The 2024 Annual Meeting of the New Collective Economy Research Branch of the Chinese Society of Political Economy and the 3rd Rural Revitalization Forum Successfully Held
On December 21, 2024, the 2024 Annual Conference of the New Collective Economy Research Branch of the China Society of Political Economy and the 3rd Rural Revitalization Forum were held at the Institute of Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). Hosted by the New Collective Economy Research Branch, the theme of this forum was "The Development of the New Collective Economy and Socialist Ideological Construction." The event aimed to deeply study, research, publicize, and implement the guiding principles of the 20th CCP National Congress and the second and third plenary sessions of the 20th CCP Central Committee, promote the high-quality development of the new rural collective economy, and build a socialist ideology with strong cohesion and leadership. Experts and scholars from institutions including CASS, the Research Center for Rural Economy of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Development Research Center of the State Council, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Minzu University of China, China Agricultural University, and the Hunan Academy of Social Sciences attended the meeting for exchange and discussion.
The opening ceremony was presided over by Research Fellow Fan Jianxin, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Institute of Political Science at CASS. Research Fellow Luo Wendong, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Institute of Marxism Studies at CASS; Research Fellow Gong Yun, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Institute of Economics at CASS and President of the New Collective Economy Research Branch; and Research Fellow Hou Weimin, President of the China Society of Political Economy, delivered speeches on behalf of the branch’s supervisory unit—the Institute of Marxism Studies—as well as the New Collective Economy Research Branch and the China Society of Political Economy, respectively.
Fan Jianxin first expressed his gratitude to the organizers and participants. He noted that while academic conferences are currently numerous, themes such as "The Development of the New Collective Economy and Socialist Ideological Construction" are rare. He stated that this conference shows clear banners and commendable courage, possessing great significance for whether the modernization of agriculture and rural areas, Chinese-path modernization, the building of a strong country, and the great cause of national rejuvenation can proceed smoothly.
Luo Wendong pointed out that the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CCP Central Committee was a milestone meeting held at a critical period for comprehensively advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization, issuing a mobilization order for further comprehensively deepening reform. The session required developing the new rural collective economy, constructing an operating mechanism with clear property rights and rational distribution, and granting farmers more sufficient property rights and interests. The session also proposed improving the responsibility system for ideological work and perfecting the system for arming the whole Party, educating the people, and guiding practice with the Party’s innovative theories. He expressed his hope that this forum would deeply study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions on "Three Rural Issues" [1] work and the spirit of the Third Plenary Session, conducting in-depth discussions on major issues such as the development of the new collective economy and socialist ideological construction to contribute to rural revitalization and the modernization of agriculture and rural areas.
Gong Yun argued that developing the new collective economy and continuously consolidating the foundation of the rural socialist collective economy are major issues concerning the socialist direction of agricultural and rural development, the common prosperity of farmers, and Chinese-path modernization. Developing the new collective economy is urgent and brook no delay; it is an important handle and effective measure for advancing "Three Rural Issues" work. In terms of conceptual understanding, it is necessary to "clear the source and rectify the root" [2] in building socialist ideology and adhere to the guiding position of Marxism. Developing the public-owned economy is an inherent requirement of socialism. CASS has always attached importance to collective economy research, but currently, the academic community pays insufficient attention to it. He expressed hope that young scholars would treat collective economy research as an academic "rich mine" to be continuously excavated and passed down.
Hou Weimin argued that the collective economy is an important prerequisite for adhering to the Party's leadership. Agricultural and rural modernization require the support of the collective economy; developing the new collective economy is an effective means to organize farmers and the "only path" [3] to advance rural revitalization. It plays an important role in consolidating the guiding position of socialist ideology. Valuing collective economy research is an unchanging tradition and commitment of the China Society of Political Economy. He expressed hope that scholars of Chinese Marxist political economy would continue to focus on and research major issues relating to collective economy development, promote the development of agricultural new quality productive forces, and make due contributions to accelerating the realization of agricultural and rural modernization.
The keynote report session was presided over by Gong Yun. Keynote speakers included: Research Fellow Wu Li, former Deputy Director of the Institute of Contemporary China Studies at CASS; Research Fellow Fan Jianxin; Professor Zhu Youzhi, former President and Party Secretary of the Hunan Academy of Social Sciences (attending online); Yang Chunhua, Deputy Director of the Research Center for Rural Economy of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; and Professor Wang Chuanli from the School of Marxism at Tsinghua University.
Wu Li argued that the new collective economy is an important component of the economy of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It was formed during the 70-year history of socialist exploration in New China and is a new economic form that has adapted to the socialist market economy through innovation and transformation under market conditions. It plays a vital role in achieving common prosperity in rural areas, advancing grassroots rural governance, and ensuring the Party's grassroots leadership. It is necessary to fully inherit and carry forward historical experience while continuously developing, improving, and exploring the path of new collective economy construction.
Fan Jianxin argued that adhering to collective ownership of rural land and developing the new collective economy are the political directions for the rural revitalization strategy and the important path for achieving the "second leap" [4] of rural reform. It is an inevitable requirement and important guarantee for developing modern large-scale agriculture, consolidating the Party's foundation for governing in rural areas, and rebuilding the rural community in the New Era.
Zhu Youzhi argued that developing the new rural collective economy essentially involves activating "red resources," "red funds," and "red assets" [5] while expanding market resources, funds, and assets. The more the new collective economy develops, the stronger the Party's ability to lead, serve, and unite farmers becomes. This is a concrete manifestation of the continuous enhancement of the Party's leadership in rural areas and the consolidation of its governing status there.
Yang Chunhua argued that the rural collective economy is an important part of the socialist public ownership economy and is the bottom line and direction of rural reform. New-type urbanization and comprehensive rural revitalization are highly interrelated and symbiotic; they are the "two wings of a bird and two wheels of a cart" for Chinese-path modernization. To promote people-centered new-type urbanization, the key lies in vigorously developing the new rural collective economy and accelerating the "citizenization" of the rural migrant population. Through urban-rural linkage and comprehensive measures, with the county level as an important entry point, the urban-rural dual structure [6] must be broken down to promote integrated urban-rural development.
Wang Chuanli argued that individualized and fragmented operations easily lead to rural economic and cultural disorder, as well as crises in social governance and social security. The collective economy is the important support for mainstream rural values, the "birthplace" of socialist ideology, the material basis for constructing a new type of industry-agriculture and urban-rural relationship, and an inherent requirement for developing rural grassroots Party building. Only on the basis of the collective economy can the spontaneity and laxity of small-scale farmers be overcome, moving toward organization and the implementation of Party building work.
The first stage of the thematic reports was presided over by Peng Haihong, Research Fellow at the Institute of Marxism Studies of CASS and Vice President and Secretary-General of the New Collective Economy Research Branch. Speakers included Research Fellow Yang Tuan from the Institute of Sociology at CASS; Professor Song Chaolong, Vice Dean of the School of Marxism at Peking University; Duan Chunting, Party Branch Secretary of Nanyu Village, Sanpo Town, Laishui County, Hebei Province; Professor Yan Hairong from the Academy of Arts and Design at Tsinghua University; and Professor Zhang Hui, Dean of the School of Marxism at China Agricultural University.
Yang Tuan argued that the new collective economy is a new form of rural collective economy with rural collective economic organizations as the core subjects. It involves multiple participants, various construction methods, and diverse economic forms developing within and outside rural markets. It is an improvement of the basic rural operation system and achieves a "combination of unified and separate operations" [7] both inside and outside rural markets. Rural collective economic organizations are the executors of national policies, the operators and preservers of collective property, the guarantors of small farmers' rights, the leaders of various economic subjects, and the creators of local experience. Currently, the development of the new rural collective economy faces issues such as weak organizations, lack of attention to capacity building, and imbalanced development. To persist in rural land collective ownership, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Rural Collective Economic Organizations must be resolutely implemented to enhance the quality of these organizations and lay the foundation for a new wave of development.
Song Chaolong argued that the core of industrial development is replacing blood-kinship communities with factory labor as the basic organizational unit. The "three-level ownership with the team as the basis" [8] was the institutional design for the ownership structure in Marxist political economy, which divided ownership based on space and holds important heuristic significance for current new collective economy development. Solving the various crises in the industrial system and problems in rural areas must be elevated to the level of ownership structure, predicated on the continuous improvement of the public ownership economy and the expansion of the collective economy.
Duan Chunting reviewed the successful experience of Nanyu Village in recent years through Party-branch-led cooperatives and the development of the village collective economy. He emphasized that in the future, Nanyu Village will further stimulate grassroots development vitality and effectiveness, utilizing new management subjects, coordinating village-level collective funds, assets, and resources, and developing shareholding cooperative operations.
Yan Hairong began with the concepts of resource integrity and "holistic productive forces" to provide a theoretical explanation of the new collective economy, arguing that holistic productive force is a type of new quality productive force and an advantage of the new collective economy. Taking the practice of collective economy development in Gaco Township, Tibet, as an example, she pointed out that it greatly expanded the connotation of holistic productive forces, embedded production within ecology, and brought about member subjectivity and initiative. It broke through the binary opposition between subject and object, forming a "life community" of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grass, and sand, thereby practicing Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization.
Zhang Hui argued that developing the new rural collective economy on the new journey of the New Era places higher requirements on the leadership capacity of rural grassroots Party organizations. They must not only maximize economic returns and benefits but also focus on improving comprehensive effectiveness to promote sustainable and competitive development. She analyzed why and how rural grassroots Party organizations can lead the development of the rural collective economy from five aspects: policy grasping, social mobilization, stable income growth, rational distribution, and supervisory management capabilities.
The second stage of the thematic reports was presided over by Research Fellow Hou Weimin. Speakers included Research Fellow Zhao Zhikui from the Institute of Marxism Studies (CASS), Research Fellow Jiang Yu from the Development Research Center of the State Council, Research Fellow Liu Jianjin from the Rural Development Institute (CASS), Professor Chen Yiyuan from China Agricultural University, Professor Zhao Yihuan from Henan Agricultural University, and Huang Kai, Party General Branch Secretary of Hexie Village, Guiyang County, Chenzhou City, Hunan Province (online).
Zhao Zhikui, based on surveys in several villages across Tianjin, Heilongjiang, Henan, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, analyzed the development history, achievements, problems, and future trends of China's new rural collective economy since the 18th CCP National Congress. He argued that to "tell the China story" well, it is especially necessary to tell the story of China's rural development and strengthen the external publicity of the new collective economy.
Jiang Yu argued that rural collective economic organizations set the bottom line for developing the collective economy, while Party-branch-led cooperatives provide a way for these organizations to interface with the large market. Developing the rural collective economy must solve the problems of consolidating collective ownership and strengthening collective management. Insisting on guiding farmers toward organization and collectivization through Party-branch-led cooperatives is a feasible path for high-level collective economy development.
Liu Jianjin argued that researching the new collective economy requires focusing on its connotations rather than just its external extensions. The new collective economy refers to a new form of collective economy emerging after the reform of the property rights system, characterized by clear property rights and well-defined powers and responsibilities, possessing multiple significances for promoting economic development, maintaining order, and enhancing resource mobility and social openness.
Chen Yiyuan, starting from the practice of "Party-branch-led cooperatives" in Yantai City, analyzed the significance of new collective economy development for village community "re-organization." She argued that under small-scale farming conditions, the most important task is to re-organize farmers through new collective economic organizations. A village in Yantai achieved coordination of agricultural production through such a cooperative, solving the production dilemmas of small households and the adjustment of agricultural production structures, thereby increasing farmer income, establishing the prestige of Party members, and enabling the grassroots Party organization to function as a "fighting fortress" [9], rebuilding fairness and order within the village.
Zhao Yihuan argued that the relationship between the development of the rural collective economy and the growth of collective members' welfare is a relationship between production, distribution, and consumption. The development of the rural collective economy can effectively promote the growth of collective members' welfare: materially, it is conducive to the effective enhancement of the productive forces of labor and labor efficiency, and facilitates both the transformation of the productive forces of labor and the rational distribution of the fruits of labor; spiritually, it is conducive to realizing the scientific combination of education with productive labor and promoting the all-round development of collective members. It is necessary to correctly understand the relationship between individual prosperity and collective prosperity, persist in distribution according to work, gradually increase the supply of collective welfare, and continuously develop and strengthen the rural collective economy.
Huang Kai, speaking on the theme of "Leading Revitalization through Party Building, Promoting Development through Culture-Tourism Integration," shared the practices and achievements of Hexie Village, Zhenghe Town, Guiyang County, Hunan Province, in promoting comprehensive rural revitalization in recent years. Adopting a new grassroots governance model of "Party building leadership, village-enterprise alliance, industrial development, and mass benefit," Hexie Village formulated plans based on local conditions, optimized services from the inside out, and seized opportunities to "string pearls into a necklace" [10]. It actively explored the "Three Chains" Party building model—establishing branches on the industrial chain, gathering Party members on the industrial chain, and enriching the masses on the industrial chain—founded branch-led farms, and established "strong village companies" (qiangcun gongsi). By adopting a management mode of "Branch + Company + Base + Household," the village invested land and capital as shares in enterprises. The village collective economic cooperative and the enterprises are thus linked, forming a new "common prosperity" model of village-enterprise alliance. This has made the village's human settlement environment more beautiful, the villagers' lives more affluent, and rural governance more harmonious, thereby promoting comprehensive rural revitalization.
This meeting also organized four sub-forums. Participating experts and scholars conducted academic discussions on topics such as "Agricultural and Rural Modernization and Chinese-path Modernization," "Rural Collective Economy and Rural Revitalization," "Rural Grassroots Party Building and Rural Governance," and "Socialist Ideology and the Construction of Spiritual Civilization in the Countryside." They reached a broad consensus on developing and strengthening the new-type rural collective economy and strengthening the construction of socialist ideology, and put forward opinions and suggestions on developing the rural collective economy, promoting rural revitalization, and accelerating the realization of agricultural and rural modernization.
The closing ceremony of the forum was presided over by Zhang Jiangang, Researcher at the Institute of Marxism Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and Deputy Director of the Editorial Department of Marxism Studies (Makesizhuyi Yanjiu). Liu Haihua, an official from the Research Administration Department of the Institute of Marxism Studies of CASS; Lu Fengyi, a doctoral student at the School of Marxism of the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (UCASS); Guo Benyong, Vice President of the Party School of the Linyi County Committee of the CPC; and Wang Jiaqi, a doctoral student at the School of Marxism of UCASS, delivered group reports on behalf of their respective sub-forums. Researcher Peng Haihong provided the concluding summary of the forum.
(Contribution and photography by Lu Fengyi, Yue Xiaofeng, and Peng Haihong)