"An Outline of Sustainable Development in China: State Volume", a 20-volume book series compiled by 184 Chinese experts and scholars over two years and eight months, was recently published. At a press conference held on Sunday in Beijing, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) said that the series gives a panoramic overview of the national strategy of sustainable development.

The publication is China's first large-scale academic work summarizing the experience and laws of sustainable development. It proposes strategic objectives for sustainable development in China by 2050: reaching the sustainability level of moderately developed countries in an all-round way and entering the ranks of the world's top ten countries in terms of sustainable development capability.

With CAS President Lu Yongxiang editor-in-chief, the book covers aspects of population, resources, environment, economy, society, science and technology, education, culture, natural disasters, poverty elimination and the development of sustainable capability in a total of 13.5 million Chinese characters.

The book outlines six challenges and missions China faces in sustainable development: the three large, successive population peaks; the unconventional utilization of energy and natural resources; the gravity of eco-environmental problems; the settlement of the "three agriculture-related issues" (agriculture, rural areas and farmers); social equity in general; and the formidable tasks of system and cultural innovation.

By People's Daily Online