The historical evolution and modernization path of China’s ecological and environmental governance

China's ecological environmental governance systems and models have been constantly improved over more than 40 years' endeavors in ecological environmental protection and its ecological environmental governance is now entering a new phase of modernization construction, which is an essential step in realizing the “Beautiful China” strategic objectives and advancing the modernization of national governance systems and capabilities. This study demonstrates that China's ecological environmental governance can be divided into three stages: state-dominated unidimensional governance led by the government under the planned economy (1978–1992); dual governance by the government and the market under the socialist market economy (1993–2012); multi-dimensional co-governance of the government, the market, and societal forces in the new era (2013-present). It analyzes the evolutionary process and features of the three stages, explores their evolutionary logics by studying their historical missions, developmental logics, governance paradigms and strategic shifts, and suggests feasible ways to China's modernization governance. The study highlights how institutional innovations addressed complex ecological challenges and proposes five ways for governance modernization: rationalizing governance logic; optimizing structural configurations; innovating methodological tools; strengthening institutional mechanisms; harmonizing objective systems, aiming to operationalize the ecological civilization vision. Finally, by synthesizing China's achievements and persisting gaps, the study gives targeted policy recommendations that emphasize coordinated actions in pollution remediation, biodiversity conservation, and climate governance, thereby constructing a cohesive analytical paradigm that not only deciphers the endogenous logic of China's environmental governance evolution but also advances practical solutions aligned with the goals of global sustainability.