are gold mountains"

The comparison of green mountains with gold mountains was first made by Xi Jinping in 2005 when he was secretary of Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, he has on multiple occasions reiterated this idea. While visiting Kazakhstan in 2013, he said, "We want to have not only mountains of gold, but also mountains of green. If we must choose between the two, we would rather have the green than the gold. And in any case, green maintains are themselves gold mountains."

This metaphor reflects a people-centered approach to people's wellbeing, an approach that emphasizes the importance of harmony between man and nature, and embodies the unwavering resolve of the Party and the government to preserve and protect the natural environment. It also represents a fundamental shift in our development strategies, requiring respect and protection for nature in our development efforts. Resource conservation and environmental protection have thus been incorporated into our basic national policy, along with economic, political, cultural and social development. The goal is to place China on a path to green development, so as to build a beautiful China.The 19th National Congress of the CPC called on the whole Party to regard clear waters and green mountains as invaluable assets and act on this understanding.

“綠水青山就是金山銀山”

2005年，時任浙江省委書記的習近平首次提出“綠水青山就是金山銀山”的論斷。十八大以來，他更是反復強調這一理念。比如，2013年在訪問哈薩克斯坦時他提到：“我們既要綠水青山，也要金山銀山。寧要綠水青山，不要金山銀山，而且綠水青山就是金山銀山。”“綠水青山就是金山銀山”體現了以人為本的民生思想，遵循了人與自然和諧共生的規律，生動形象表達了黨和政府大力推進生態文明建設的鮮明態度和堅定決心。這一理念是發展理念和方式的深刻轉變，要求在生產生活中按照尊重自然、順應自然、保護自然的理念，貫徹節約資源和保護環境的基本國策，把生態文明建設融入經濟建設、政治建設、文化建設、社會建設各方面和全過程，引領中國朝著綠色經濟轉型，建設美麗中國。黨的十九大報告強調，必須樹立和踐行“綠水青山就是金山銀山”的理念。