Xi Jinping: Speech at the Symposium of Experts in Economic and Social Fields

On August 24, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, President of the State, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission hosted a symposium of experts in the economic and social fields in Zhongnanhai and delivered an important speech.

Speech at the Symposium of Experts in Economic and Social Fields

(24 August 2020)

Xi Jinping

Today, we are holding a forum of experts in the economic and social fields to listen to your opinions and suggestions on the formulation of the 14th five-year Plan. Both economists and sociologists attended today's symposium. Just now, experts and scholars have made very good speeches. Starting from their respective professional fields, everyone put forward valuable opinions and suggestions on the development environment, ideas, tasks, and measures during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period. After listening, they were very inspired. Other experts participating in the meeting submitted written speeches, please Relevant parties study and absorb. Next, I would like to make some comments on correctly understanding and grasping the major issues of medium-and long-term economic and social development.

Using medium-and long-term planning to guide economic and social development is an important way for our party to govern the country. Since 1953, my country has compiled and implemented 13 five-year plans (plans), of which 8 have been compiled and implemented since the reform and opening up, which has effectively promoted economic and social development, the improvement of comprehensive national strength, and the improvement of people's lives, creating a rare economy in the world. Miracle of rapid development and long-term social stability. Practice has proved that medium-and long-term development planning can not only give full play to the decisive role of the market in the allocation of resources, but also give better play to the role of the government.

The "14th Five-Year Plan" period is the first five years for my country to build a well-off society in an all-round way and achieve the first century-old goal. It will enter a new stage of development. Everything is done in advance, and nothing is done without advance. We should take a long-term view, grasp the general trend, open the door to ask questions, brainstorm ideas, study new situations and make new plans.

On August 24, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, President of the State, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission hosted a symposium of experts in the economic and social fields in Zhongnanhai and delivered an important speech.

First, we should treat the new opportunities and challenges in the new development stage with dialectical thinking. Since the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, I have said many times that the world today is undergoing major changes unseen in a century. At present, the global pandemic of the new coronary pneumonia epidemic is accelerating the changes, protectionism and unilateralism are on the rise, the world economy is in the doldrums, the global industrial chain supply chain is facing shocks due to non-economic factors, the international economy, science and technology, culture, security, politics and other patterns are undergoing profound adjustments, and the world is entering a period of turbulent change. In the coming period, we will face more adverse external environment and must be prepared to deal with a series of new risks and challenges.

The domestic development environment is also undergoing profound changes. China has entered a stage of high-quality development, and the main social contradiction has been transformed into a contradiction between the people's growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development. The per capita GDP has reached 10000 US dollars, the urbanization rate has exceeded 60%, and the middle-income group has more than 0.4 billion people. The people's demand for a better life is constantly increasing. my country has significant institutional advantages, improved governance efficiency, long-term economic improvement, strong material foundation, abundant human resources, broad market space, strong development resilience, and overall social stability. It has many advantages and conditions for continued development. At the same time, the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development in China is still prominent, the innovation ability does not meet the requirements of high-quality development, the agricultural foundation is not stable, the gap between urban and rural regional development and income distribution is large, ecological and environmental protection has a long way to go, there are shortcomings in the protection of people's livelihood, and there are still weaknesses in social governance.

In short, entering the new stage of development, the profound changes in the domestic and international environment have brought not only a series of new opportunities, but also a series of new challenges. We should dialectically understand and grasp the general trend at home and abroad, co-ordinate the overall strategic situation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the great changes unseen in the world in a century, and have a deep understanding of the new characteristics and requirements brought about by the development and changes of the principal contradictions in our society. we should have a deep understanding of the new contradictions and challenges brought about by the complex international environment, enhance our awareness of opportunities and risks, and accurately recognize changes, respond scientifically, strive to achieve higher quality, more efficient, more equitable, more sustainable and more secure development.

Second, to smooth the national economic cycle to build a new development pattern. Since the beginning of this year, I have said many times that we should promote the formation of a new development pattern with the domestic cycle as the main body and the domestic and international double cycles promoting each other. This new development pattern is put forward according to the changes of China's development stage, environment and conditions, and is a strategic choice to reshape China's new advantages in international cooperation and competition. In recent years, with the changes in the external environment and the factor endowments of China's development, the momentum of the international cycle, both the market and resources, has been significantly weakened, while the potential of China's domestic demand has been continuously released, and the vitality of the domestic cycle has become increasingly strong. This objective phenomenon has been discussed a lot in the theoretical circle, and we can continue to deepen the research and put forward insightful opinions.

Since the international financial crisis in 2008, China's economy has been shifting to a domestic cycle, with the ratio of current account surplus to GDP falling from 9.9 per cent in 2007 to less than 1 per cent now, and domestic demand contributing more than 100 per cent to economic growth in seven years. In the coming period, the domestic market will dominate the national economic cycle, and the domestic demand potential for economic growth will continue to be released. We should adhere to the strategic direction of supply-side structural reform, seize the strategic basis of expanding domestic demand, make production, distribution, circulation and consumption rely more on the domestic market, improve the adaptability of the supply system to domestic demand, and form a higher level of dynamic balance between demand-led supply and supply-created demand.

Of course, the new development pattern is by no means a closed domestic cycle, but an open domestic and international double cycle. my country's position in the world economy will continue to rise, its ties with the world economy will be closer, and the market opportunities provided to other countries will be broader, and it will become a huge gravitational field that attracts international commodities and factor resources.

Third, scientific and technological innovation to promote new development momentum. To achieve high-quality development, we must achieve connotative growth driven by innovation. We must vigorously enhance our independent innovation capabilities and break through key core technologies as soon as possible. This is a major issue related to the overall development of our country, and it is also the key to the formation of a domestic cycle as the main body.

We must give full play to the significant advantages of my country's socialist system in being able to concentrate our efforts on major issues, and fight the battle for key core technologies. Relying on my country's ultra-large-scale market and complete industrial system, we must create unique advantages that are conducive to the rapid and large-scale application and iterative upgrading of new technologies, accelerate the transformation of scientific and technological achievements into actual productivity, improve the level of the industrial chain, and maintain the safety of the industrial chain. It is necessary to give full play to the main role of enterprises in technological innovation, make enterprises become a new force in the integration of innovation elements and the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and create an innovation system that closely integrates science and technology, education, industry, and finance. Basic research is the source of innovation. We must increase investment, encourage long-term persistence and bold exploration, and lay a solid foundation for building a powerful country in science and technology. It is necessary to vigorously cultivate and introduce international first-class talents and scientific research teams, intensify the reform of scientific research units, maximize the enthusiasm of scientific research personnel, and improve the efficiency of scientific and technological output. We should adhere to openness and innovation and strengthen international scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation.

Fourth, to deepen reform to stimulate new development vitality. Reform is the key to liberating and developing social productive forces and the fundamental driving force for national development. China's reform has been carried out for more than 40 years and has made great achievements recognized by the world. The society is constantly developing, and the system and mechanism for regulating social relations and social activities are constantly improved, so as to constantly adapt to the requirements of liberating and developing social productive forces.

As my country enters a new stage of development, reforms are also facing new tasks. We must show greater courage and more measures to remove deep-seated institutional obstacles, adhere to and improve the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, and promote the national governance system and governance. Capacity modernization. We should keep upright and innovate, blaze new trails and boldly explore our future development path. We should adhere to and improve the basic socialist economic system, make the market play a decisive role in the allocation of resources, give better play to the role of the government, and create a long-term stable and predictable institutional environment. It is necessary to strengthen the protection of property rights and intellectual property rights, build a high-standard market system, improve the fair competition system, stimulate the development vitality of market entities, and make all sources of strength conducive to the development of social productive forces fully flow.

Fifth, open up to the outside world at a high level to create new advantages in international cooperation and competition. At present, the international community has many concerns about the prospects of economic globalization. We believe that international economic connectivity and exchanges remain an objective requirement for the development of the world economy. An important driving force for China's sustained and rapid economic development is opening up to the outside world. Opening to the outside world is a basic national policy. We must comprehensively improve the level of opening to the outside world, build a new system of open economy at a higher level, and form new advantages in international cooperation and competition. We should actively participate in the reform of the global economic governance system and promote the improvement of a more equitable and reasonable international economic governance system.

At present, in promoting opening up to the outside world, we should pay attention to two points: first, all countries, regions and enterprises willing to cooperate with us, including states, localities and enterprises in the United States, we should actively carry out cooperation to form an omni-directional, multi-level and diversified pattern of open cooperation. Second, the more open we are, the more we should pay attention to safety, the more we should coordinate development and safety, and strive to enhance our own competitiveness, open supervision ability, and risk prevention and control ability, so as to make the diamond indestructible.

Sixth, to expand the new situation of social development through joint construction, co-governance and sharing. Facts have proved that there are no fewer problems after development than when there is no development. China's social structure is undergoing profound changes, the Internet has profoundly changed the way of human communication, and profound changes have taken place in social concepts, social psychology and social behavior. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, how to adapt to profound changes in social structure, social relations, social behavior, and social psychology, achieve fuller and higher-quality employment, improve a full-coverage and sustainable social security system, and strengthen public health and disease control The system, promoting the long-term balanced development of the population, strengthening social governance, resolving social conflicts, and maintaining social stability all require serious research and work arrangements.

A modern society should be full of vitality and good order, showing an organic unity of vitality and order. It is necessary to improve the social governance system of co-construction, co-governance and sharing, realize the benign interaction between government governance, social regulation and residents' autonomy, and build a social governance community in which everyone is responsible, everyone is responsible, and everyone enjoys it. It is necessary to strengthen and innovate grass-roots social governance, make every social cell healthy and active, resolve contradictions and disputes at the grass-roots level, and create harmony and stability at the grass-roots level. More attention should be paid to safeguarding social fairness and justice and promoting all-round human development and all-round social progress.

I have focused on a few issues above, as well as other issues involved in medium-and long-term economic and social development. I hope everyone will think deeply and achieve further research results.

On November 23, 2015, when I presided over the 28th collective study of the Political Bureau of the 18th CPC Central Committee, I made a speech on the study of Marxist political economy. Recently, Qiushi magazine published this speech. Engels said that the "whole theory of the proletarian party comes from the study of political economy". Lenin regarded political economy as "the most profound, comprehensive and detailed proof and application" of Marxist theory ". We should use the methodology of Marxist political economy to deepen our understanding of the laws of China's economic development and improve our ability and level of leading China's economic development.

Theory comes from practice and is used to guide practice. Since the reform and opening up, we have summed up new and vivid practices in a timely manner, continuously promoted theoretical innovation, and put forward many important conclusions on major issues such as the concept of development, ownership, distribution system, government functions, market mechanism, macro-control, industrial structure, corporate governance structure, people's livelihood security, and social governance. For example, the theory about the essence of socialism, the theory about the basic economic system in the primary stage of socialism, the theory about innovation, coordination, green, open, and shared development, the development of a socialist market economy and the decisive role of the market in the allocation of resources And better play the role of the government, the theory of my country's economic development entering a new normal, deepening supply-side structural reforms, and promoting high-quality economic development, the theory of promoting the synchronous development of new industrialization, informatization, urbanization, agricultural modernization and regional coordinated development, the theory of ownership, contracting right and management right of land contracted by farmers, the theory of making good use of both international and domestic markets and resources, and the theory of accelerating the formation of a new development pattern with domestic circulation as the main body and domestic and international double circulation promoting each other, the theory of promoting social fairness and justice and gradually realizing the common prosperity of all people, the theory of overall development and security, and so on. These theoretical achievements have not only effectively guided the practice of China's economic development, but also opened up a new realm of Marxist political economy.

The topic of the times is the driving force of theoretical innovation. Marx, Engels, Lenin, etc. all promoted theoretical innovation by thinking about and answering the issues of the times. Now, in the turbulent world economic tide, whether we can control the big ship of our country's economy is a major test for our party. In the face of the complex economic situation at home and abroad, and in the face of all kinds of economic phenomena, learning and understanding the basic principles and methodology of Marxist political economy will help us master scientific methods of economic analysis, understand the process of economic movement, grasp the laws of economic development, improve the ability to control the socialist market economy, and accurately answer the theoretical and practical questions of China's economic development. The rich practice of reform and opening up and socialist modernization in the new era is a "rich mine" of theoretical and policy research, and theoretical workers in the economic and social fields of our country have a lot to do. Here, I would like to give you some hope. The first is to proceed from the national conditions, from China's practice, to China's practice, to write papers on the land of the motherland, so that theoretical and policy innovation in line with China's reality, with Chinese characteristics, and constantly develop socialist political economy and sociology with Chinese characteristics. The second is to conduct in-depth investigations, observe the facts, and make practical measures to fully reflect the actual situation, so that theoretical and policy innovations are well-founded and reasonable. The third is to grasp the laws, adhere to Marxist positions, viewpoints, and methods, look at the essence through phenomena, and explore long-term trends from short-term fluctuations, so that theoretical and policy innovations fully reflect the advanced and scientific nature. The fourth is to establish an international perspective, explore the common issues facing mankind from the interaction between China and the world, and contribute Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

 

Reprinted from: Communist Party Member Network