Li Zhenghua and Ding Xiaoshan: Grasping the Initiative for Economic High-Quality Development [1]
In December 2024, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee convened a meeting proposing that economic work must adhere to the principles of "persisting in seeking progress while maintaining stability, promoting stability through progress, upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground, establishing the new before abolishing the old, and emphasizing systemic integration and collaborative coordination." Subsequently, the Central Economic Work Conference [1] reiterated the policy tone of "persisting in seeking progress while maintaining stability and promoting stability through progress." Strengthening our understanding of the keyword "promoting stability through progress" (以进促稳) possesses significant theoretical value and practical urgency for guiding economic work in the current and upcoming periods.
"Promoting Stability Through Progress"
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, every Central Economic Work Conference has adopted "seeking progress while maintaining stability" as the general keynote for work. In 2024, building upon this keyword, the Central Economic Work Conference refined the policy tone into a 24-character formula: "Seek progress while maintaining stability, promote stability through progress, uphold the fundamentals and break new ground, establish the new before abolishing the old, and emphasize systemic integration and collaborative coordination." This increase in word count not only reflects the higher requirements placed by the Central Committee on economic work for 2025 but also mirrors subtle shifts in the guiding ideology of central economic work. While the general keynote of seeking progress while maintaining stability remains unchanged, the relationship between "stability" (稳) and "progress" (进) must be re-examined in light of a complex and volatile domestic and international environment—particularly given the increase in global economic uncertainty and the prominence of domestic structural issues. Moving from "steady and sure steps" (稳扎稳打) to the consecutive emphasis on "promoting stability through progress" in 2023 and 2024 constitutes an active response to the current economic situation. It embodies the Central Committee’s profound grasp of the laws governing high-quality development and reflects an increasing emphasis on seizing the initiative in high-quality economic development and proactively mapping the future direction of economic growth.
In "promoting stability through progress," stability is the objective. Stability refers to the stability of the overall situation. The comprehensive stability of economy and society includes multiple dimensions: stabilizing economic growth, employment, prices, the basic balance of international payments, and market expectations. Only on a stable foundation can a favorable environment be created for economic development, allowing Communists to realize their original aspiration and founding mission of "seeking happiness for the people." Stability is a solid foundation. China’s economic base is stable, possessing numerous advantages, strong resilience, and vast potential. At the same time, we must recognize that the operation of Case's economy still faces many difficulties and challenges. Adverse impacts from changes in the external environment are deepening; domestic demand is insufficient; some enterprises face operational difficulties; and the masses face pressure regarding employment and income growth. Risks and hidden dangers remain numerous. Therefore, the focus of "stability" is primarily on alleviating the pressures facing economic growth. "Progress" is not only a transcendence of the status quo but also the consolidation and elevation of "stability." The purpose of progress is stability.
In "promoting stability through progress," progress is the source of power. Simply seeking stability without striving for progress will only allow problems to accumulate. Existing issues will remain unresolved while new problems emerge during construction, eventually becoming so ingrained as to be terminal [2], rendering stability a mere empty talk. Development is the absolute principle [3]. Only through high-quality development—by focusing on incremental growth to "make the cake" bigger and better—can problems be solved through the process of development. Without progress, it is difficult to truly achieve stability. Realizing stability with progress as the engine—by taking proactive steps in transforming modes of development, adjusting structures, improving quality, and increasing efficiency—is the path to promoting stability. In the New Era and its new stage, we must continue to rely on innovation, particularly scientific and technological innovation, to realize a shift in the driving forces of development, thereby continuously solidifying the foundation of stability and accumulating the momentum for progress.
Viewed from their dialectical relationship, managing the link between stability and progress means using stability as the foundation to drive progress, while progress serves as the fundamental path to realizing stability. "Promoting stability through progress" reflects the new requirements of the high-quality development stage and represents a further deepening of the Party Central Committee’s understanding of this relationship. It firmly seizes the initiative in high-quality development and elevates the dialectical relationship between stability and progress to a whole new level. In practice, progress has indeed played a major role in promoting stability. In 2023, the combined exports of the "New Three" products (electric vehicles, solar panels, and lithium batteries) reached one trillion yuan, a growth of 29.9%, playing an important role in the stable development of national industry. In the new period, "progress" requires even greater initiative: leading the development of new quality productive forces through scientific and technological innovation and guiding the construction of a modernized industrial system, so that new quality productive forces become a vital engine driving our steady economic growth.
Solidly Advancing High-Quality Economic Development
"Promoting stability through progress" requires maintaining a proactive attitude. Compared to the previous tone of "prioritizing stability and seeking progress while maintaining stability," "promoting stability through progress" places more emphasis on proactive action and accomplishment. The hue of "progress" is more intense, signaling a firmer determination to face difficulties head-on and promote development through reform. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the breadth, depth of interest-group impact, and intensity of comprehensively deepening reform have been unprecedented. The Party Central Committee has balanced the relationships between the present and the long term, intensity and rhythm, and primary and secondary contradictions. It has prioritized solving major institutional and systemic problems, focusing on reform measures characterized by their "four beams and eight pillars" [4] nature in areas such as state-owned assets and enterprises, finance and taxation, banking, science and technology, land, livelihood security, and ecological civilization. This has exerted a driving and supporting effect on related reforms. By simultaneously focusing on the rollout of reform plans and their practical implementation, and by strengthening the responsibility of Party committees and "top leaders" (一把手) [5] at all levels, a chain of primary responsibility has been formed that connects top to bottom. This has ensured that reforms take root and bear fruit successively, achieving solid results. Only because the whole Party and nation adopted this attitude and momentum of "progress" was a situation of overall economic stability and "stability with progress" (稳中有进) achieved.
"Promoting stability through progress" requires adhering to the correct direction. Progress occurs through reform, and reform has specific directions and principles. Progress must uphold the fundamentals of the socialist system, taking the promotion of social equity and justice and the enhancement of people's well-being as the starting point and end goal. It must adhere to the direction of continuing to improve and develop the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and advancing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity. General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "Improving the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is a dynamic process that must constantly develop alongside practice. Existing systems need continuous refinement, and new fields and practices require institutional innovation to fill gaps." On the basis of "upholding the fundamentals," we must respond to new trends in the times, new requirements of practice, and new expectations of the masses, finding more reliable stability within the dynamic development of reform and innovation, thereby breaking new ground for the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
"Promoting stability through progress" requires scientific methods. Should we choose to "completely abolish the old first, then build the new steadily," or "establish the new first, then abolish the old"? Historical practice proves that reform must adopt the method of "establishing the new before abolishing the old" (先立后破). Once the plan and logic for "establishing" are found, the "abolishing" can proceed in an incremental manner. In economic reform, on the basis of ensuring stability, balance, and normal circulation, we reform industrial structures and transform development modes rather than engaging in "Great Leaps Forward" [6] that are divorced from reality and eager for quick success. For example, in reducing carbon emissions, if we want to reduce coal consumption, we must first "establish" a new energy supply system before we can gradually reduce the consumption of traditional fossil fuels and coal. Only with the correct method of "progress" can we ensure "stability" in development.
"Promoting stability through progress" requires strengthening systemic top-level design. To fundamentally boost market confidence and stimulate economic growth potential, the implementation of reform is critical. On one hand, "progress" emphasizes being proactive in key areas such as transforming modes, adjusting structures, improving quality, and increasing efficiency. For instance, the Central Economic Work Conference determined that one of the tasks for 2025 is expanding high-level opening up to the outside world and stabilizing foreign trade and investment. On the other hand, it highlights the implementation path of "systemic integration and collaborative coordination." The 2021 conference emphasized the need to strengthen overall coordination and adhere to a systemic concept; the 2022 conference required increasing the intensity of macro-policy regulation and strengthening the coordination of various policies; the 2023 conference further proposed strengthening the innovation and coordination of policy tools to ensure they work in the same direction to form a synergy; and in 2024, this was refined into "systemic integration and collaborative coordination" to enrich the policy toolkit. These formulations epitomize General Secretary Xi Jinping’s repeated emphasis on "adhering to a systemic concept." Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has persisted in systemic planning and coordinated advancement of all Party and state undertakings. In this process, the systemic concept serves as a foundational ideological and working method. In the New Era, while promoting stability through progress and seizing the initiative in high-quality development, "progress" must focus more on systemic integration, highlighting key points and reform effectiveness. This will promote a more balanced development between the relations of production and productive forces, the economic base and the superstructure, and national governance and social development, thereby achieving the intended effects of "stability."
"Promoting stability through progress" is a vital guiding principle for economic work in the New Era. It profoundly reflects the Party Central Committee’s accurate grasp of the laws of high-quality economic development and its deep understanding of the relationship between stability and development. On the basis of maintaining stability, we must use a more proactive attitude, clear direction, scientific methods, and systemic top-level design to promote the mutual reinforcement of reform and development, seize the initiative in high-quality development, and collectively write a new chapter in China’s economic development.
(The authors are, respectively, Vice Director of the Institute of Contemporary China and President of the Contemporary China Publishing House; and Dean of the School of Marxism at Chengdu University of Information Technology).
Source: Chinese Social Sciences Net / China Social Sciences Times Web Editor: Huihui