The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China requires that we “plan our development on the basis of the harmonious coexistence between man and nature”. To promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through the Chinese path to modernization and high-quality development, we must address the prerequisite issue of how to understand and interpret the connotations of harmonious coexistence between man and nature and its relationship with the achievement of high-quality development. Different theoretical spectrums of ecological thinking differ in their answers to the above questions. This research discovers that the ecocentrism ecological civilization theory understands this connotation as a state of existence that denies the use of technology and economic growth and where humans are subservient to nature; modern anthropocentric thinking on green development starts from the goal of sustaining the sustainable development of capitalist economy and capital’s pursuit of profit, and understands the connotation as the responsibility and obligation of humans to protect the natural conditions of capitalist reproduction. Adhering to the people-centered development thought and the value orientation of people first, XI Jinping’s thoughts on ecological cvilization explains the connotation of harmonious coexistence between man and nature as the harmony of the relationships between man and nature, man and man, and man and himself, based on economic development and technological progress, emphasizing that the concept of harmony between man and nature is the philosophical basis for achieving high-quality development. Adhering to the dialectical thinking of system theory, holism and synergy, the ecological concept of harmonious coexistence between man and nature is transformed into a green development method and lifestyle, the goal of achieving high-quality development and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is achieved through the strategy of invigorating the country through science and education, the strategy of reinvigorating the country through talents and the strategy of innovation-driven development.