The Central Economic Work Conference was held in Beijing on December 10 and 11, setting the general tone of “Seeking Progress while Maintaining Stability, Improving Quality and Enhancing Efficiency” for economic work in 2026, and identifying eight key tasks, including “Upholding a Domestic Demand-Led Approach.” On December 12, Yu Miaojie, a Fellow of the International Economic Association and President of Liaoning University, gave an exclusive interview to Dahe Fortune Cube, providing a deep interpretation of the core meaning and practical paths of the conference message, covering topics such as high-quality development, expanding domestic demand, and educational reform.
Strengthening the Foundation for High-Quality Development by Seeking Progress while Maintaining Stability, Improving Quality and Enhancing Efficiency
The conference made it clear that next year’s economic work must adhere to the policy direction of “seeking progress while maintaining stability, improving quality and enhancing efficiency,” sending a strong signal of China’s firm commitment to promoting high-quality economic development.
Yu Miaojie stated that “seeking progress while maintaining stability” is a consistent guiding principle for development, profoundly clarifying the dialectical relationship between high-level security and high-quality development. Against the backdrop of arduous and heavy domestic reform and development tasks, and accelerated evolution in a changing world, high-level security is the prerequisite for high-quality development, while high-quality development is the fundamental guarantee for high-level security; the two complement each other.
Yu Miaojie believed that “improving quality and enhancing efficiency” is an important part of the proposals for the 15th Five-Year Plan. All aspects of economic and social development must revolve around the main thread of quality improvement. Only by making coordinated progress in promoting high-quality development in the economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological civilization areas (the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan), and driving synergies between high-quality development, high-standard living, and high-efficiency governance, could a solid barrier for high-level security be built. This concept not only embodies the core principles of the Central Economic Work Conference but also represents the continuation and further development of the strategic plans outlined at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee
The conference emphasized the need to press ahead with reform and tackle deep-seated problems in order to bolster the momentum and vitality of high-quality development. This includes formulating regulations for building a unified national market and deepening efforts to address “involutionary” competition. Regarding this, Yu Miaojie believed that addressing “involutionary” competition is a specific requirement of improving quality and enhancing efficiency.
Addressing the current phenomenon of “involutionary consumption” in the market, Yu Miaojie believed the key to resolving it lies not in administrative price controls imposed by the government, but rather in achieving differentiated development by improving product quality. “Product quality is positively correlated with price; quality improvement will naturally lead to price stratification, allowing consumers to choose products suited to their needs based on their circumstances.”
Yu Miaojie further explained that when products form differentiated advantages, market competition would move beyond the single dimension of price comparison towards multiple tracks that meet the diverse needs of different income groups and quality preferences. This is precisely an reflection of allowing the market to play the decisive role in resource allocation.
Strong Supply and Weak Demand Does Not Mean Overcapacity
Building a Domestic Demand-Led Economy Requires Grasping Two Core Levers
When analyzing the current economic situation, the conference pointed out that China faces the prominent contradiction of “strong supply and weak demand,” and listed “Upholding a Domestic Demand-Led Approach” as the first of the eight key tasks for 2026.
In Yu Miaojie’s view, the current strong supply and weak demand does not equate to overcapacity. Data showed that although China’s trade volume with the US and Europe had declined, the total annual import and export volume and trade surplus had still maintained growth, reflecting the strong comparative advantages of Chinese products.
“A domestic demand-led approach does not mean abandoning external demand, but rather building a development pattern of ‘expanding external demand with domestic demand as a buffer’,” Yu Miaojie said. Achieving a domestic demand-led approach requires grasping two core levers: First, implementing a plan to increase the incomes of urban and rural residents. The key to boosting consumption lies in increasing residents’ incomes. In the short term, consumption can be stimulated through special campaigns like promoting home appliances in rural areas and product subsidies. In the long term, it relies on income growth plans that “teach people how to fish,” fundamentally activating consumption potential. Second, promoting a reasonable rebound in prices. The conference listed promoting stable economic growth and a reasonable rebound in prices as important considerations for monetary policy. The price rebound here mainly refers to the Producer Price Index (PPI).
Yu Miaojie explained that if the PPI remains persistently low, and corporate profit margins are squeezed, which not only affect the growth of residents’ incomes but may also trigger deflation, constraining stable economic development. Currently, China’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) remains at a moderate level, with no inflationary pressure. Therefore, the policy focus is on promoting a reasonable rebound in the PPI to alleviate operational pressures on enterprises and inject momentum into economic growth.
Increasing Supply of High School Places, Expanding Enrollment in High-Quality Undergraduate Programs
Addressing the Pain Points of Educational Tracking
In the area of livelihoods, the conference proposed “advancing the adjustment of the structure of educational resource allocation, increasing the supply of regular senior high school places, and expanding enrollment in high-quality undergraduate programs at universities.” As a scholar deeply involved in the field of education for many years, Yu Miaojie said, “We have advocated for this measure many times before. It is immensely encouraging to see this recommendation being implemented now.”
He pointed out that the previously implemented model of tracking students at a relatively early stage is debatable, mainly based on considerations of adolescent development patterns and fairness in talent selection. Firstly, adolescents are in a stage of rapid development, where their thinking and potential are mutable. Academic performance at the time of the senior high school entrance exam may not fully reflect their future development potential. Tracking based solely on results from a single point in time too early may overlook talented individuals who develop later or accumulate strength for a leap, which is detrimental to both personal growth and the nation’s selection and cultivation of pillar talents.
Secondly, from an objective standpoint, some adolescents may experience relatively delayed cognitive development and learning concentration during middle schools. Using this as the sole criterion for educational tracking could prematurely and passively steer this group into the labor market, leading them to work in fields where they may not excel or possess a comparative advantage. In the age of intelligence, this increases their risk of being replaced by technology in the future and may also create de facto inequality of opportunity.
“Therefore, increasing the supply of regular high school places, giving more junior high school students the opportunity to receive a high school education, is a key step in promoting educational equity and scientific talent selection. Dovetailing with this, expanding enrollment scales in high-quality undergraduate programs at universities will form a coherent talent cultivation channel,” Yu Miaojie said. This reform measure, he added, could more broadly discover and cultivate the various types of talent needed for the nation’s future development, contributing more wisdom and strength to socialist modernization. In the long run, it will also help enhance the overall quality of the labor force, optimize the human resource structure, thereby narrowing the income gap between different professions, and promoting a more harmonious and sustainable society.
“Therefore, increasing the supply of regular senior high school places, giving more junior high school students the opportunity to receive a senior high school education, is a key step in promoting educational equity and scientific talent selection. On this basis, expanding enrollment scales in high-quality undergraduate programs at universities will form a coherent talent cultivation channel,” Yu Miaojie said. This reform measure, he added, could more broadly discover and cultivate the various types of talent needed for the nation’s future development, contributing more wisdom and strength to socialist modernization; in the long run, it will also help enhance the overall quality of the labor force, optimize the human resource structure, thereby narrowing the income gap between different professions, and promoting a more harmonious and sustainable society.