The past decades have seen a concerted effort by China to coordinate economic development and ecological environmental protection. As part of this drive, the Beautiful China Initiative was established in 2012 and the principle that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets has been upheld ever since. Thousands of foreign experts working and living in China have gained first-hand experience of China's major achievements in implementing the Beautiful China Initiative.

Efforts made for ecological diversity

Marie-Luce Chevalier, a Belgian-French geologist, has been working as a research professor at the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences in Beijing since 2010. For the past 14 years, she has been studying active faults in the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau and how they move. She is amazed at how the local government has prioritized ecological protection and how an eco-culture is taking shape to showcase the Plateau's exemplary role in ecological development.

Michael Crook, founder of the Western Academy of Beijing, and Professor Maria Todorovska, an earthquake engineering expert from Tianjin University, share Chevalier's sentiments. They traveled to Xizang Autonomous Region in 2023 and found the harmonious coexistence of modern infrastructure and wildlife conservation there to be a great example for global environmental conservation efforts. According to Crook, the high-speed railways and elevated highways there have been built to improve people's livelihoods with minimal environmental disruption.

Todorovska was also struck by the abundance of greenery in China, especially on her field trips to Yunnan province, home to more than 2,000 species of vertebrates, accounting for 51.4 percent of the country's total, and over 19,000 species of already known higher plants. She found herself enchanted by Yunnan's rich cultural and ecological diversity.

Kyle Warwick Tomlinson, principal investigator of the Community Ecology and Conservation Group at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) in Yunnan province, is in a better position to evaluate the tangible benefits that the construction of a beautiful China has brought both for humanity and nature. "Yunnan is doing a good job in terms of ecological conservation, which is consistent with what is happening all over China," Tomlinson said.

To restore the habitat of rare species, Yunnan has set aside over 14 percent of its territory as nature reserves and approved the establishment of more than 300 nature reserves.

China's leading role in eco-protection

Environmental protection can't be achieved by a single country. "China plays an active role internationally. Through the Belt and Road Initiative, China is helping develop infrastructure in other countries, which could be used not only for development but also for conservation," Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz, an elephant researcher also working at XTBG, said, adding that Xishuangbanna is developing collaborations with Myanmar and Laos for joint monitoring and protecting elephants.

The 60-year-old American Brian Linden, with many titles under his belt: traveler, entrepreneur, author and founder of the Linden Center in Yunnan, is another witness not only to the improvement of people's living standards, but also to China's ecological development.

"China has made so many positive changes since the 2000s and has transitioned into more of a quality of life," Linden said. Even in a small town like Xizhou, where he is living, wastewater is now treated in more advanced ways, demonstrating the government's commitment to improving the environment.

Focusing on economic development at any cost is not difficult, and what is difficult is to strike a balance between economic progress and environmental protection. "But China has done it," Linden said. "We should look at this and say that China has improved dramatically per capita."

"As we think about development, the only way we can develop in a sustainable way is by keeping the ecology in mind. Thanks to green development policies, we will be able to protect more habitats and achieve the dual objective of having more development and more conservation," Campos-Arceiz said.