CPC Committee of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission: Contributing Greater Strength from State-owned Enterprises to Chinese Modernization
State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are a vital pillar and supporting force for our Party in governing and rejuvenating the country, playing an important role in advancing and expanding Chinese-path modernization. At the end of last year, General Secretary Xi Jinping issued important instructions regarding the work of central enterprises, fully affirming their role as the backbone and mainstay of the national economy. He further clarified the duties and missions shoulder by central enterprises on the new journey, making major deployments for the continuous optimization of the layout of the state-owned economy, the promotion of the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation, the further deepening of reform, the coordination of development and security, the persistence in and strengthening of the Party’s overall leadership, and the focused creation of a clean and upright political ecosystem. These instructions are highly political, ideological, strategic, targeted, and guiding; they point out the direction forward and provide the fundamental follow-through for successfully carrying out the work of state-owned capital and central enterprises at present and for the period ahead.
The period of the 15th Five-Year Plan [1] occupies an important position as a link between the past and the future in the process of basically realizing socialist modernization. We must unswervingly use the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions to unify our thinking and coalesce our strength. We must closely integrate this with the study and implementation of the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and the Central Economic Work Conference [2], unswervingly making state-owned enterprises and state-owned capital stronger, better, and larger [3], thereby contributing greater strength to Chinese-path modernization.
Fully Recognize Duties and Missions to Better Play the Role of Strategic Support
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "State-owned enterprises are an important force for strengthening the country’s comprehensive national strength and safeguarding the common interests of the people; they must be made stronger, better, and larger with full confidence." Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has attached great importance to the work of state-owned capital and central enterprises, personally planning, deploying, and promoting their reform, development, and Party building. At every important juncture and critical moment, he has provided a strategic blueprint for their reform and development. In his important instructions at the end of last year, General Secretary Xi Jinping required central enterprises to "fully recognize the duties and missions they shoulder, better serve the overall work of the Party and the state, serve the high-quality development of the economy and society, serve the protection and improvement of people’s livelihoods, courageously undertake social responsibilities, and contribute greater strength to Chinese-path modernization."
Under the guidance of the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speeches and instructions, state-owned capital and central enterprises have conscientiously implemented the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and actively served national strategies, playing the role of backbone and mainstay in the national economy. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the total assets of central enterprises crossed three major thresholds of 70 trillion, 80 trillion, and 90 trillion yuan in succession, and are expected to exceed 95 trillion yuan by the end of 2025. They have contributed nearly 13 trillion yuan in cumulative taxes and transferred 1.2 trillion yuan in state-owned equity to the Social Security Fund. Their scale, strength, value-creation capabilities, and brand influence have been markedly enhanced. The competitiveness, innovative power, control, influence, and risk-resistance capacity of the state-owned economy have been significantly strengthened.
Courageously shoulder the glorious mission of serving the overall work of the Party and the state. State-owned capital and central enterprises were born because of the Party, started their undertakings by following the Party, and struggle for the sake of the Party. They are the "main pillars" of the economy of socialism with Chinese characteristics, shouldering major missions and responsibilities in the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation. Most state-owned capital and central enterprises are located in important industries and key fields related to national security and the lifelines of the national economy; they are an important force for realizing national strategic intentions and actively responding to changes in the external environment and major risks and challenges. Only by consciously planning and promoting work from the perspective of the overall work of the Party and the state—always focusing on whatever the Party Central Committee maintains as a priority and doing whatever the cause of the Party and the state requires—can we stabilize the overall situation, respond to changes, and open up new prospects through the certainty of our own development. This allows us to better play our important role as a vital pillar and supporting force for our Party in governing and rejuvenating the country, making continuous new contributions to Chinese-path modernization. In recent years, state-owned capital and central enterprises have always kept the "top priorities of the nation" [4] and the great schemes of the Party in mind, unswervingly consolidating and developing the public ownership economy. They have created and accumulated vast material wealth for China's economic and social development, further consolidating the important material and political foundations for the Party's governance.
Exert the important function of serving the high-quality development of the economy and society. High-quality development is the primary task of building a socialist modern country in all respects and is the "hard truth" [5] of the New Era. The Resolution of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee proposed promoting the economy to achieve effective qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth, and further proposed that by 2035, GDP per capita should reach the level of a moderately developed country. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to maintain a reasonable economic growth rate over the next decade under the premise of improving the quality and efficiency of economic development. State-owned capital and central enterprises play an important role in consolidating and expanding the momentum of steady economic improvement. High-quality development is reflected not only in the improvement of their own developmental quality and efficiency, but more importantly in the organic unity of fulfilling economic, political, and social responsibilities; in the demonstration and leadership provided by maintaining market order and enhancing industry value; and in the proactive initiative taken to assist the continuous improvement of the economy and the stability of the overall social situation. In recent years, state-owned capital and central enterprises have consciously integrated into national strategies such as the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. They have actively undertaken major engineering projects such as the Sichuan-Tibet Railway and the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, proactively helped small and medium-sized enterprises overcome difficulties, and firmly held the bottom line for the guaranteed supply of key products and basic raw materials such as grain, energy, and resources. They have comprehensively constructed world-leading networks for roads, power, pipelines, water, and communications, injecting strong momentum into high-quality economic and social development.
Firmly uphold the value pursuit of serving, protecting, and improving people’s livelihoods. Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of common prosperity for all people. Protecting and improving people’s livelihoods during development is a major task of Chinese-path modernization. State-owned assets are the common wealth of all the people and an important force for safeguarding their common interests and promoting the realization of common prosperity for all. State-owned capital and central enterprises take benefiting the people as their fundamental value orientation. They take the realization of the people’s aspirations for a better life as the fundamental starting point and ultimate goal of fulfilling their social responsibilities. By striving to do more practical things for the masses, they can ensure that the fruits of modernization benefit all people more extensively and fairly. In recent years, state-owned capital and central enterprises have always adhered to the principle of "people first" and "livelihood as the priority." They have actively undertaken the construction of many large-scale, public-interest infrastructure and basic public service projects, fully participated in emergency rescue and disaster relief for many major natural disasters and emergencies, invested and introduced over 100 billion yuan in assistance funds to help win the battle against poverty, and organized a large number of public welfare and charitable activities to help those in peril or distress, support the elderly and the disabled, and enhance the well-being of the people. They have played an important role in serving, protecting, and improving people's livelihoods.
On the new journey, state-owned capital and central enterprises must focus on the big picture and the overall situation. They must resolutely fulfill their responsibility to safeguard national security, actively serve national strategies for coordinated regional development and major regional strategies, and enhance their strategic support capabilities. They should focus on improving value-creation capabilities, expanding effective investment, and enhancing the quality and efficiency of development. They must actively perform well in livelihood services and basic guarantees, continuously strengthening the people’s sense of gain, happiness, and security.
Accurately Grasp the Key Points of Reform and Development, Contributing Greater Strength to Chinese-path Modernization Through One’s Own High-Quality Development
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must focus on core responsibilities and main businesses, continuously optimize the layout of the state-owned economy, and effectively enhance core functions and improve core competitiveness. We must base ourselves on the real economy, strengthen breakthroughs in key core technologies, and promote the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation. We must further deepen reform, improve the modern enterprise system with Chinese characteristics, refine the corporate governance structure, focus on solving deep-seated problems that restrict enterprise development, and strive to build world-class enterprises. We must coordinate development and security, effectively prevent and defuse risks, and continuously consolidate the foundation for the safe development of enterprises." For state-owned capital and central enterprises to better fulfill their duties and missions, they cannot do without enhancing their core functions and improving their core competitiveness. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions are permeated with a strong sense of problem-awareness and a clear problem-oriented approach, setting forth explicit requirements and earnest expectations for state-owned capital and central enterprises. Only by unswervingly making state-owned enterprises and state-owned capital stronger, better, and larger can we contribute greater strength to Chinese-path modernization.
Optimize layout and adjust structures through multiple measures to enhance core functions and improve core competitiveness. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must promote structural adjustment, innovative development, and layout optimization in accordance with the requirements of the development concepts of innovation, coordination, green development, openness, and sharing, so as to enable state-owned enterprises to play a leading role in supply-side structural reform." At present and for a period in the future, China's development faces a new strategic environment and new strategic tasks. To advance Chinese-path modernization and promote high-quality development, the strategic supporting role of the state-owned economy must be further reinforced. To this end, we must promote the optimization of the layout and the adjustment of the structure of the state-owned economy, further clarify the functional positioning of different types of SOEs, and push state-owned capital to invest more in major national strategic fields such as safeguarding national security, supporting scientific and technological progress, concerning the national economy and people's livelihood, and providing public services. This is a major deployment to promote the state-owned economy to better serve national strategic goals and vigorously support Chinese-path modernization; it is also an inherent requirement for advancing the reform of state-owned capital and SOEs in depth and making them stronger, better, and larger. In recent years, state-owned capital and central enterprises have resolutely implemented the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, deeply promoting the "three concentrations" of state-owned capital (concentration in important industries and key fields related to national security and the lifelines of the national economy; concentration in public services, emergency response capabilities, and public welfare fields related to the national economy and people's livelihood; and concentration in forward-looking, strategic emerging industries). They have successively established a number of important backbone enterprises such as Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC), China Oil & Gas Piping Network Corporation (PipeChina), China Satellite Network Group (China SatNet), China Electrical Equipment Group, and China Yajiang Group. They have promoted the strategic restructuring of several central enterprises, promoting the continuous refinement of industrial and regional layouts, and the continuous improvement of state-owned capital allocation and operating efficiency. This has effectively enhanced the strategic mission functions of the state-owned economy and fully exerted its leading role in the national economy.
Focus on integration to strengthen innovation and promote transformation, driving the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Chinese-path modernization must rely on the modernization of science and technology for support, and the realization of high-quality development must rely on scientific and technological innovation to cultivate new driving forces." Currently, a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is accelerating, and the field of high technology has become the forefront and main battlefield of international competition. Central enterprises are the backbone of China's real economy and an important component of the national strategic scientific and technological strength. They possess obvious advantages in R&D investment, resource integration, and scenario construction. They have the responsibility, the foundation, and the conditions to play a leading role in promoting the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation. In recent years, state-owned capital and central enterprises have focused on developing new quality productive forces, continuously improving organizational, business, and policy systems. Their R&D investment has exceeded one trillion yuan for four consecutive years. They have concentrated on overcoming a batch of key core technologies and created a series of world-renowned "great country heavy equipment" [6] such as Chang'e-6, the Mengxiang (Dream) drillship, and the Fendouzhe (Striver) submersible. They have built a batch of world-class industrial clusters in fields such as new-generation information technology, new energy, new materials, and high-end equipment manufacturing, making active contributions to advancing high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening, and building a modern industrial system.
Seize opportunities and increase vitality to further deepen the reform of state-owned capital and SOEs. General Secretary Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the reform of state-owned enterprises. He creatively formulated the "Two Unwaverings" [7] (the principle that the Party's leadership over SOEs is a major political principle and must be adhered to unwaveringly; and the direction of SOE reform toward establishing a modern enterprise system must also be adhered to unwaveringly). He also proposed the "Three Conducives" [8] (SOE reform should be conducive to maintaining and increasing the value of state-owned capital, conducive to improving the competitiveness of the state-owned economy, and conducive to amplifying the functions of state-owned capital). State-owned capital and central enterprises have advanced through reform and played an important role in developing the socialist market economy. Deepening the reform of state-owned capital and SOEs is a vital link in comprehensively deepening reform and an important "magic weapon" for making state-owned enterprises and state-owned capital stronger, better, and larger. It is of great significance for consolidating the dominant position of public ownership, better exerting the strategic supporting role of the state-owned economy, and ensuring the Party's long-term governance and the country's long-term stability. In recent years, state-owned capital and central enterprises have firmly grasped the correct direction of reform, fully implemented the "1+N" policy system [9] for SOE reform, and successively promoted the Three-Year Action Plan for SOE Reform and the Action to Deepen and Enhance SOE Reform. They have effectively broken down some deep-seated institutional and mechanistic obstacles, promoted the continuous improvement of the modern enterprise system with Chinese characteristics, and accelerated the construction of world-class enterprises. This has led the vast number of Party members, cadres, and workers to inject entrepreneurial momentum, innovative vitality, and creative strength into enterprises while "gnawing on hard bones and wading through dangerous shoals" [10].
Address both symptoms and root causes to prevent risks and hold the bottom line, coordinating development and security. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out:
“Security is the prerequisite for development, and development is the guarantee of security.” Persisting in the coordination of development and security is a major principle of our Party’s governance. Since the 18th Party Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has delivered a series of important expositions surrounding the coordination of development and security and the prevention and resolution of major risks, while proposing the Holistic Approach to National Security [11]. State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and central enterprises are the “ballast stone” [12] for safeguarding national security. Spanning multiple industries such as energy, communications, and major equipment manufacturing, they must better coordinate development and security, ensuring both national strategic security and the safety of the enterprises' own production and operations. They must continuously fortify the bottom line of “prevention” and enhance the capacity for “stability.” In recent years, SOEs and central enterprises have continuously strengthened their bottom-line thinking and risk awareness, prioritizing risk prevention and control in key areas. They have sustained increased investment in fields such as food security and energy/resource security, significantly enhancing the resilience and security levels of industrial and supply chains. By continuously improving safety supervision measures and perfecting risk prevention and control systems, they have firmly held the bottom line of preventing major risks, making every effort to protect the lives and property of the people and the overall stability of society.
On the new journey, SOEs and central enterprises must firmly grasp the theme of high-quality development, focusing on cultivating and developing new quality productive forces, taking the deepening of reform of state-owned assets and SOEs as the driving force, adhering to the coordination of development and security, and achieving greater results in making state-owned enterprises and state-owned capital stronger, better, and larger.
Persist in the Party’s overall leadership over SOEs and central enterprises, and implement the responsibility for governing the Party with higher standards
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must persist in and strengthen the Party’s overall leadership, strengthen the building of enterprise leadership teams, consolidate responsibility for governing the Party, promote the integration of Party leadership into all links of corporate governance, and facilitate the deep fusion of Party building work with production and operations. We must improve systems, strengthen supervision, resolutely punish corruption, unswervingly rectify the ‘Four Winds,’ and strive to create a clean and upright political ecosystem.” This important instruction provides the fundamental guidance for SOEs and central enterprises to persist in Party leadership and strengthen Party building.
The Party’s leadership and Party building in SOEs must only be strengthened and never weakened. Persisting in Party leadership and strengthening Party building is the glorious tradition of China’s SOEs; it is the “root” and “soul” [13] of state-owned enterprises and their unique advantage. In recent years, SOEs and central enterprises have unswervingly persisted in and strengthened the Party’s overall leadership, deepening the implementation of systems such as the “First Topic” [14]. They have comprehensively managed basic organizations, basic teams, and basic systems, coordinating the enhancement of the quality and effectiveness of Party organization building at all levels and in all fields. They have fully leveraged the role of primary-level Party organizations and Party members in urgent, difficult, dangerous, and heavy tasks such as scientific and technological bottlenecks, poverty alleviation, and disaster relief.
Comprehensively and strictly governing the Party allows for no special cases or exceptions within state-owned enterprises. SOEs and central enterprises are capital-intensive, resource-rich, and asset-heavy, involving a wide range of sectors, covering a large number of personnel, and featuring complex and diverse situations. Only by strengthening comprehensive and strict Party governance, connecting the anti-corruption struggle with all aspects of Party building, and coordinating it with various forms of supervision—including that of the contributor [15]—can we treat both symptoms and root causes, clear the source, and create a clean and upright political ecosystem. In recent years, SOEs and central enterprises have resolutely implemented the political responsibility for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, regularly conducting special research and consultations, coordinating the promotion of rectification based on inspections, and fully integrating intra-Party supervision with various other forms of supervision. They have continuously deepened the rectification of key areas such as finance, energy, medicine, and infrastructure engineering, seriously investigating and handling various violations of discipline and law. They have formulated and improved institutional norms, rectified the “Four Winds” to the very end, and carried out warning education across levels and categories, promoting a more abundant atmosphere of integrity and further boosting the spirit of entrepreneurship and initiative.
On the new journey, SOEs and central enterprises must deeply implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on Party building and his important thought on the Party’s self-revolution. Guided by high-quality Party building to lead and guarantee high-quality development, they must accelerate the construction of a new pattern of Party building work that adapts to the new journey and new mission of SOEs and central enterprises. They must take a clear-cut stand in strengthening Party leadership and Party building, improving long-term mechanisms for "molding the soul through study, increasing wisdom through study, rectifying conduct through study, and promoting action through study" [16]. They must consolidate and deepen institutional achievements such as the “First Topic” and promote the deep fusion of Party building work with production and operations. They must unswervingly advance the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, implement the spirit of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, advance the "three-node approach to anti-corruption" (not daring to be, not being able to be, and not wanting to be corrupt) [17] as an integrated whole, carry out interviews on the primary responsibility for comprehensive and strict Party governance as a matter of routine, and consolidate and expand the results of study and education on the deep implementation of the Central Eight-Point Regulations. These new achievements in comprehensively and strictly governing the Party will provide the fundamental guarantee for a good start to the “15th Five-Year Plan” [18].