Liu Mingsong: Methodological Characteristics of Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively
The "Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Advancing Chinese-path Modernization" (hereinafter referred to as the Resolution), deliberated and adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, proposes when discussing the "guiding ideology for further comprehensively deepening reform" that we must "place greater emphasis on systemic integration, place greater emphasis on highlighting key areas, and place greater emphasis on the tangible results of reform." These three instances of "placing greater emphasis" are both a systematic summary of the practice and methodology of comprehensively deepening reform and a distinct methodological characteristic of further comprehensively deepening reform. On the new journey, the tasks of further comprehensively deepening reform are arduous and heavy. Only by advancing reform with scientific methods can the reform have a clear direction, a distinct roadmap, and achieve steady and sustained progress, thereby providing strong impetus and institutional guarantees for Chinese-path modernization.
1. Placing greater emphasis on systemic integration
Systemic integration is an important methodology for comprehensively deepening reform, embodying the basic viewpoint of universal connection in dialectical materialism. The complexity of reform is determined by the systemic nature of society itself. Society is an organic system with diverse elements and a rigorous structure; within this system, elements are interconnected and interpenetrated with one another and with the system itself, while simultaneously constraining and acting upon each other. A change in any single element can ripple through the system and other elements, producing a broad impact. Only by grasping these complex and subtle interactions through a systems lens can we effectively analyze the objective laws of social development. For comprehensively deepening reform, persisting in systemic integration means using a systems lens to grasp the interconnectedness of reforms in various fields and the coupling of various reform measures. Based on this, we must optimize and consolidate reform measures to achieve effective linkage, healthy interaction, and coordinated cooperation among various reforms, ensuring that reform both achieves breakthroughs in specific fields and forms a synergy within the systemic framework, thereby exerting optimal overall effectiveness.
The Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee initiated the process of comprehensively deepening reform in the New Era and advancing reform through systematic and holistic design. Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, comprehensively deepening reform has achieved a transformation from "laying foundations and erecting pillars" [1] to comprehensive advancement and "accumulating strength and momentum," [2] and then to systemic integration and coordinated efficiency. The basic institutional frameworks in various fields have been essentially established, and many fields have achieved historic transformations, systemic remodeling, and holistic restructuring. At the same time, it must be seen that as reform continues to push into deeper waters, the structural contradictions touched upon by reform become increasingly sharp, and the institutional obstacles faced become increasingly arduous. Often, "pulling one hair moves the whole body," [3] which places higher requirements on the systemic, holistic, and coordinated nature of reform, necessitating a greater emphasis on systemic integration. Therefore, the previous reform methods of single-item breakthroughs or local advancement can no longer adapt to the new situation and requirements. Only by coordinating and advancing with a global perspective and systems thinking can we ensure the organic linkage and coupling of various measures, thereby promoting the overall reform process to achieve optimal results.
Further comprehensively deepening reform must place greater emphasis on systemic integration, strengthening the holistic planning and systematic layout of reform so that reforms in all aspects cooperate with each other and achieve coordinated efficiency. Placing greater emphasis on systemic integration requires focusing on enhancing the systemic nature of reform. We must continue to work hard on being "comprehensive" while persistently applying strength to "deepening," using systems thinking to grasp the interactions between various reform fields and their impact on the entire system. We must break down departmental barriers and institutional obstacles that hinder the advancement of reform, improve the degree of coupling between different fields, and further promote the effective integration and interaction of cross-domain reform measures to form an all-round, deep-level reform linkage and integration. Placing greater emphasis on systemic integration also requires focusing on enhancing the holistic nature of reform. We must carry out coordinated deployment based on overall goals, giving play to the leading role of economic structural reform to further liberate and develop the social productive forces and stimulate and enhance social vitality. We must promote a better fit between the relations of production and the productive forces, the superstructure and the economic base, and national governance and social development. We must handle a series of major relationships such as the global and the local, the current and the long-term, and the macro and the micro, to maximize the overall interests of reform. Placing greater emphasis on systemic integration also requires focusing on enhancing the coordination of reform. By strengthening the core leadership role of the Party, we can further enhance the global awareness and spirit of coordination among the government, market, and social subjects, promote the matching and coordinated advancement between various fields, and form a work pattern of vertical connection and "resonance on the same frequency," [4] thereby ensuring that various reform measures can support and complement each other.
2. Placing greater emphasis on highlighting key areas
"To lift a net, one must pull the headrope; then all the meshes will open." [5] Highlighting key areas is both a basic method of dialectical materialism and an important method for further comprehensively deepening reform. Reform needs holistic advancement, but effort cannot be distributed equally; we must focus on key issues where "pulling one hair moves the whole body," using breakthroughs in key points to drive overall development. This requires us to persist in the dialectical unity of the "two-point theory" and the "priority theory," [6] being adept at distinguishing between primary and secondary contradictions and between the primary and secondary aspects of a contradiction. We must clarify priorities and "drive the whole area through specific points," both highlighting key areas and advancing holistically, promoting the effective resolution of overall problems through the process of continuously overcoming various prominent issues.
At present, China has entered a critical period for comprehensively advancing the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation through Chinese-path modernization. Only by coordinating the overall situation and grasping the key points can we maintain a clear understanding in the complex and volatile domestic and international environment and ensure that comprehensively deepening reform advances steadily. On the one hand, we should focus on primary contradictions and key areas, taking the resolution of unbalanced and inadequate development as a prominent priority, "aiming the arrow at the target" [7] and avoiding the scattering of reform efforts caused by trying to attend to everything at once. On the other hand, we should grasp the complex situation and heavy tasks with a global perspective, keeping closely to the theme of advancing Chinese-path modernization, comprehensively considering the status, characteristics, and mutual relationships of various contradictions to ensure that we do not "attend to one thing while losing another" [8] during the reform process, thereby achieving the holistic advancement of comprehensively deepening reform.
On the new journey, further comprehensively deepening reform must place greater emphasis on highlighting key areas and giving play to the leading role of economic structural reform. To this end, we should center on the core issue of properly handling the relationship between the government and the market, giving full play to the decisive role of the market in resource allocation while better playing the role of the government. We must ensure both "dynamic flexibility" and "effective control," thereby stimulating the creative vitality of society and letting the sources of innovation flow fully. We must closely follow the primary task of high-quality development, deepen supply-side structural reform, and promote the concentration of various advanced factors of production toward new quality productive forces. We should focus on improving the macro-economic governance system, coordinating the promotion of reforms in key areas such as finance and taxation, and enhancing the consistency of macro-policy orientation. We must continuously improve the institutions and mechanisms for integrated urban-rural development and comprehensively enhance the fusion level of urban-rural planning, construction, and governance. We must further improve the institutions and mechanisms for high-level opening up to the outside world, promoting development through opening and building a new system for a higher-level open economy. While focusing on advancing economic structural reform, we should also coordinate the planning of reforms in the fields of education, science and technology, talent, politics, the rule of law, culture, society, ecology, national security, and Party building. In particular, we must focus on solving the pain points and difficulties in the field of people's livelihoods, actively respond to the expectations of the masses, and find entry points and breakthroughs from the issues people care about most, such as housing, employment, and medical care. We must be urgent about what the people find urgent and act on what the people hope for, increasing the people's sense of gain from reform.
3. Placing greater emphasis on the tangible results of reform
Whether a reform succeeds depends not only on systematic planning and deliberate layout but also has a direct relationship with whether the reform measures are effectively implemented and fully realized. Even the most perfect plan can only allow subjective intentions to be manifested in objective reality and top-level designs to be tested in practical exploration once they take effect in practice. Otherwise, it will ultimately be nothing more than "discussing stratagems on paper," [9] unable to substantively solve actual problems.
The reason why comprehensively deepening reform in the New Era has achieved great historical achievements lies crucially in grasping deployment, implementation, and supervision with the "spirit of driving a nail." [10] Since the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the whole Party has taken implementation as the focus of reform work, insisting that "deployment is one part, but implementation is nine parts," "leaving a mark in the iron and a footprint in the stone," [11] and jointly promoting major breakthroughs in comprehensively deepening reform. The Resolution is another general mobilization and general deployment for advancing comprehensively deepening reform toward breadth and depth, sketching a grand blueprint for further comprehensively deepening reform around the theme of advancing Chinese-path modernization. To turn this blueprint into reality, the whole Party must unswervingly execute these strategic deployments and implement every task of the reform with precision.
On the new journey, further comprehensively deepening reform must place greater emphasis on the tangible results of reform and persist in grasping the implementation of reform with the spirit of driving a nail. We should firmly establish and practice a correct view of political performance, upholding the spirit that "success does not have to be mine," [12] not greedy for temporary merit or temporary fame. We must resolutely prevent and overcome formalism, avoid engaging in flashy but impractical "image projects" or "vanity projects" that waste money and human resources, and focus on the tangible results of reform rather than superficial articles. At the same time, we must improve the implementation mechanisms of reform to promote the realization and effectiveness of reform measures. The process from the planning to the implementation of reform measures involves many links; if follow-up and execution are not timely, these measures will find it difficult to achieve the expected results. To better realize the predetermined reform goals, we should focus on improving reform implementation mechanisms, promoting vertical coordination and horizontal integration, and strengthening the tracking, evaluation, management, and supervision of the reform process to ensure that every step proceeds smoothly according to plan. In addition, we should strengthen the evaluation of the tangible results of reform, discover and solve problems in a timely manner, comb through the prominent shortboards and weaknesses, and thereby optimize reform plans and measures. We should promote solutions one by one in a targeted manner to ensure that the direction of reform does not deviate and the intensity does not weaken.
"The development of the cause sets the questions, and deepening reform provides the answers." Chinese-path modernization has been continuously advanced through reform and opening up and will surely open up broad prospects through reform and opening up. We must scientifically understand and firmly grasp the methodological characteristics of further comprehensively deepening reform, tackle difficulties and forge ahead with determination, seek truth and be pragmatic, work hard and do practical things, and transform the strategic deployments of further comprehensively deepening reform into a powerful impetus for advancing Chinese-path modernization.