The Practice of the Construction of China’s Core Concept of Ecological Civilization: The Coordinated Development of the Environment and Economy

The “Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains are Invaluable Assets” idea (i.e., “Two Mountains” concept) has charted a new path for balancing economic and ecological needs. To systematically evaluate the extent to which China’s ecological conservation has supported economic development since 2012, an assessment indicator system was established that employs a coupling coordination degree (D) model, the entropy weight method, and statistical analysis. The results revealed significant correlations between ecological protection and economic development, and D increased from 2012 to 2023. D in China was good (0.6 < D ≤ 0.8) in this period, which indicates that ecological protection has played a growing role in supporting high-quality economic development and that notable progress has been made in the implementation of the “Two Mountains” concept. Both emission reduction and resource conservation were significantly correlated with D. Reducing carbon emissions and lowering energy consumption had stronger effects on coordinated development than reducing pollutant emissions and increasing water productivity. D was highest in East and South China. The “Two Mountains” concept should be implemented to balance ecological protection and economic development and enhance the economic benefits derived from ecological resources. Management measures should be implemented based on local conditions. Ultimately, these changes would help meet established sustainable development goals.