Configuration of Territorial Space Development and Protection

Territorial space is the most valuable natural resource of a country. It is the spatial carrier of an eco-civilization. As the conditions of different types of territorial space vary, different development tasks and goals should be determined for specific functional zones to form a rational configuration.

In September 2015, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council jointly issued an Overall Plan to Reform the System for Developing an Eco-civilization, putting forward for the first time the systems for territorial space development and protection. In October 2017, the 19th CPC National Congress announced the decision to establish systems for developing and protecting territorial space, to improve support policies on functional zones, and to develop a system of protected areas composed mainly of national parks.

In creating such systems, China has to strike a balance between population, resources and the environment, allot space to production, daily life and environmental development as appropriate, and coordinate the economic, social and ecological benefits. It will apply law-based, market-oriented regulation over the use of territorial space, control the intensity of territorial space development, and adjust the spatial structure, so as to ensure efficient use of production space and maintain a pleasant living space and a beautiful eco-environment. As a result, there will be more space for nature to restore itself, more fertile land for agriculture, and a homeland with blue skies, green vegetation and clear waters for future generations.

A territorial space plan is a blueprint for sustainable development of China's territorial space, and guides various development and protection activities. In May 2019, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council jointly published guidelines on setting up a system for territorial space planning, and on supervising their implementation. Current separated plans for functional zoning, land use, and urban-rural development will be rolled into one national plan for territorial space development and protection, which as the top-level design will have a binding effect on various special development plans. This will create an appropriate institutional framework.

The 14th Five-year Plan, published in March 2021, lists better development and protection of territorial space as one of the major objectives to be achieved during the period 2021-2025. A new configuration will be created based on the carrying capacity of resources and the environment and the comparative strengths of various regions, and there will be rational flows and concentration of production factors and high-quality development as suited to each area's distinctive functions and complementary strengths.

Territorial space development and protection will benefit China's modernization drive with harmony between humanity and nature. It is also vital to global economic development and ecological security.

國土空間開發保護格局

國土空間是國家和民族最寶貴的自然資源，是生態文明建設的空間載體。不同的國土空間，自然狀況不同，需要根據其主體功能定位確定開發內容和發展的主要任務，構建科學合理的空間格局。2015年9月，中共中央、國務院印發《生態文明體制改革總體方案》，首次提出構建國土空間開發保護制度。2017年10月，中共十九大進一步提出，構建國土空間開發保護制度，完善主體功能區配套政策，建立以國家公園為主體的自然保護地體系。

構建國土空間開發保護制度，就是按照人口、資源、環境相均衡，生產空間、生活空間、生態空間三大功能空間科學布局，經濟效益、社會效益、生態效益三類效益有機統一的原則，以法律為依據，以空間規劃為基礎，以用途管制和市場化機制為手段，嚴格控制國土空間開發強度，調整優化空間結構，促進生產空間集約高效、生活空間宜居適度、生態空間山清水秀，給自然留下更多修復空間，給農業留下更多良田，給子孫留下天藍、地綠、水凈的美好家園。

國土空間規劃是國家空間發展的指南、可持續發展的空間藍圖，是各類開發保護建設活動的基本依據。2019年5月，中共中央、國務院印發《關于建立國土空間規劃體系并監督實施的若干意見》，提出建立“五級三類四體系”的國土空間規劃體系，將主體功能區規劃、土地利用規劃、城鄉規劃等空間規劃融合為統一的國土空間規劃，實現“多規合一”，強化國土空間規劃對各專項規劃的指導約束作用，這標志著國土空間規劃體系頂層設計和“四梁八柱”基本形成。

2021年3月，“十四五”規劃《綱要》明確將優化國土空間開發保護格局作為“十四五”時期生態文明建設的一個主要目標，提出立足資源環境承載能力，發揮各地區比較優勢，促進各類要素合理流動和高效集聚，推動形成主體功能明顯、優勢互補、高質量發展的國土空間開發保護新格局。中國構建國土空間開發保護新格局是建設人與自然和諧共生現代化的需要，對全球經濟發展和生態安全具有舉足輕重的作用。