Correctly understand the logic of the expression of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee on the "basic socialist economic system".

On July 18, 2024, the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, which attracted worldwide attention, came to an end. The "Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Promoting Chinese-style Modernization," which was issued after the meeting, will certainly become a theoretical guide and action guide for the whole party and the people of all nationalities throughout the country to work together and work hard to create a new situation in Chinese-style modernization.

However, Hu Xijin and some others believe that the "Decision" does not mention "the common development of the economy under various forms of ownership with public ownership as the mainstay," and thus speculates whether this means that "China will give up the dominant position of the public economy in the future," and even believes that this is a "historic" change.

Is that really the case?

In fact, this is a "misreading" and an "overinterpretation" that is detached from the text of the Decision.

Since the beginning of reform and opening up, all the important meetings of our party and the various plans made for the cause of reform and opening up have an unspoken internal logic -- everything we do is to strive to improve and develop the socialist system with Chinese characteristics. Improving and developing the socialist system with Chinese characteristics includes both the political system and the economic system.

So, what is the basic economic system of socialism with Chinese characteristics?

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held in 2019 gave a clear explanation: "The common development of the economy with public ownership as the mainstay, the common development of the economy under various forms of ownership, the distribution according to work as the mainstay, the coexistence of multiple distribution methods, and the socialist market economic system not only reflect the superiority of the socialist system, but also adapt to the level of development of the social productive forces in the initial stage of socialism on the mainland, which is a great creation of the Party and the people." ”

This important summary indicates that the mainland's socialist basic economic system has become more mature and more stereotyped in the new era. The premise of promoting comprehensively deepening reform and continuously emancipating and developing the social productive forces is that we must correctly understand and understand the connotation and essence of the basic socialist economic system.

Since then, whenever we mention the "basic socialist economic system," it inevitably includes the basic elements of "public ownership as the mainstay, the common development of economies under various forms of ownership, distribution according to work as the mainstay, the coexistence of various modes of distribution, and the socialist market economic system."

By understanding this, we will be able to correctly understand the logic of the Third Plenary Session of the 20 th CPC Central Committee on the "basic socialist economic system."

The "Decision" clearly mentions that the overall goal of further deepening the reform in an all-round way is to "continue to improve and develop the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, and promote the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity." In the economic aspect, it is necessary to "uphold and improve the basic socialist economic system," which means that it is necessary to uphold and improve the basic economic systems such as "public ownership as the mainstay, the common development of the economy under various forms of ownership, distribution according to work as the mainstay, the coexistence of various modes of distribution, and the socialist market economic system." ”

The main theme of the "Decision" is reform, and the reason why it does not expand on the complete content of the basic socialist economic system is obviously to keep the text concise and leave the limited space for major reform arrangements. It is not necessary to repeat the self-evident and mature content over and over again, but that in no way means that it is abandoned. If the "Decision" of the Third Plenary Session of the 20 th CPC Central Committee does not specifically mention the definition of "public ownership as the mainstay, the common development of economies under various forms of ownership, distribution according to work as the mainstay, the coexistence of various modes of distribution, and the socialist market economic system" and so on, and understand it as abandoning "public ownership as the mainstay," then we have completely misread the logic of the document's expression.

Why, then, should we persist in perfecting and developing the "basic socialist economic system, such as the public ownership as the mainstay, the common development of the economy under various forms of ownership, the distribution according to work as the mainstay, the coexistence of various modes of distribution, and the socialist market economic system"? This is because:

-- The basic socialist economic system is an important pillar of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and the institutional foundation for the development of the socialist economy with Chinese characteristics.

-- Only by upholding and improving the basic socialist economic system can we implement the people-centered development philosophy and continuously promote common prosperity for all people;

-- Only by giving full play to the advantages of the basic socialist economic system can we fully mobilize the enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity of the masses of the people, and properly resolve the problems of development momentum, unbalanced development, harmonious development between man and nature, internal and external linkage of development, and social fairness and justice.

With regard to the relationship between the public and non-public sectors of the economy, we must guard against an erroneous tendency, as if only emphasizing the dominant position of the public sector of the economy means belittling the economies of other ownership sectors, not sincerely supporting the development of the non-public sector of the economy, and not genuinely caring for and supporting private enterprises and private entrepreneurs.

In fact, General Secretary Xi Jinping has made a clear explanation of this issue at the 2018 symposium on private enterprises:

"Our party's viewpoint on upholding the basic economic system is clear and consistent, and it has never wavered. The mainland's public-owned economy has been formed over a long period of time in the course of the country's development and has accumulated a large amount of wealth, which is the common wealth of all the people, and it must be well kept, used, and developed well, so that it can continue to maintain and appreciate its value, and a large number of state-owned assets must never be left idle, lost, or wasted. We have promoted the reform and development of state-owned enterprises, strengthened supervision and control over state-owned assets, and punished corruption in the field of state-owned assets. At the same time, we stress that the consolidation and development of the public sector of the economy and the encouragement, support, and guidance of the development of the non-public sector are not antagonistic, but are organically integrated. The public and non-public sectors of the economy should complement each other and complement each other, instead of excluding or canceling each other out. ”

Not opposites, but organic unity. Complement each other and complement each other, rather than exclude or cancel each other. This is the stand and viewpoint we should have in grasping the relationship between the public and non-public sectors of the economy.

The "Decision" of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China once again emphasized the adherence to and implementation of the "two unswerving", and placed it in the first place of specific reform arrangements, reflecting the "organic unity, complementarity, and complementarity". "We will unswervingly consolidate and develop the public sector of the economy, unswervingly encourage, support, and guide the development of the non-public sector of the economy, ensure that all forms of ownership of the economy use the factors of production on an equal footing in accordance with the law, fairly participate in market competition, and equally enjoy the protection of the law, so as to promote the complementary advantages and common development of the economies of all forms of ownership." "Promote state-owned capital and state-owned enterprises to become stronger, better and bigger." "Adhere to the principles and policies of creating a good environment and providing more opportunities for the development of the non-public economy."

It can be said that the text of the "Decision" is clearly and clearly written about what is the logic of the basic socialist economic system and what is the direction of reform. We should start from the "Decision" itself to understand the spirit of the plenum, and not be clever enough to associate the so-called "extra-verbal meaning".

Under the conditions of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the relationship between the public and non-public economies has never been a relationship of mutual antagonism, still less a relationship of mutual negation, and the key to the various forms of ownership of the economy is to complement each other's advantages and develop together.

Only by completely, accurately, and comprehensively understanding the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20 th CPC Central Committee can the more than 1.4 billion Chinese unify their thinking, make concerted efforts, and "roll up their sleeves and work hard."

As long as the more than 1.4 billion Chinese continue to make concerted efforts and "roll up their sleeves and work hard," the great goal of building a strong country and rejuvenating the nation will certainly be achieved as scheduled!