[Original] Zhao Guanghui and Zhuo Gaosheng: Taking an Unambiguous Stance in Response to Controversies
The first Central Economic Work Conference [1] following the 20th National Congress of the CPC was successfully convened in Beijing from December 15 to 16, 2022. At the meeting, General Secretary Xi Jinping summarized the economic work of 2022, analyzed the current economic situation, and deployed the economic tasks for 2023, setting the course and steering the ship for a good start in the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country. Concurrently, General Secretary Xi Jinping provided a clear-cut and unambiguous response to certain erroneous statements that have emerged during the process of promoting substantive progress toward common prosperity.
In the course of advancing toward common prosperity, specific events in 2021—such as those involving Ant Group, Tencent’s donations, and Didi’s public offering—greatly affected the "nerves" of capital, sparking concern among capital and entrepreneurs. Some self-media [2] interpreted common prosperity as "robbing the rich to give to the poor" [3] and the third distribution [4] as "forced donations," further amplifying these anxieties and forming a significant trend of thought. The 2020 Central Economic Work Conference, the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee in 2021, and the 2021 Central Economic Work Conference subsequently introduced new expressions such as "strengthening anti-monopoly efforts and preventing the disorderly expansion of capital," "preventing the disorderly expansion of capital and maintaining market order," and "setting 'traffic lights' for capital to prevent its barbaric growth." These new expressions were misunderstood by some, further expanding the space for associations with such erroneous ideas. Consequently, various mistaken viewpoints like "robbing the rich to give to the poor" and a "secondary transformation of capital" [5] have continually resurfaced, with some even suggesting a "possible slide back onto the track of old socialism (the socialism of a planned economy)." The trending topics of 2022, such as "People’s Economy" [6] and "Supply and Marketing Cooperatives" [7], were essentially echoes and lingering resonances of this same issue.
The 2022 Central Economic Work Conference pointed out that to perform economic work well, one must adhere to the "Six Persists," which include persisting in and improving the basic socialist economic system, persisting in the direction of socialist market economy reform, and persisting in the "Two Unswervinglys" [8]. This represents a clear-cut stance against various incorrect understandings and an unambiguous response to various erroneous controversies. Only by returning to the definition of the "basic economic system" provided by the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee can we profoundly sense the clarity of the banner, the certainty of the attitude, and the firmness of the response in this statement. The Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee re-summarized the connotation of the basic socialist economic system from three dimensions: the ownership of the means of production, the mode of distribution, and the economic structure.
Persisting in and improving the basic socialist economic system demonstrates that public ownership as the mainstay, together with the joint development of multiple forms of ownership, constitutes the economic base (relations of production) of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. On this basis, we must implement a distribution system where distribution according to work is the mainstay and multiple modes of distribution coexist. Simultaneously, both the public and non-public sectors of the economy operate within the rules of a market economy. This is both an inevitable result determined by the level of development of the productive forces and a practical choice that reflects the superiority of the socialist system; moreover, it is a great creation of the Party and the people.
The unambiguous emphasis on persisting in the direction of socialist market economy reform demonstrates that the development of both the public and non-public sectors must follow the basic laws of a market economy. Just as General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Both theory and practice have proven that market allocation of resources is the most efficient form. Market-determined resource allocation is a general law of a market economy; a market economy is essentially an economy where the market determines resource allocation." Therefore, while consolidating the mainstay status of public ownership is the prerequisite for ensuring the socialist nature of the system, consolidating this status and giving play to the leading role of the state-owned economy is not achieved by eliminating the non-public sector. Rather, it is achieved on the track of the market economy by promoting high-quality development of the public sector and improving the core competitiveness of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in fair competition with the non-public sector. Consequently, there is no such thing as the so-called "the state advances while the private sector retreats" (guo jin min tui), let alone the possibility of a "secondary transformation of capital" or a "slide toward traditional socialism."
The unambiguous emphasis on the "Two Unswervinglys" demonstrates that "promoting the development and growth of the private economy" is a long-term strategy, not a temporary expedient. It shows that preventing the disorderly expansion of capital is not an abandonment of the protection of private property, but rather a means to maintain the order of the socialist market economy and to protect the property rights of private enterprises and the rights of entrepreneurs according to law. It shows that setting "red lights" for a small amount of capital is not intended to stifle capital, but to better provide "green lights" for the majority of capital. When we incorporate multiple forms of ownership and distribution modes into the basic socialist economic system and write them into important decisions such as the Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening Reform and the Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Major Issues Concerning Persisting in and Improving the System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and Advancing the Modernization of the State Governance System and Governance Capacity, it demonstrates that state-owned and private enterprises are equal in system and law, and that the development and growth of the private economy and private enterprises are encouraged and supported in policy and public opinion.
Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. The historic achievements and changes of the forty years of Reform and Opening-up and the decade of the New Era have proven that persisting in the mainstay status of public ownership is the prerequisite for ensuring the socialist nature of the system, while developing the non-public economy is an effective means of promoting economic development, and the market is the most efficient form of resource allocation. Total negation of the non-public sector is just as much a non-Marxist attitude as the total negation of the public sector. The "old path of closed-off stagnation" [9] and the "evil path of changing the banner" [10] are both destined for failure. The Central Economic Work Conference has unambiguously declared its attitude and responded to controversies with a clear-cut banner, acting like "timely rain for a carriage" [11]. It has not only cleared away various controversies but also clarified the status of the non-public economy and boosted the confidence of the private sector, pointing out the direction and providing a guarantee for its development. This will surely consolidate the majestic power to build a great modern socialist country and realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation!