On December 18th, the “Sanya Finance International Forum-Exploring the Way to Realize People’s Livelihood and Welfare” hosted by Caijing think tank, Caijing.com, and Caijing magazine was held. Gao Peiyong, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and member of the academic department, said at the meeting that among the “six guarantees” of ensuring employment, ensuring basic people’s livelihood, ensuring market players, ensuring food and energy security, ensuring the stability of the supply chain of the industrial chain, and ensuring the operation of the grassroots level, the former The “three guarantees” are the most important, among which the protection of market players is undoubtedly the key.
Gao Peiyong, Vice President and Member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Since 2020, economic work and macro policy layout have been carried out around the “six stability and six guarantees”. The just-concluded Central Economic Work Conference requested that next year’s economic work continue to be carried out around the “six stability and six guarantees.” Gao Peiyong believes that both the “six stability” and the “six guarantees” are built on the basis of maintaining and stabilizing the market entities, and the priority is to maintain and stabilize the market entities. Only by keeping the main players in the market can we keep employment, basic people’s livelihood, and basic national economy. Based on this, we can keep food and energy security, keep the stability of the industrial chain and supply chain, and keep the operation of the grassroots level.
The Central Economic Work Conference proposed that “micro-policies should continue to stimulate the vitality of market players.” Gao Peiyong analyzed that this brand-new formulation deserves special attention. The so-called “new” is mainly reflected in: 1. In the past, regardless of economic work conferences or other macro policy deployments, the focus was often on the macro level, and rarely involved or went deep into the micro foundation level. 2. The concept of market entities has only been proposed in recent years. This time the market entities are placed in the overall position of economic development for discussion. 3. From the formulation and judgment of the vitality of market entities, it can be seen that this has been regarded as the focus of determining the quality of economic work.
Gao Peiyong said that the 40-year history of reform has shown that the establishment and improvement of China’s socialist market economy is directly related to the development and growth of market forces, and the two are a unity of mutual dependence and mutual conditions. “The mainstay of the market is the backbone of employment stabilization and employment expansion. The large-scale and wide-ranging small, medium and micro enterprises and individual industrial and commercial households are large employment holders, providing more than 85% of urban jobs, supporting 440 million urban jobs and nearly 290 million agricultural workers. Employment of well-known workers. The main body of the market is the basic market for the employment of more than 700 million people.”
Specifically, more than 90% of national taxes are paid by market entities, and market entities have become the basic source of general public budget revenue. Market players are also the main practitioners and places that promote technological innovation, realize kinetic energy conversion, and promote structural optimization. Not only that, market players are related to regional development vitality and stamina, and the development gap between different regions is actually the development gap of market players. Gao Peiyong said bluntly, “As long as we grasp the important force of the market entity, we will also grasp the fundamentals of promoting economic and social development.”
In the face of the impact of the new crown epidemic, maintaining and stabilizing market players is the basic prerequisite for ensuring the normal operation of the economy and the overall stability of the society. Gao Peiyong pointed out that history and practical experience have repeatedly shown that in the face of various risks and challenges, especially in extreme cases, the basic premise of ensuring the normal operation of the economy and the overall stability of the society is to maintain and stabilize the market players. To prevent and defuse risks, we must start with preventing and deflating the risks of market entities. Without the development and security foundation of market entities, other aspects of development and security cannot be discussed.
At present, both the international environment and the domestic environment have undergone major changes, and instability and uncertainty have increased. The opportunities facing the new development stage are more strategic and malleable, and the challenges facing are more complex and overall. Gao Peiyong said that the significance of security in the new development stage is prominent, not only based on development, but also based on security, and more comprehensive development and security at a higher level. This means starting from the most basic link, and the foundation and foundation of economic development is the main body of the market.
Looking forward to 2022, Gao Peiyong said that under the general tone of “stability” and seeking progress in stability, we must further do a good job in overall development and safety. Whether it is stabilizing the macroeconomic market, maintaining the overall social stability, or focusing on improving efficiency, focusing on precision and sustainability, and continuing to implement proactive fiscal policies, or focusing on flexibility and moderation, maintaining reasonable and adequate liquidity, and continuing to implement a prudent monetary policy, we must Continue to focus on market entities, continue to root the focus of economic work and macroeconomic policies on market entities, water and fertilize from the root, and continue to focus on stimulating the vitality of market entities.
He concluded that in terms of economic work experience in the past year, continuing to focus on stimulating the vitality of market entities is a correct path choice that has been proven in practice. In the face of next year’s economic situation and the new tasks and challenges of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way, this must be the only way to go forward without hesitation.
The following is a record of the speech:
Hello, experts and guests.
The just-concluded Central Economic Work Conference, whether analyzing the economic situation in 2021 or deploying economic work in 2022, used a series of new formulations and expressions. It also took this opportunity to make a series of new judgments. Among them, I think everyone has noticed that there is a quite new meaning of formulation and judgment, which deserves our special attention. This is “micro-policies should continue to stimulate the vitality of market entities.”
Why is this a formulation and judgment with a brand new meaning? First of all, I think everyone knows that we seldom use the term micro-policy in the past, let alone refer to it at the level of macro-analysis. Whether it is economic work conferences or other macro-policy deployments, our focus is often on the macro level, and rarely involves or goes deep into the micro-foundation level. This is a “new” meaning. Second, we said that the concept of market entities is relatively new. In the past, we seldom used it, and it was only in recent years that we began to use such a concept, and this time we put it into the overall situation of economic development. Position to be discussed. Third, we are talking about the vitality of market entities. From this formulation and judgment, we can see that we have regarded it as a center of gravity that determines the quality of economic work. This series of changes and new ideas is something that we must take a good look at. The proposal and making of such a new formulation and judgment is directly related to the macro background in which we have entered the new stage of development.
This year is the first year we have entered a new stage of development, and it is also the first year of the “14th Five-Year Plan”. Therefore, whether it is analyzing the economic situation or deploying economic work, it is natural to be based on and rooted in the new environment and new development of the new stage of development. The key to the conditions is how to recognize and grasp the new changes in the new development stage.
Over the past period of time, I think everyone has a clearer understanding of where the new development stage is and where it comes from. We say that to grasp and understand the new development stage, we must first realize that the development goals of the new development stage are new. We say that the development goal of the new development stage is a stepped and progressive development goal. The development goal of the new development stage is to build a modern socialist country in an all-round way, not to build a well-off society in all respects as we mentioned before. The comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country is obviously a higher development goal established on a new and higher starting point. In the words of the common people, it is to touch the higher beams. We say that from the perspective of a higher beam and a higher development goal, the new development stage obviously has new development characteristics that are overwhelmingly high.
Second, the new development of the new stage is also reflected in the profound and complex changes that have taken place in the development environment. Regardless of whether it is from an international perspective or a domestic perspective, we always have to say that the development environment has undergone great changes compared with the past. This change is concentrated in a significant increase in instability and uncertainty. We also say that the new development stage is a stage in which instability and uncertainty have increased significantly. Third, the new development of the new stage is also reflected in the new changes in the opportunities and challenges we face.
We also conclude in this way that although the new development stage is still in a period of strategic opportunity, there are new developments and changes in both opportunities and challenges. This change is reflected in the obvious increase in the difficulty of grasping opportunities and identifying risks. Compared with the past, the opportunities faced by the new development stage are more strategic and malleable, and the challenges faced are more complex and overall. So, when we talk about the new ideas of the new stage of development, we are actually repeatedly reflecting the following understanding, that is, in terms of development goals, it is unstoppable; in terms of environment, it is not. Certainty and instability have increased significantly; in terms of the opportunities and challenges we face, opportunities are more strategic and malleable, and challenges are more complex and overall. In fact, these are all repeatedly revealing the fact that in the new development stage, the significance of security is prominent and the weight of security is increasing. In the new stage of development, when we do things and think about problems, we must not only base ourselves on development, but also base on security. We must coordinate development and security at a higher level and more broadly. So, starting from the meaning of coordinating the development of security, how can we achieve it, and coordinating development and security at a broader and higher level, which means that we must start from the most basic link and penetrate to the end. And the foundation and basic link of economic development is obviously the main body of the market.
It is also under such a background and conditions that we have entered a new stage of development, and our understanding of market entities has become clearer and deeper. For example, in the last one or two years, we have a series of new understandings and new judgments about what a market entity is and how to position it. Both last year and this year’s government work reports used “green hills” to refer to market entities. Everyone still remembers what was said last year: stay in the green hills and win the future. The wording in this year’s government work report is: green hills are always there and full of vitality. The formulation of these two aspects is nothing more than revealing such a basic cognition: the foundation of economic development lies in the market subject, and the driving force of economic development also lies in the market subject. Only by keeping the green hills can we win the future, and only the green hills can be full of vitality. No matter what risks and challenges we face, as long as we keep the market players, we will keep the foundation of economic development. As long as the market players remain vigorous, we will have a steady stream of momentum for economic development. The so-called “the foundation is not strong, the ground will shake and the mountains will shake” speaks of this truth.
For another example, we can often see this formulation: the market subject is the micro-foundation of the socialist market economy. The historical process of reform for more than 40 years shows that the establishment and improvement of the socialist market economy in our country is directly related to the development and growth of the main market forces. The two aspects of the same coin are a unity of mutual dependence and mutual conditions. A brief review of this period of history shows that the implementation of the household contract responsibility system has transformed farmers into the main body of production and operation. Encouraging educated youth to return to the city to find their own jobs and supporting the development of individual economies and private enterprises has also contributed to the expansion of the share of the non-public sector of the economy. The decentralization of state-owned enterprises’ operational autonomy, the implementation of an economic responsibility system, and the subsequent implementation of “profits-to-tax”, these modern enterprise systems have enhanced the competitiveness of state-owned enterprises. There are also a large number of foreign-funded enterprises entering, which not only bring capital, technology, and management experience, but also contribute to our country’s economic development and become an indispensable part of our country’s economy. Therefore, in a sense, it is relying on the continuous growth of the market’s main power that it effectively promotes the establishment and improvement of the socialist market economic system.
For another example, market players are the pillars of employment stabilization and employment expansion. This is not only reflected in our annual increase of more than 13 million urban jobs, most of which are absorbed by market players. A large number of small, medium and micro enterprises and individual industrial and commercial households are large accommodators of employment. They provide more than 85% of urban jobs, support 440 million urban jobs and nearly 290 million agricultural workers. This is also reflected in the fact that the main market is The basic disk for the employment of more than 700 million people. As far as China is concerned, with the exception of approximately 50 million public officials, the rest of the employment takes place in market players, and they are all realized in market players. Therefore, whether it is to stabilize employment or expand employment, it is necessary to rely on market players to play the leading role. Keeping and stabilizing the market entities also keeps and stabilizes employment. It can also be said that market entities are an important force for economic and social development. Let us not mention that GDP originates from the creation of market entities. Under the current tax structure, more than 90% of our country’s taxation is paid by market entities. Market entities have become the basic source of general public budget revenue, which determines that they are also the basic support for government expenditures at all levels. Not only that, the market subject is also related to technological innovation, kinetic energy conversion, and structural optimization. It is the main practitioner and place where it promotes technological innovation, realizes kinetic energy conversion, and promotes structural optimization. The main body of the market is also related to the vitality and stamina of regional development. You can see the development gap between different regions. After all, it is the gap in the development status of the market main body. In which region the market entities develop well, the development status of which region is good, the people’s livelihood will improve quickly, and the employment situation will be good. In this regard, we say that as long as we grasp the important force of market entities and allocate resources centered on market entities, we will grasp the fundamentals of promoting economic and social development.
Especially worth mentioning is the epidemic prevention and control since last year. We found that in the face of the impact of the global pandemic of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, keeping and stabilizing the market players is the basic prerequisite for ensuring the normal operation of the economy and the overall stability of the society. Whether it is the black swan or the gray rhino event, market entities are the first to bear the brunt of the various risks and challenges it brings. We often say a word: The Prophet of the Spring River Plumbing Duck. For the risk and challenge of the global pandemic of the inland new crown pneumonia epidemic, the market players are the first to perceive. The first is the difficulty in operating the market entities, followed by the decline in profits, and even bankruptcy. The experience of history and reality has repeatedly shown that in the face of various risks and challenges, especially in extreme cases, the basic prerequisite for ensuring the normal operation of the economy and the overall stability of the society is to preserve and stabilize the market players. If there is a problem with the market entities, the normal operation of the economy and the overall stability of the society will definitely go wrong. To prevent and defuse risks, we must start with preventing and deflating the risks of market entities. Without the development and security of market entities, there is no way to talk about other aspects of development and security.
It is precisely based on such practical summaries and empirical judgments that the Central Economic Work Conference pointed out that in the practice of responding to risks and challenges, we have further accumulated an understanding of the regularity of doing economic work well. Everyone should pay special attention to the four musts: We must adhere to the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee. It is the fundamental guarantee for us to firmly grasp the essence of the socialist market economy, calmly respond to major risks and challenges, move forward in unison, and promote sustained economic stability; We must adhere to high-quality development, and adhere to the requirements of the party’s basic line to focus on economic construction. The whole party must concentrate on implementing the requirements to promote the steady improvement of quality and reasonable growth of the economy; we must adhere to seek progress while maintaining stability and adjust policies. To promote reforms, we must grasp the effect of timeliness, insist on the first to break, and to steadily fight; we must strengthen overall coordination and adhere to the system concept.
The necessity of these four aspects stems from our regular understanding of economic work. These understandings of regularity, according to the formulation of the Central Economic Conference, are further accumulated in our practice of responding to risks and challenges. All of these are obviously based on a new stage of development. We must coordinate development and security with new understandings and new judgments.
If you look back on the history of our country’s economic work since the outbreak of the epidemic, you will see that in the macroeconomic field, at least one basic change can be observed, that is, the macroeconomic analysis is getting deeper and deeper into the micro level, and the macro policy is getting more and more. In-depth integration with micro-policies has given rise to a new trend in the deployment and planning of macro-policies centered on market entities.
Let me give an example. As you can see, since 2020, our economic work and macro policy layout have been carried out around the “six stability and six guarantees”. In accordance with the requirements of the Central Economic Work Conference that has just concluded, next year’s economic work will also continue to revolve around the “six stability and six guarantees.” The problem is that both the “six stability” and the “six guarantees” are built on the basis of first preserving and stabilizing the market players, and the priority is to first maintain and stabilize the market players. We will not mention the “six stability” in terms of time today, but only talk about the “six guarantees.” The “six guarantees” cover the top three guarantees in terms of ensuring employment, basic people’s livelihood, market players, food and energy security, industrial chain supply chain security, and grassroots operations. The first three guarantees are undoubtedly heavier and more demanding. However, in the first three guarantees, the protection of market players is undoubtedly the most critical and the foundation. The logical relationship is that only when the market players are preserved can employment be maintained. Without the market players, there is obviously no employment. Only by keeping employment can the basic people’s livelihood be preserved. Without employment, there will be no income, nor can we talk about basic people’s livelihood. Keeping the mainstay of the market, keeping employment, and keeping the basic people’s livelihood also keeps the fundamentals of the national economy. Only on this basis can we continue to maintain food and energy security, maintain the stability of the industrial chain and supply chain, and maintain the operation of the grassroots level. I will not list these examples one by one.
Looking forward to 2022, the main line of our economic work will continue to revolve around the “six stability and six guarantees.” To continue to do the “six stability and six guarantees”, continue to improve people’s livelihood, or focus on stabilizing the macroeconomic market, keeping the economy operating within a reasonable range, and maintaining the overall stability of the society, whether it is focusing on improving efficiency, paying more attention to precision and sustainability, and continuing to implement actively The fiscal policy of the People’s Republic of China still focuses on flexibility and appropriateness, maintaining reasonable and sufficient liquidity, and continuing to implement a prudent monetary policy, there is one thing to pay attention to, and that is to continue to focus on market entities and continue to focus on economic work and macroeconomic policies. To take root in the market entities, one must pierce them to the end, water and fertilize from the roots, and continue their efforts to stimulate the vitality of the market entities.
As far as the summary of economic work experience in the past year is concerned, continuing to focus on stimulating the vitality of market entities is a correct path choice that has been proven in practice. In the face of the economic situation next year, the new task, the new challenge of building a socialist country in an all-round way, and this inevitable path, we still have to go forward without hesitation.
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