Zero carbon finance refers to financial activities aimed at achieving net zero emissions and supporting the green and low-carbon transformation of the real economy. It is a new paradigm in the financial field that matches the carbon neutrality goal of promoting and achieving economic and social development. It is a unified financial framework and concept for various sub sectors of carbon neutrality, and its scope comprehensively covers innovative large-scale investment and financing models at all major stages of the process of promoting the achievement of the "dual carbon" goal. Zero carbon finance is highly aligned with carbon neutrality goals, promoting the transformation and innovation of traditional finance in key functions such as resource allocation, risk management, and transaction promotion, and facilitating the achievement of carbon neutrality goals. Currently, China is accelerating the construction of a zero carbon financial market system and forming its own theoretical framework for zero carbon finance based on this foundation. Since the Industrial Revolution, the modernization process led by Western countries has taken materialism and consumerism as its philosophical core, aimed at economic output and material consumption, and constructed a Western financial knowledge system centered on narrow economic cost-benefit considerations. This knowledge system exaggerates the role of material goods and market-oriented services, without fully considering the costs and benefits of production and consumption in the social environment. This leads to people excessively plundering natural resources in pursuit of consumption, damaging the harmony between humans and nature, greatly increasing environmental and social risks, and reducing the sustainability of development. Realizing that this development paradigm has reached its limit, the West has made partial revisions to the traditional financial theoretical framework, forming concepts and theories such as environmental finance, sustainable finance, climate finance, and green finance. However, these concepts and theories essentially can only meet the specific needs of financial support for the development of Western economic society in the industrial era. At the opening ceremony of the special seminar on promoting high-quality financial development for provincial and ministerial level leading cadres in January 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly expounded on the rich connotation of a strong financial country, pointed out the essential differences between the development path of Chinese characteristic finance and the Western financial model, emphasized the adherence to the idea of economic and financial integration, and coordinated the promotion of high-quality economic and financial development. Developing zero carbon finance is a comprehensive embodiment of implementing the new development concept of innovation, coordination, green, openness, and sharing, which is highly compatible with the rich connotation of building a strong financial country. It supports technological innovation through finance and solves the problem of driving green development; Promote coordinated development of industries, regions, production, and daily life through finance, and address the imbalance of green development; Promote the zero carbon transformation and sustainable development of the real economy through comprehensive financial means; By promoting financial openness based on global public goals, we can address the internal and external linkage issues of green development; By promoting global sharing of development achievements, we aim to address the issues of social equity and justice in green development. China actively carries out zero carbon finance practices and builds a theoretical system of zero carbon finance based on this, which helps to pave the way for the development of Chinese characteristic finance that is fundamentally different from Western financial models. Developing zero carbon finance is an important opportunity for building China's independent financial knowledge system. In the global trend towards carbon neutrality, countries have engaged in fierce competition around the core content of formulating zero carbon finance rules. However, the rules in this field are still in the exploration and construction stage, and have not yet formed a universally accepted framework. This provides a rare opportunity for the development of zero carbon finance in China. China should fully leverage its existing practical experience, market ecology, and scale advantages in green finance, rely on the advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, take the lead in building a systematic zero carbon financial policy market and knowledge system, and contribute to achieving the goal of becoming a financial powerhouse and promoting the transformation of the global financial system towards a new paradigm. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that accelerating the construction of a modern financial system with Chinese characteristics requires the establishment of a sound and scientific financial regulation system, a well structured financial market system, a financial institution system with division of labor and cooperation, a complete and effective financial regulatory system, a diversified and professional financial product and service system, and an independent, controllable, safe, and efficient financial infrastructure system. These six major systems cover the main areas of modern finance, interconnected and mutually supportive, outlining a grand blueprint for a modern financial system with Chinese characteristics. Zero carbon finance is one of the key areas to support and promote the development of China's modern financial system with Chinese characteristics. China should advance simultaneously in key areas such as top-level design, policy system, market system, and financial services, accelerate the construction of zero carbon finance policies and market system, and use this as a basis to accelerate the construction of a zero carbon finance knowledge system. Accelerating the construction of policies and market systems in key areas of zero carbon finance, fully accumulating relevant knowledge and practical experience, will help solidify the foundation of the zero carbon finance knowledge system. One is to strengthen the top-level design of China's zero carbon financial system and determine the main architecture and components of the zero carbon financial ecosystem. Secondly, under the promotion of top-level design, establish corresponding macro management policy frameworks to provide long-term policy signals and guidance for financial system participants, strengthen market incentive orientation, and stabilize market expectations. The third is to build and improve a zero carbon financial market system with a transparent and efficient zero carbon investment and financing system and zero carbon trading system as its core, guiding financial capital to orderly and effectively support the carbon neutral incremental investment and financing of the real economy, as well as the management needs of existing assets in the high carbon transformation. The fourth is to improve the service system of zero carbon financial organizations and form a zero carbon financial market ecosystem with diversified market entities and multi-level financial product innovation. Under the Chinese path to modernization goal framework of "harmonious coexistence of human and nature", adhere to the new development concept of innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing, summarize and refine key knowledge and important experience in the zero carbon financial policy and market system, form China's zero carbon financial theory, and provide a solid and powerful support for building China's independent financial knowledge system. Make full use of various methods such as textbooks, papers, research reports, and international cooperation and exchange seminars to promote and disseminate China's zero carbon finance theory, leading the global construction of a zero carbon finance theoretical framework that matches the zero carbon development paradigm and breaks away from traditional Western financial theories and thinking frameworks. (Xinhua News Agency) Authors: Zhu Min (Senior Expert at China Center for International Economic Exchange), Yang Siyao (Postdoctoral Fellow at Wudaokou School of Finance, Tsinghua University)