Dean Song Youtao of the College of Economics and Management Leads Team to Benxi for Research on Ecological Product Value Realization Mechanism, Exploring Pathways for Two Mountains Conversion

2025-4-14

On the morning of April 7, Benxi municipal authorities hosted an expert symposium attended by leaders from the Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Natural Resources Bureau, Forestry and Grassland Bureau, Ecology and Environment Bureau, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau, Culture and Tourism Bureau, and Statistics Bureau. Deputy Director Shen Liang of the Municipal Development and Reform Commission chaired the meeting, warmly welcoming Dean Song Youtao and the research team.

Dean Song introduced national policies and best practices for ecological product value realization. Leveraging Benxi’s ecological strengths, he proposed a three-stage model for the city: Ecological Resource Assetization → Asset Capitalization → Capital Marketization, anchored in the "Fourth Industry" framework for ecological products. Experts from Tianjin University of Science and Technology, including Professor Zhang Wensheng, Associate Professor Li Xue, and Dr. Wang Li, alongside Liaoning University’s Professor Wang Zichao, Senior Engineer Yang Tian from the Liaoning Energy Conservation Supervision Service Center, and Senior Engineer Xu Jidong, General Manager of Shenyang Environmental Resources Exchange, shared insights on green finance innovation, ecological product accounting systems, and regional carbon sink trading. Discussions focused on Benxi’s ecological asset inventory, forestry carbon sink development, water resource conservation, and strategies for monetizing ecological products.

Executive Vice Mayor Lv Xuefeng of Benxi emphasized the city’s unique ecological advantages, including a 76% forest coverage rate and 100% excellent surface water quality, positioning it as a key ecological barrier in eastern Liaoning. He highlighted Benxi’s readiness to pilot ecological product value realization and called for collaboration with universities to establish localized mechanisms for ecological accounting, market transactions, and industrial integration.

From the afternoon of April 7 to April 8, the team conducted field visits to traditional Chinese medicine plantations, cultural-tourism integration projects, and reed bamboo cultivation bases in Benxi and Huanren County. They recommended extending the Ecology+ industrial chain to address technical and market challenges in ecological product development. Also, Benxi will deepen collaboration with Tianjin University of Science and Technology and Liaoning University to advance ecological value accounting, green finance innovation, and replicable Benxi models for ecological economy.

This research initiative has established a robust platform for government-industry-university-research collaboration, injecting new momentum into Benxi’s ecological product value realization efforts. As cooperation continues, Benxi is poised to pioneer high-quality ecological-economic development in the East.