The concept of harmony in Chinese culture and the Chinese sustainable development

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to illustrate the broad cultural context affecting the economy and the consequences of economic development in the natural environment and social development. Design/methodology/approach: The method chosen was the analysis of literature on the subject in Polish, English and Chinese language. Findings: The article presents the ancient Chinese point of view on the idea of harmony between a human being and the nature, as well as the reasons behind the origin of the People’s Republic of China’s direction towards sustainable development. It is influenced by both the imbalance between economic growth and environmental degradation, as well as social challenges. Originality/value: The paper shows and explains the main problems faced by the economic development, as well as the roots of socio-economic behavior on a cultural basis.