Abstract: As announced in the Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, “From this day forward, the central task of the Communist Party of China will be to lead the Chinese people of all ethnic groups in a concerted effort to realize the Second Centenary Goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects and to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization.” Pursuing green development and promoting harmony between humanity and nature, as one of the essential requirements and defining features of Chinese modernization, is not only essential for building China into a modern socialist country, but also an international obligation as a responsible major country. Facing prominent issues in China’s carbon economy and grave challenges to the goal of Chinese modernization in the aspect of reducing emissions, it’s only possible to achieve the objectives for carbon dioxide peaking and carbon neutrality, which is an important condition for Chinese modernization, by applying the New Development Philosophy, transforming the development model and pursuing high-quality development.