The 34th Annual Academic Conference of the Chinese Society of Political Economy Held at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law
On April 20–21, the 34th Academic Annual Meeting of the China Society of Political Economy and the 2nd Rural Revitalization Forum were held at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in Wuhan. The theme of this conference was "Theory and Policy of High-Quality Economic Development." More than 300 participants attended, including experts and scholars from dozens of scientific research institutions and universities—such as the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, Fudan University, and Wuhan University—as well as faculty and student representatives from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law.
Focusing on Research into the Theory and Policy of High-Quality Development
Professor Cheng Enfu, Honorary President of the China Society of Political Economy and Member of the CASS Academic Division [1], pointed out in his keynote report that research into the theory and policy of high-quality economic development should primarily focus on four areas. First, it must study the history of high-quality economic development. This spans from extensive reproduction [2] to intensive reproduction, and from quantitative growth to intensive growth. Particularly since the Reform and Opening-up [3], there has been a continuous emphasis on transforming the mode of economic development, properly handling the relationship between speed, efficiency, structure, and quality, and achieving the continuous elevation of industrial structure, economic efficiency, and development quality. Second, it must study the theory of high-quality development. We must persist in using the theory of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism as a guide—especially Xi Jinping Thought on Socialist Economy with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. We must discard neoliberal development ideas and vigorously develop "three-control" [4] national enterprises that "control holdings, control technology, and control brands." We must leverage the controlling power and influence of state-owned enterprises. Third, it must study the policies of high-quality development. Marxist economists should organically combine Marxist academic research, theoretical dissemination, and policy inquiry. While adhering to the prerequisite of maintaining consistency with the Party Central Committee, they should conduct relatively independent academic research to contribute wisdom and strategies for high-quality development. Fourth, it must study the indicators of high-quality development. Research is needed on which indicators can truly measure high-quality development, thereby testing the validity of theories, policies, and suggestions to jointly promote high-quality development.
Professor Zou Jinwen, Vice President of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, briefly introduced the university’s history, its successful experience in disciplinary construction, and its outstanding achievements in his welcoming speech. He stated that since the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has creatively proposed that China's economy has shifted from a stage of high-speed growth to a stage of high-quality development, revealing the profound logic of high-quality development from a theoretical perspective. Currently, we are on a new journey and at a new historical starting point in the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country. This forum focuses on the theme of "Theory and Policy of High-Quality Economic Development," closely following major issues in China's current economic development. He expressed his hope that the participating scholars would use this grand event to inspire new research ideas, engage in in-depth exchanges, and jointly provide theoretical support and policy recommendations for promoting high-quality economic development and contributing to the development of Chinese economics.
Hou Weimin, President of the China Society of Political Economy and Director of the CASS Research Center for Marxist Economic and Social Development, stated that the shift of the Chinese economy from high-speed growth to high-quality development marks a new period of development in China's socialist economic construction. It indicates that over the coming years and decades, Chinese-path modernization will bring new and unprecedented historical changes to the Chinese people. He proposed that exploring China's high-quality economic development should seek four consensuses: high-quality economic development is the dialectical unity of "quality" and "quantity"; it is the unity of rapidly developing productive forces and further improving relations of production; it is holistic development—the unity of macro, meso, and micro levels; and it is the unity of economic development and economic security. Facing the theoretical difficulties of high-quality economic development, we must, on one hand, draw scientific theoretical nourishment from the Marxist treasury of thought, and on the other hand, focus on extracting rich material from the vivid practice of Chinese-path modernization to carry out theoretical innovation.
Conducting All-Dimensional and Multi-Level Academic Exchanges
Renowned experts and scholars focused on theories and policies of high-quality development in China, the relationship between new quality productive forces and high-quality development, high-quality development and rural revitalization, high-quality development and high-level opening up and national economic security, mathematical political economic analysis of high-quality development, and other issues in Marxist political economic theory and application. Through full exchange, they stimulated theoretical thought and sparked academic wisdom.
Wang Zhongbao, Vice President and Secretary-General of the China Society of Political Economy and CASS researcher, proposed from the theoretical perspective of political economy that the most important aspect of high-quality development across all levels and facets is the high-quality development of the production and reproduction of labor power. High-quality economic development requires a shift from focusing on expanding the quantity of products that meet the people's needs toward focusing on improving product quality under the condition of constant scale. Therefore, it is necessary to promote the increase of product quality and added value by increasing the value of labor power. We must push China from the low-and-middle end of global value chains toward the middle-and-high end in the international division of labor. We must also promote the high-quality development of private enterprises, which account for over 80% of urban employment, so that they can provide sufficiently decent work and high-quality employment for the expanded reproduction of labor power.
Participating scholars argued that high-quality economic development means implementing the New Development Philosophy completely, accurately, and comprehensively. It means taking innovation as the driving force to develop new quality productive forces, vigorously developing emerging high-tech industries, and simultaneously pushing traditional industries toward networking, digitalization, and intelligence. It is necessary to advocate for green modes of production, green lifestyles, and green consumption patterns, and to accelerate the green transition of development modes. We must comprehensively promote rural revitalization to achieve coordinated urban-rural development. We must deeply implement the strategy of coordinated regional development, major regional strategies, the functional zoning strategy, and the new-type urbanization strategy to promote coordinated development between the eastern, central, and western regions. We must use high-level opening up to promote the optimization of China's industrial structure and the leap in value chains, forming a new development pattern. We must unswervingly consolidate and develop the public sector of the economy and unswervingly encourage, support, and guide the development of the non-public sector. In the context of competition and cooperation between public and private sectors, we must always maintain the dominant position, leading role, and developmental vitality of the public sector of the economy, laying a solid foundation for all people to share in development.
Caring for and Supporting the Growth of Young Scholars
The conference also featured two academic exchange activities: a seminar on academic paper writing and journal development, and an academic salon hosted by the Marxist Political Economy Research Center of the 21st Century Marxism Research Institute (jointly established by Nankai University and the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences). Young scholars were encouraged to participate. Editors and reviewers from journals that primarily publish papers in the field of political economy—including Study of Political Economy, Contemporary Economic Research, World Review of Political Economy, Political Economy Quarterly, Economic Review, Shanghai Journal of Economics, Reform and Strategy, and the Journal of Hebei University of Economics and Business—engaged in lively exchanges with young scholars on topics such as selection of themes, paper writing, and the manuscript review and selection process. These efforts aimed to promote the rapid growth of young scholars while simultaneously advancing the high-quality construction and development of academic journals.
It is reported that this conference was co-hosted by the China Society of Political Economy and Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, and organized by the School of Economics of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, the CASS Research Center for Marxist Economic and Social Development, and the Academy of Hai-pai [5] Economics at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. The China Society of Political Economy is a national-level first-class society engaged in political economy theoretical research and academic exchange, supervised by CASS and officially registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People's Republic of China. It is a key contact academic organization for the National Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences and is a philosophy and social science society primarily funded by the National Social Science Fund of China.
(Author: Jia Wei, reporter for Chinese Social Sciences Net) Source: Chinese Social Sciences Net