preface
Recently, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued the "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Deepening Reform in an All-round Way and Promoting the Modernization of a Great Power in the East", which put forward a series of major reform measures, involving many fields. As an important part of this, the market-oriented reform of the railway sector has attracted much attention, which is another important measure since the State Council proposed to reform the railway investment and financing system in 2013. With the continuous advancement of the country's railway market-oriented reform, the plight and expectations of private enterprises in railway investment have become a hot topic in the society, which has also triggered conjecture and discussion on the future development trend of railway market-oriented reform.
1. The historical background of the market-oriented reform of the railway
Railways, as a key national infrastructure, have always been a key investment area for the authorities, and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) dominate the construction and operation of railways. With the rapid development of the country's economy and the increasing demand for transportation, it is difficult to meet the huge demand for railway construction and effectively improve the service quality and efficiency of railway transportation by relying on government investment alone.
In order to solve this problem, the state began to explore the path of railway market-oriented reform, and gradually let private capital participate in railway construction, investment and operation. As early as 2005, the State Council began to issue relevant policy documents to encourage social capital to participate in railway construction and explore a variety of investment and financing models. Due to the difficulty of market-oriented reform in the railway field and the balance of interests of multiple parties, private capital has not been given the opportunity and space it deserves in railway investment, and the pace of market-oriented reform has been relatively slow.
Second, the dilemma and expectation of private enterprises in railway investment
In the current railway market-oriented reform, the difficulties faced by private enterprises in railway investment mainly include the following aspects:
1. It is difficult to obtain controlling stakes and decision-making power
In the construction and operation of railways, the controlling stake and decision-making power are directly related to the long-term interests and development direction of the enterprise, and due to the monopoly position of state-owned enterprises in the railway field, it is difficult for private enterprises to obtain the right to speak on the basis of matching, and they cannot effectively participate in the decision-making and management of railway projects.
2. The payback cycle is long
Compared with other industries, the return cycle of railway construction and operation is usually relatively long, requiring a long investment cycle and operation cycle, and is affected by a variety of uncertain factors, which is relatively risky and stressful for the average private enterprise.
3. The freight rate is not completely market-oriented
In the traditional railway freight mechanism, the freight rate is often formulated by the authorities, which does not fully reflect the market supply and demand relationship and cost-effectiveness, which can easily lead to the waste and abuse of railway resources, and cannot stimulate the market competition awareness and innovation power of enterprises.
In the face of these predicaments and challenges, private enterprises have their own unique expectations for the market-oriented reform of railways:
1. Gain greater market access
In the reform of the railway market, private enterprises hope to be able to obtain more market access opportunities and participate in all aspects of railway construction and operation, rather than being limited to some marginal projects and services.
2. Achieve self-management and pricing power
In addition to participating in the investment and construction of railway projects, private enterprises also hope to gain more independent management rights and pricing power in all aspects of railway operation, and can flexibly adjust their operation strategies and service models according to market demand and competition.
3. Breakthroughs and trends in the market-oriented reform of railways
In view of the problems and challenges existing in the current railway market-oriented reform, the state has also begun to actively explore solutions and find breakthroughs and directions to promote market-oriented reform.
1. Promote the market-oriented reform of freight rates
In 2013, the State Council put forward the opinions on reforming the railway investment and financing system, clearly pointing out that it is necessary to adhere to the market-oriented orientation of railway freight rate reform and gradually establish a freight rate mechanism that reflects market supply and demand. In the current market-oriented reform, some high-speed rail lines have begun to implement a market-based fare mechanism with flexible discounts, rises and falls, which makes the railway freight rate closer to the market price and more competitive, which is expected to attract more social capital to participate.
2. Strengthen regulatory and policy support
In addition to the market-oriented reform of freight rates, the state also needs to strengthen the supervision and policy support for market-oriented reforms, establish a sound market access mechanism and regulatory system, protect the fairness and legitimate rights and interests of all kinds of enterprises in market competition, and also encourage railway enterprises to continuously improve technological innovation and service quality to achieve sustainable development.
3. Promote the in-depth development of railway market-oriented reform
It is foreseeable that with the continuous optimization of national policies and the gradual improvement of the market environment, the market-oriented reform of railways will usher in a broader space for development, and will also have a profound impact in many aspects.
The market-oriented reform is expected to drive technological innovation and management innovation in the railway industry, promote the overall improvement of railway transportation efficiency and service quality, and provide strong support for the high-quality development of the national economy.
The market-oriented reform will bring more market competition and resource allocation efficiency, stimulate the entrepreneurial and innovative enthusiasm of all kinds of enterprises, and also help form a diversified railway investment and financing system to attract more social capital participation.
Market-oriented reform also requires railway enterprises to make a difference in changing their development concepts and enhancing their core competitiveness, and to achieve sustainable development and win-win development through deepening reform and opening up and cooperation, so as to become a first-class enterprise with international competitiveness.
epilogue
The market-oriented reform of railways is a systematic project, which requires the joint efforts of all parties, and it is also necessary to constantly sum up experience and solve problems in practice. In the process of promoting market-oriented reform, we need to balance the relationship between the authorities and the market, not only give full play to the decisive role of the market in the allocation of resources, but also do a good job in the macroeconomic regulation and control of the authorities and the guarantee of public services, so as to ensure that market-oriented reform can truly make positive contributions to the sustainable development of the national economy.
The market-oriented reform of the railway also needs the understanding and support of various industries and all sectors of society, and only by forming a joint force can we promote the railway industry to move towards a more open, inclusive, innovative, green and shared direction, and make positive contributions to the construction of a modern economic system and the modernization process of a large country in the East.
In the future work, we also need to continue to deepen the reform, solve various contradictions and problems in the reform, and also need to strengthen the publicity and interpretation of the market-oriented reform, guide all parties to the rational understanding and active participation of the reform, form a joint reform force of co-construction, co-governance and sharing, and jointly promote the in-depth development of the railway market-oriented reform, provide more convenient, safe and comfortable services for the people's travel, and inject strong impetus into the high-quality development of the national economy.
Resources
1. Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Promoting the Modernization of a Great Power in the East
2. Notice of the State Council on Printing and Distributing the 13th Five-Year Plan for Railway Construction and Development
3. Opinions of the State Council on Promoting the Reform of the Railway Investment and Financing System