Clayton noted at the conference that China may be an inspiration for the pursuit of ecological civilization.
"The term 'ecological civilization' was born in China. It began to have influence more than 10 years ago, and it was written into the Five-Year Plan in 2012," he said.
The author said that Americans and others around the world immediately recognized that the Chinese idea of ecological civilization expresses the goal that all countries and cultures must move toward.
"For 10 years, our International Forums have promoted real action based on this ideal," Clayton said at a public plenary of the forum.
Zhu Guangqing, secretary general of the China Ecological Civilization Research and Promotion Association, said environmental pollution, ecological damage and resource shortages have become global problems, seriously threatening human survival.
"Such crises are forcing the transformation of civilization. Eco-civilization advocates the harmonious co-existence of human and nature as a win-win between development and environment. It carries forward the advantages of industrial civilization while overcoming the disadvantages," he said.
Zhu expounded on the latest developments in China regarding the pursuit of ecological civilization. In the past five years, the country's annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth averaged 7.8 percent, with annual energy consumption growing by 3.6 percent per year. Energy consumption per unit of GDP decreased by 18.2 percent, saving 860 million tons of standard coal, equivalent to 1.9 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
In 2015, China's resource output rate increased by 16 percent from that of 2010. More than 600 million tons of crop stalks have been used, with a comprehensive utilization rate of over 80 percent.
Energy consumption has been further optimized, with non-fossil energy now accounting for 12 percent of primary energy consumption, while the share of coal decreased from over 80 percent to 64.4 percent.
At the conference, Chinese farmer An Jinlei was honored with the Cobb Common Good award for spending over 20 years cultivating organic food and exploring biology agriculture in the northern province of Hebei.
"Ecological agriculture is an approach to agriculture that requires us to treat nature, earth and agriculture with respect, love and care, instead of snatching resources from them ruthlessly," he said.
