Key takeaways:
We should further straighten out the income distribution relationships between the government and enterprises, between the government and households, and even between the government, and accelerate the transformation of government functions. As long as the role of the government is in place, it will be able to build a high-level socialist market economy system with a benign interaction between "market, society and government", and will be able to consolidate the institutional foundation for the mainland's high-quality development.
We must put "stable growth" in a more prominent position, further deepen reform in an all-round way, improve relevant systems and mechanisms, eliminate major structural contradictions and hidden risks, fully tap the inherent potential of economic development, and inject continuous impetus into high-quality development.
Zhang Junwei
At the symposium of enterprises and experts held on May 23, General Secretary Xi Jinping systematically expounded the reform goals, reform priorities, value orientations and reform methods for further deepening the reform in an all-round way, and pointed out the direction for further deepening the reform in an all-round way. General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly pointed out that to further deepen reform in an all-round way, it is necessary to grasp the main contradictions and the main aspects of the contradictions. To promote the reform of the economic structure, it is necessary to proceed from the needs of reality, grasp the most urgent matters, and deepen theoretical innovation and promote institutional innovation in the course of solving practical problems. Reforms in other areas should also focus on overall and strategic issues and plan reform measures to achieve a clear outline. The above-mentioned important assertions of General Secretary Xi Jinping have pointed out the direction for systematically planning reforms in various fields in the coming period.
Plan reforms closely around high-quality development and ensure that reforms move in the right direction
All the struggles carried out by the CPC in uniting and leading the Chinese people are aimed at building the mainland into a modern and powerful country and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Looking back at the course of development since the founding of New China, we have also deviated from the main line of modernization for a time under the complex conditions of intertwined contradictions at home and abroad, persisted in taking "class struggle as the key link" and vigorously engaged in "fighting for funds and approving repairs," with the result that socialist construction and development took a detour. Not only have we failed to catch up, but the gap between us and the developed countries has widened. The Third Plenary Session of the 11 th CPC Central Committee put things in order, restored the party's correct ideological, political, and organizational line, and made a strategic decision to shift the focus of the whole party's work and the attention of the people of the whole country to socialist modernization, thus opening the prelude to reform and opening up. With the shift in the focus of our work, we have created the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics, which has formed the party's basic line in the initial stage of socialism, that is, "taking economic construction as the center, adhering to the four cardinal principles, and persisting in reform and opening up", leading the cause of socialist modernization to achieve rapid development achievements. In the process of economic development, we continue to emancipate our minds, constantly break through the barriers of various ideas and systems, and promote the continuous deepening of reform and opening up. On the other hand, reform and opening up have injected new vitality into economic construction and social development, and have greatly changed the economic and social outlook. This has not only strengthened the confidence and determination of the whole society in reform and opening up, but has also further promoted the emancipation of the mind and constantly opened up new space for reform and opening up. Looking back on the course of reform and opening up, it is precisely because we have held high the banner of socialist modernization and persisted in taking economic construction as the central task that although we have faced interference and twists and turns in the process of reform and opening up, we have never deviated from the correct direction and made "subversive mistakes."
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered With the building of a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way, the mainland's development has also entered a new stage of development of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way. The above-mentioned changes are the result of the mainland's major achievements in socialist modernization. However, these changes have not changed the objective fact that China is still in the initial stage of socialism, and the party's basic line is still not outdated. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China systematically expounded the theory of "Chinese-style modernization", pointed out that "high-quality development is the primary task of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way", and emphasized that "without a solid material and technological foundation, it is impossible to build a modern socialist country in an all-round way". The Central Economic Work Conference held in December 2023 also clearly pointed out that the promotion of Chinese-style modernization must be regarded as the biggest politics, and the adherence to high-quality development must be regarded as the last word in the new era. All these assertions are reiterated and emphasized by the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core: although Chinese-style modernization has embarked on a new journey, the development of the mainland is still in the initial stage of socialism, and it is necessary to adhere to the party's basic line in the initial stage of socialism, and must adhere to economic construction (high-quality development) as the center, and accelerating development is still the main task facing the whole party and the people of the whole country. In the face of the current complex domestic and international situation, in-depth study and comprehension of the above-mentioned thoughts of General Secretary Xi Jinping is essential for us to correctly inherit the achievements of New China
Since its establishment, the party's experience in "ruling and rejuvenating the country," especially the experience of reform and opening up over the past 40 years and more, is of extremely important significance to ensure that reform and opening up will advance along the correct road for a period of time to come.
Pay more attention to the "reasonable growth of quantity", and further consolidate the institutional and institutional foundation for high-quality development
High-quality development has both qualitative and quantitative requirements. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly pointed out that the economy should be promoted to achieve qualitative and effective improvement and reasonable quantitative growth. This undoubtedly further clarifies the requirements of high-quality development in terms of "quality" and "quantity".
The theoretical basis for putting forward "high-quality development" is that socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, and China's economic structure has also undergone structural changes. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee has complied with the changes in the economic structure, put forward a new development concept, and focused on promoting innovative development, coordinated development, green development, open development and shared development, and achieved remarkable results. For example, in terms of innovation and development, a new national system has been established, the R&D investment of the whole society has continued to increase, the echelon of innovative scientific research has been strengthened, the evaluation mechanism of science and technology education has been continuously improved, major breakthrough scientific and technological achievements have been emerging, and the rapid development of strategic emerging industries and future industries has been promoted. Institutional mechanisms to promote high-quality development have been initially established. At the same time, in recent years, the mainland has faced a series of new challenges in its development. From an external point of view, some countries contain and suppress China's escalation, and they actively plan to reconstruct the international industrial chain and "decouple" and "break the chain" with China; Internally, factors such as the profound adjustment of the real estate market, the declining birthrate of the population, and the rapid development of the aging population have brought tremendous downward pressure on China's economic development. It should be clearly understood that "reasonable growth in quantity" is an internal requirement for high-quality development and one of the external manifestations of "effective improvement in quality"; The "effective improvement of quality" should be premised on the "reasonable growth of quantity". Without a certain growth rate, there is no way to talk about the "qualitative and effective improvement" of economic development. Under the current situation, we must put "stable growth" in a more prominent position, further deepen reform in an all-round way, improve relevant systems and mechanisms, eliminate major structural contradictions and hidden risks, fully explore the inherent potential of economic development, and inject continuous impetus into high-quality development. In this regard, special attention should be paid to doing a good job in the following aspects.
The first is to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces with the support of the new national system to promote scientific and technological innovation. It is necessary to continuously improve the relevant systems and mechanisms of the new national system, give full play to the enthusiasm of universities, research institutions, industries and other aspects, accelerate the pace of China's independent innovation, accelerate the cultivation of emerging industries and future industries, and provide technical and industrial support for the domestic and international cycle.
The second is to smooth the domestic economic cycle and expand the potential of domestic demand. It is necessary to deepen the overall promotion of new urbanization and rural revitalization, and smooth the urban-rural cycle; It is necessary to deepen the overall planning of regional coordinated development and smooth regional circulation; It is necessary to solidly promote common prosperity and smooth the cycle of production and consumption; It is necessary to further promote the supply-side structural reform and smooth the cycle of supply and demand.
The third is to promote high-level opening-up and actively expand the space for international development. It is necessary not only to promote the flow of factors, but also to promote the institutional opening; We should not only actively promote multilateral cooperation, but also attach importance to unilateral opening-up, and take the initiative to expand opening-up according to our own interests, even if our partners do not make corresponding concessions.
Fourth, effectively prevent and resolve risks in key areas and create a safe environment for development. It is necessary to improve the relevant systems and mechanisms, coordinate and resolve risks in the fields of real estate, local debt, and small and medium-sized financial institutions, avoid "big ups and downs" in the market, and create good external conditions for domestic development.
Fifth, improve the macroeconomic governance system and intensify macroeconomic regulation and control. Macroeconomic regulation and control is the last resort to maintain the balance of aggregates. It is necessary to further deepen reforms in the fields of fiscal and taxation, banking, and investment, improve the macroeconomic governance system, and maintain the balance between total supply and demand of the economy with a more flexible and effective "combination of fiscal and monetary policies" to ensure sustained and stable economic operation.
Focus on the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity
At present, further deepening reform in an all-round way is facing a situation that is very different from that of the past. Taking the reform of the economic system as an example, for a long time in the past, the reform of the economic system can be summed up as a system transformation, that is, a gradual breakthrough in the planned economic system and the construction of a socialist market economic system. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, significant progress has been made in improving the market mechanism, improving the efficiency of market allocation of resources, making up for market failures and promoting common prosperity. In the new era, the focus of comprehensively deepening reform has gradually shifted to organically combining "effective market" and "promising government" in order to improve the overall efficiency of economic operation. This is the special background for promoting the reform of the economic system in the new era.
It should be noted that at present, the contradictions between fiscal revenue and expenditure of governments at all levels are prominent, and the operational pressure is relatively great. However, pressure has also brought impetus, and the central government has clearly proposed to plan a new round of reform of the fiscal and taxation system. We should take this as an opportunity to further straighten out the income distribution relationship between the government and enterprises, between the government and households, and even between the government, and accelerate the transformation of government functions. As for what the market can do and what the society can do, the government should boldly delegate power to the market and society. For regulatory functions, public decision-making should be improved, and sufficient time should be left for the managed to adjust their own behavior under the premise of strict law enforcement; With regard to public service functions, it is necessary to gradually expand the autonomy of grassroots governments, and in the process of strengthening supervision by public opinion, we should continuously improve the public's satisfaction with government work. Therefore, it is necessary to firmly grasp the goals and requirements of promoting the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, and significantly improve the efficiency of government work while strengthening government functions. It is believed that as long as the role of the government is in place, it will be able to build a high-level socialist market economy system with benign interaction between "market, society and government", and will be able to consolidate the institutional foundation for the high-quality development of the mainland.
(The author is a researcher at the Macroeconomic Research Department of the Development Research Center of the State Council)