Professor Yu Miaojie, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress, a member of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress of Liaoning Province, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Committee and President of Liaoning University was interviewed by People's Daily Online. The original text and link are reproduced here.
Interpreting the Economic Work Conference of the CPC Central Committee: Sticking to Reform and Opening up to Enhance the Inner Drive for Development
Professor Yu stated that: "We must persist in relying on reform and opening up to enhance the inner drive for development, make overall plans to promote deep-level reform and high-level opening up, constantly liberate and develop social productivity and enhance social vitality."
From December 11th to 12th, the Economic Work Conference of the CPC Central Committee was held in Beijing, which released a lot of important information about reform and opening- up.
After thousands of years of hard work, China's reform and opening-up is making further progress. In an interview with People's Daily, many experts stated that the conference was held at a time when China's economic development is going through a critical stage and rolled out clear goals and practical measures to promote reform and opening-up on high-quality development.
Anchoring the goals in economic field to deepen reform and opening up at a wider scale
According to the meeting, China must persist in relying on reform and opening-up to enhance the inner drive for development and attach great importance to an array of key tasks, including deepening reform in key areas and expanding high-level opening-up. A series of specific tasks, such as perfecting the new national system, accelerating the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, strengthening the status of scientific and technological innovation of enterprises, taking a serious attitude in solving cross-border flow of data and also participating in government procurement were all put forward.
Many experts and scholars said that the meeting made important arrangements around high-quality development and released a more proactive signal. So, Zhang Yuzhe, a researcher at the Institute of Industrial Economics and Technical Economics of the Academy of Macroeconomic Research noted that promoting high-quality development through high-level opening to the outside world and deep-level reform is an important weapon for China's modernization drive. He stated: “We will expand high-level opening to the outside world and make steady progress in deepening reforms in key areas. We will strengthen top-level design and give priority to key areas to deal with current issues and seek a long-term solution”.
Yu Miaojie, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Committee and President of Liaoning University believes that one of an important signals released at the meeting is to promote the development of foreign trade by forming a larger, broader and deeper opening pattern: “It is noticed that through the deployment of expanding high-level opening to the outside world, China is currently transforming itself from factor-based opening to institutional opening”.
Wei Qijia, Director and researcher of the Industrial Economics Research Office of the Economic Forecasting Department of the State Information Center said that the cultivation of inner drive for economic development cannot be achieved without reform and opening-up. At the critical stage of the economic transformation, China will continue to promote reforms on major areas in the economic field and strengthen institutional supply.
Focusing on specific tasks to stimulate potential and vitality
In view of the key task of deepening reform in key areas, the institutional mechanism of “two unswervinglys” was stressed at the meeting to fully stimulate the inner drive and innovation vitality of various business entities.
In response to "continuous improving and implementing", Ma Xiaobai, a researcher at the Enterprise Research Institute of the Development Research Center of the State Council pointed out that this expression aims to deliver on the requirements of equal treatment of state-owned enterprises and private enterprises in an institutional and legal manner. Only by taking accurate and effective policies based on the current situation and seeking equality in resources allocation and market status of state-owned enterprises and private enterprises can we stimulate the inner drive of various businesses.
Wang Yukai, a professor at the Party School of the Central Party Committee of CPC and Deputy Director of the China Society of Administrative Reform also said that comments at the meeting were designed to promote the development of private enterprises, and that the private economy is expected to usher in greater development with restored confidence in 2024.
In view of the key task of ‘expanding high-level opening to the outside world’, proposals were made at the meeting to speed up the cultivation of the new kinetic energy of foreign trade, consolidate foreign trade and investment and expand the export of intermediate goods, service trade, digital trade and cross-border e-commerce.
As Zhang Yuzhe analyzed, China's foreign trade exports and foreign capital inflows have shown new changes due to the increasingly complex internal and external environment, such as rising costs, intensified competition among big countries, and countries' emphasis on localization. Facing a new situation, only by launching key measures can China's exported products become an indispensable part of the global supply chain, promote the flow and integration of production factors in a wider range, effectively utilize global technologies, resources, talents and other factors and build a China-based industrial system of labor division.
Wei Qijia noted that one of the important practices of ‘coordinating the promotion of deep-level reform and high-level opening up’ is to promote institutional opening-up, accurately work in line with international high-standard economic and trade rules, focus on expanding institutional opening up such as rules, regulations, management and standards and constantly improve the competitiveness and management level of opening-up to the outside world to inject new impetus into high-quality economic development.
Dong Yu, Executive Vice President of the China Institute for Development Planning of Tsinghua University concluded that those key words raised at the meeting enjoy a shared goal that more opportunities will be presented in Chinese market next year and the government will forge a sound environment so that business entities can play a more active role.
Safeguarding the results of policy implementation to deal with uncertainties
As proposed at the meeting, it is imperative to uphold and strengthen the Party's overall leadership, and to thoroughly implement the decision-making arrangements of the CPC Central Committee on economic work. Measures should be taken to the letter so that the results can meet the requirements made by the CPC Central Committee. With a bold and resolute attitude, there is a need to coordinate timing, speed and effect in all work. By taking practical measures, any formalism and bureaucratism must be rejected. Guided by a can-do spirit and choosing the right person based on post requirements will make cadres and leaders at different levels more proactive and creative in their workplace.
In response to the "four implements" emphasized at the meeting, many experts said that the meeting was held to implement the decision-making arrangements, which is also a top priority in the current economic work.
Wang Baicun, Deputy Director of the Institute of Industrial Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering of Zhejiang University pointed out that to achieve high quality development and meet the requirement of developing new productivity in the new era, conducting all-round and in-depth reforms provides guidance for local governments to deliver on the message made at the meeting.
Zhang Yuzhe believed that the realities and practical needs for high-quality development should be examined with a clear mind about history and with a firm political stand. By making positive progress in transforming the mode, adjusting the structure, improving quality and efficiency, new achievements will be made.
The meeting released a call for seizing and making use of all favorable opportunities to respond to the uncertainties in a shifting situation together with what has already been achieved.
Wang Yukai said that the meeting mobilized the continuous promotion of reform and opening-up. Cadres and leaders at all levels must strengthen their confidence to make greater contributions to comprehensively promoting the construction of a powerful country with Chinese modernization through practical actions.
Link to original article:
http://finance.people.com.cn/n1/2023/1217/c1004-40140605.html