Turning green into gold
Chinese experience in under-forest economy development is providing replicable and green solutions for many developing countries through channels such as the BRI
Beneath China's vast forest canopy, a quiet yet profound green development is transforming the livelihoods of millions of forest dwellers. The under-forest economy, a development model that "brings prosperity without cutting down trees", is emerging as a vivid example of how ecological conservation and rural revitalization can go hand in hand. Typical cases include the cultivation of tianma (Gastrodia elata, an orchidaceous medicine herb) in the Wuling Mountains of Southwest China's Guizhou province, the processing of medicinal lingzhi mushrooms in East China's Fujian province, forest-medicinal herb symbiosis in Xishuangbanna in Southwest China's Yunnan province and the integrated "forest-fruit-bee-herb" farming in Xingqing district of Yinchuan in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region.
By 2025, China's under-forest economy covered 650 million mu (43.33 million hectares) of forestland, with a total output value exceeding 1 trillion yuan ($147.18 billion), according to data from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. The 2025 Government Work Report mentioned the under-forest economy for the first time, marking its elevation to a national strategy. The Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) for National Economic and Social Development explicitly calls for "developing the under-forest economy and strengthening forest and grassland industries", setting a clear policy direction. Behind this trillion-yuan industry is China's proven practice that ecological protection and economic development can progress in synergy and reinforce each other — an experience that offers a "Chinese solution" for global sustainable development.
Traditional forestry has long faced the challenge of long cycles and slow returns. The under-forest economy fundamentally reshapes this model. Longli Forest Farm in Guizhou has innovated a complementary model that combines long-cycle cultivation of large-diameter timber with short-cycle under-forest planting. Over the past decades, it has generated cumulative comprehensive revenue of 2.125 billion yuan, with total profits of 900 million yuan, and provided stable employment to over 800 rural households. At the Chashoushan Forest Health and Wellness Base in Guizhou's Fenggang county, forest coverage has risen from 78 percent to 82 percent since its launch in 2015, wildlife species have increased from 32 to 58, and wild plant species from 186 to 274, data from the base revealed. Models such as the "common prosperity forest farm" in Fujian, the integrated "forest-fruit-bee-herb" farming in Ningxia, and "supporting konjac cultivation with forests" in Yunnan have all realized the vision of "prosperity without cutting down trees".
At the end of 2025, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration issued the measures for promoting the development of the under-forest economy, systematically covering land use, forest use, investment and technology. It reaffirmed the fundamental principle of "ecological priority" and put forward two basic principles: functional compatibility and integrated spatial use, providing comprehensive policy support for the sector's sustainable development.
These experiments in China are increasing the prominence of the under-forest economy globally. The "long-cycle plus short-cycle" complementary model of Longli Forest Farm has been included as a teaching case in the forestry officials' training program under the Belt and Road mechanism. The interest-sharing mechanism at Fujian's "common prosperity forest farm" was presented as a model of "ecological benefits for the people" at United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization meetings. Fujian's Wuping forest beekeeping and other integrated models have drawn trainees from multiple developing countries for on-site study. China's diverse under-forest economy practices are transforming from local experiments into green solutions shared globally.
China's green technology has benefited the world. Juncao technology is a shining example of how China's under-forest economy has interacted with other countries. Invented in the 1980s by Lin Zhanxi of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, this technology uses grass instead of timber as a substrate for cultivating edible and medicinal fungi, fundamentally resolving the long-standing conflict between mushroom farming and forest conservation. Since its first overseas application in Papua New Guinea in 2001, Juncao technology has been extended to 107 countries and regions. In Rwanda, Tanzania, Tonga and beyond, it has generated substantial income for local farmers. Juncao has also taken root on the edge of the Sahara Desert, about 60 kilometers east of Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, where it helps check desertification by fixing sand, thus becoming a "green bank" for local herders.
At a high-level UN meeting on Juncao technology in April 2019, Carla Mucavi, director of the FAO Liaison Office to the UN, said: "Juncao technology is a part of the successful Chinese experience to fight poverty and hunger and an approach that, as part of broader rural development initiatives, can trigger actions that help address malnutrition and sustainability challenges and that respond to the needs of rural people."
International trade in under-forest economy products is also yielding impressive results. Xinhuang county in Central China's Hunan province, which has 1.73 million mu of forestland, expanded the planting area of huangjing (Polygonatum) to over 50,000 mu. In 2024, the embassy of Madagascar in China listed Xinhuang huangjing as designated supplies. In 2025, Thailand placed orders for Xinhuang huangjing worth 92 million yuan, while Vietnam signed an 80-million-yuan purchase order. In October 2025, the Lesotho Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed a cooperation agreement with a Xinhuang enterprise to introduce huangjing products and processing technology. Meanwhile, 810 metric tons of red mushroom products from Pubei county in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region were exported to Southeast Asia in 2024. From Africa to Southeast Asia, China's under-forest economy products are crossing oceans and entering more markets.
China is also sharing its systematic experience in under-forest economy development through multilateral mechanisms and foreign-aid training. At the 31st session of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission of the FAO in November 2025, the Chinese delegation presented practices of the under-forest economy and forest foods that have boosted employment and incomes for tens of millions of rural residents, alongside smart management technologies such as drone patrols and the "bamboo as a substitute for plastic" green transition pathway. In May, participants from eight countries including Liberia, Maldives, Argentina and Namibia visited Fujian's Wuping county for an immersive study of under-forest economy and rural sustainable development practices. China has also held more than 300 international training sessions, cultivating over 16,000 local Juncao technical personnel for various countries.
From Juncao technology to the huangjing industry, from multilateral presentations to foreign-aid training, China's experience in under-forest economy development is providing replicable and actionable green solutions for many developing countries through channels such as the Belt and Road Initiative. China will continue to write a new chapter of "turning green into gold" with an open attitude, contributing more Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to global sustainable forest management and green low-carbon development.
The author is the executive director of the Rural Revitalization Research Institute and a professor at the School of Economics and Management at Beijing Forestry University.
The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.
