Understanding how vegetation changes over time and its connections to climate and human activities is crucial for managing ecosystems sustainably. In this study, we used several advanced analytical methods to investigate the long-term patterns of China's vegetation using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and disentangle the intricate effects of climate variability and human activities on vegetation growth by partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results identified a significant vegetation recovery from 1996 to 2018, with a growth rate of 0.129 per year (P = 0.009). Spatially, vegetation recovery was particularly notable in central and southern China, suggesting the positive impacts of ecological restoration efforts. Climate was identified as the foremost direct factor driving vegetation greening throughout China. It had a beneficial effect in southern China but a detrimental one in the northwest. Socio-economic advancements had a modest inhibiting effect on vegetation greening. Conversely, deliberate afforestation initiatives notably bolstered vegetation growth, especially in northwest China. Furthermore, afforestation and socio-economic development indirectly influenced vegetation growth by shaping local microclimates, and these indirect influences were considerably more significant than their direct impacts in certain instances, emphasizing the critical role of these indirect pathways. Additionally, there was considerable spatial variation in the factors driving vegetation greening across China, emphasizing the need for customized strategies to sustainably manage and enhance vegetation cover in response to changing climate and socio-economic conditions. These findings better explain the driving mechanism of vegetation changes and provide scientific references for subsequent ecological construction and management.