Article/Sina Financial Opinion Leader Columnist Teng Tai and Zhang Haibing
The great course of China's reform and opening up over the past 40 years has laid a good foundation for the realization of common prosperity for the people of the country. Therefore, we should continue to adhere to the inclusive growth model since the reform and opening up; The process of entrepreneurship and leading the growth of an enterprise is the process of leading enterprise shareholders, employees, customers and stakeholders to common prosperity. Therefore, to achieve common prosperity, we must protect and pay more attention to entrepreneurship; In order not to affect the enthusiasm of "cake making", it is better to clarify the principles and methods of cake division before "cake making", and adhere to "two unswerving"; As a latecomer and peacefully rising market economy country, China's pursuit of common prosperity cannot replicate the old path of developed countries. Instead, it should take a clear stand against the idea of "getting things without work and hating the rich blindly", resolutely not follow the old path of common poverty, and cultivate and expand middle-income groups through multiple channels.
To achieve common prosperity, we should adhere to the inclusive growth model since reform and opening up
For more than 40 years of reform and opening up, China's economy has grown from 1.73% of global GDP in 1978 to 17.4% of global GDP in 2020, and the living standards of all walks of life, regions, and sectors have greatly improved. It can be said that China's more than 40 years of reform and opening up is the greatest exploration of common prosperity in the history of mankind, It has laid a good foundation for realizing the common prosperity of the people of the whole country, and its development is of a degree of universality that is rare in the world.
First of all, from the perspective of urban and rural development, although the pace of phased development is not synchronized, the income and living standards of both urban and rural residents have improved significantly over the past 40 years. In 1978, the disposable income of urban residents in China was only 343.4 yuan, and it has reached 43833.76 yuan in 2020, an increase of 127 times; The disposable income of rural residents increased from 133.6 yuan to 17131.47 yuan in 2020, an increase of 127 times. The living standards of both urban and rural residents have changed dramatically. In 1978, China's urbanization rate was 17.92%. By 2020, it will have reached 63.89%. More than 700 million people have achieved urbanization. By 2020, the whole country will have lifted out of poverty and built a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way.
Secondly, from the regional perspective, although there is an imbalance in the development of the East West and the North South, all regions in the country have achieved considerable development. The income of residents in the eastern, central, western and northeastern regions has also continued to grow, driven by industrialization. For example, in Guangdong Province, which is located in the eastern coastal area, in the whole 40 years from 1978 to 2017, the comparable price of the gross regional product increased by 101 times, the per capita disposable income of urban households increased by 99 times, and the per capita disposable income of rural residents increased by 80 times; In the same period, Liaoning Province, as the representative of the old industrial region, the regional GDP increased by 30.3 times, the per capita disposable income of urban residents and rural residents increased by 95 times and 73 times respectively; The gross domestic product of the Tibet Autonomous Region has increased 48.3 times in real terms over the past 40 years, the per capita disposable income of urban residents has increased 52.3 times, and the per capita disposable income of rural residents has increased 58.4 times. Due to different geographical locations, resources and factor endowments, the economic growth of different regions cannot keep pace. However, on the whole, the economy of all regions in China has achieved considerable development over the past 40 years, and people's living standards have improved significantly.
Third, from the perspective of industry, all walks of life are beneficiaries of reform, opening up and economic development. In 1978, the industrial added value was only 162.2 billion yuan, and in 2017, the industrial added value was close to 28 trillion yuan, an increase of 53 times at comparable prices, which has ranked first in the world for consecutive years. From 1978 to 2017, the added value of China's service industry increased from 90.5 billion yuan to 42703.2 billion yuan, accounting for 51.6% of GDP from 24.6%; The contribution rate to national economic growth rose from 28.4% to 58.8%. Not only the income of people in the new information industry and the financial industry grew rapidly, but also ordinary people such as delivery boys, takeaway riders and e-commerce customer service also enjoyed the opportunity of sustained income growth. According to the data, from 2009 to 2020, the income of manufacturing employees in urban private units increased by 2.36 times, the income of employees in traditional service industries (represented by catering and accommodation) increased by 1.70 times, and the income of employees in new economic industries (represented by information transmission, software and information services) increased by 2.59 times.
The inclusive growth model of China since the reform and opening up is in sharp contrast to the seriously unbalanced and lack of inclusive growth model of the United States since 1990. In terms of industry, many traditional industries in the United States have gradually shrunk, and jobs have disappeared in batches, exacerbating the severity of income differentiation. From the perspective of regional distribution, the growth of the United States in the past three decades is mainly led by California, Greater Boston, New York New Jersey and other regions, and the economy of many Midwest regions has stagnated. It is precisely because the economic growth of the United States in the past three decades is mainly led by a few new economic industries, a few regions, and a small population that makes a large number of people become bystanders of growth, which has reduced the proportion of the middle class in the United States from 70% at the peak to 50% today. In addition, according to the report of the Federal Reserve, from 1989 to 2018, the net growth of household wealth in the bottom 50% of the United States was basically zero, and the proportion of total household wealth fell from 4% to 1%.
Trump keenly found the imbalance in the economic growth of the United States in the past three decades, and used this imbalance to show and tear the social wounds again and again to earn votes. Although he was elected President of the United States in 2016, he did not find an effective way to change this imbalance and lack of inclusive growth model, but because he took advantage of social differentiation, This led to a more serious social division, resulting in a dismal defeat in 2020. What is worth pondering is how to avoid, like Trump, allowing some extreme public opinion to blindly incite hatred of the rich, exaggerate social contradictions and artificially tear society apart in the absence of systematic solutions? If Trump's expansion of social contradictions without systematic solutions is to gain votes, then we must continue to adhere to the inclusive growth model since the reform and opening up, correctly guide public opinion, and maintain social harmony and development, so as to lead the Chinese people to truly achieve common prosperity.
To achieve common prosperity, we must protect and pay more attention to entrepreneurship
The rise of generations of private enterprises in the reform and opening up not only provides consumers with more than 60% of products or services, creates 80% of employment opportunities for workers, is closely related to whether 80% of families can achieve common prosperity, but also provides more than 50% of the funds needed for social operation, infrastructure investment, and social security through tax payment. Only by encouraging more and more entrepreneurs to start businesses, create more jobs and more social wealth, ordinary people Only when there are opportunities to achieve common prosperity can society have the basis for achieving common prosperity.
The process of every entrepreneur's success in starting a business and leading the enterprise to grow is the process of leading shareholders, employees, customers and other stakeholders to achieve common prosperity; On the contrary, once many private enterprises go into decline or decide not to continue to grow, a large number of employees will lose the opportunity of common prosperity.
Under the guidance of the policy of "letting some people get rich first", many private entrepreneurs have accumulated considerable personal wealth since the reform and opening up. From the initial rural transportation and diversified business, the emergence of 10000 yuan households due to the opening of individual restaurants and the trafficking of clothing in cities, to the "millionaires" generated by the development of township enterprises, to the richest group held up in the process of rapid industrialization and urbanization, to the entrepreneur class of 100 billion level wealth generated by the wealth creation effect of new economic giants and unicorns, These Chinese private entrepreneurs who got rich first in accordance with the Party's principles and policies in the reform and opening up tide are fundamentally different from the derogatory capitalists of the old period mentioned in some extreme public opinions.
First, private entrepreneurs in the new era of China, as investors, mainly raise their own venture capital, which is different from the "capitalists" who obtained capital through "bloody" primitive accumulation in the old era. In the early stage of capitalism, whether it was the British enclosure movement, the slave trade in the Americas, or the plunder of China by the great powers, the accumulation of capital did not get rid of the "bloody" color; In the process of China's 40 years of reform and opening up, the capital accumulation of Chinese private enterprises is saved by retrenching and reducing consumption. Many entrepreneurs rely on their relatives and friends to raise money for support when starting a business. Those who can obtain loan support from banks often mortgage their own assets to start a business. Of course, there are a few who misappropriate state-owned assets to make a fortune, or plunder national resources through collusion between officials and businessmen, and obtain excess profits through monopoly status, but they are not the mainstream of China's private enterprises.
Secondly, in addition to the contribution reward, a large part of the wealth of Chinese private entrepreneurs is risk reward. Entrepreneurs of private enterprises have a high probability of failure. If they succeed, they can contribute to the society. If they fail, they will survive. Private entrepreneurs have nine lives and one death. In the most difficult time, executives and employees can resign, and entrepreneurial entrepreneurs must stick to the last. The society often sees only the "flowers" of those who succeed, but ignores a large number of losers who "lose their money". Even after the success of entrepreneurship, private enterprises are also very vulnerable. In recent years, in the context of economic transformation, many private enterprises have been in trouble, the founders' controlling rights have changed owners, and even in bankruptcy.
Third, the wealth accumulation of private entrepreneurs in China is partly the reward for managers and workers. The diligence of Chinese private entrepreneurs is one of the few in the world. Many entrepreneurs not only work day and night when starting a business, but also still regard work as life after starting a business successfully. A large part of their accumulated wealth is also used as remuneration for enterprise managers and workers.
Fourth, in addition to the capital rewards of investors, risk rewards of risk bearers, and labor rewards of enterprise managers, Chinese private entrepreneurs have continued to innovate in products, management, and business models over the past 40 years. Most of China's private enterprises' excess profits come from innovation, which is the market's reward for innovators. According to the data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China, private enterprises in China have contributed more than 70% of technological innovation and will still play an important role in high-quality development in the future.
Finally, Chinese private entrepreneurs, from the moment they succeed in entrepreneurship and realize the freedom of wealth, all their business activities may still be subjective for themselves, but objectively have been mainly for social work - no matter how much wealth these private entrepreneurs have nominally, their own and family consumption is also limited, Therefore, the main function of these wealth is no longer to meet the personal consumption desire of these entrepreneurs, but to provide products and services for the society, solve employment and contribute to taxation; Once the scale of private enterprises becomes larger and beyond the scope of their direct management and control, the management and control power of private enterprises will also be transferred from the owners of enterprises to the professional managers at all levels, just like the state-owned enterprises; In addition to the current social function of the wealth of private enterprises, in the sense that life does not bring death does not take away, all the wealth beyond their own consumption and dominance is, in the final analysis, social wealth.
Although capital is still a key factor of production that gathers other factors and forms productivity, today, with highly developed financial markets, capital can already be obtained from venture investors, capital markets, and commercial banks in accordance with market-oriented methods - those financial institutions that truly master capital are not necessarily private entrepreneurs who set up enterprises; Private entrepreneurs in the new era, who integrate multiple roles such as investors, risk takers, managers and workers, and innovators, have become an important force in providing products and services, creating jobs, promoting innovation in technological achievements, and promoting high-quality economic development. To guide public opinion, "capitalists" can no longer be used This derogatory term in the old period hit the enthusiasm of private entrepreneurs to start businesses and develop enterprises.
How to keep cake distribution from affecting the enthusiasm of cake making
Some scholars have summarized the image of common prosperity in the new era as that we should not only make a big cake, but also divide it well. The author believes that the key to making the cake bigger is to continue to adhere to China's 40 year inclusive development path of reform and opening up, and attach importance to the important role of private enterprises in achieving common prosperity; To divide the cake well, the key is to ensure that the enthusiasm for making the cake is not harmed - if the method of dividing the cake does not harm the enthusiasm for making the cake, it is common prosperity; If the method of dividing cakes hurts the enthusiasm of making cakes, the road to common prosperity will be difficult to achieve; If the method of cake distribution seriously harms the enthusiasm of cake making, it will lead to common poverty.
Party and state leaders have repeatedly stressed that "the status and role of non-public economy in China's economic and social development has not changed! Our policies to encourage, support and guide the development of non-public economy have not changed! Our policies to create a good environment and provide more opportunities for the development of non-public economy have not changed!"! China's basic economic system has been written into the Constitution and the Party Constitution, which will not change and cannot change. Any words and deeds that negate, doubt and shake the basic economic system of our country are not in line with the Party's and the State's principles and policies. Do not listen to or believe! All private enterprises and entrepreneurs can be reassured and secure! "
Although the top decision-making level has repeatedly reiterated that the policy on private enterprises has not changed, and will not change in the future, and has repeatedly released a signal that common prosperity does not mean that both rich and poor are rich and poor, many private entrepreneurs still have not taken the "reassurance", why? It is mainly because of various specious explanations and misleading public opinions on "cake sharing" recently that private entrepreneurs are confused: if there is a power that can decide or influence how to share the cake at any time after the cake is finished, private entrepreneurs will not be relieved and can not concentrate on business!
Therefore, to really reassure private enterprises, the principles and methods of primary distribution, secondary distribution and tertiary distribution must be clearly defined in the form of constitution and law before "cake making".
First, we must deepen the market-oriented reform of factors and further improve the fairness of primary distribution. The main way to achieve common prosperity through one-time distribution is to participate in wealth creation through production factors and obtain reasonable factor rewards. To ensure that "sharing the cake" does not affect the enthusiasm of "making the cake", first of all, in the one-time distribution, the principle of distribution according to work as the main body and coexistence of multiple distribution methods should be followed, so that the providers of labor, knowledge, capital, management, technology, land and other factors can obtain reasonable factor remuneration according to their actual contributions. The property rights market, land, labor, capital, technology and other production factor markets, which have been gradually established over the past 40 years of reform and opening up, are the basis for ensuring a relatively fair primary distribution link. However, a few years ago, the land, finance and other departments obtained unreasonable "excess factor compensation" through monopoly status. Therefore, we should continue to deepen the factor marketization reform, reduce the "excess factor compensation" of land, finance and other departments, and ensure that workers, managers and technicians can obtain reasonable factor income according to their actual contributions. In the past few decades, a reform in the distribution field is itself an open, transparent, market-oriented and legalized reform. As long as it is clear, it will not affect the enthusiasm of famous enterprises to "make cake".
Secondly, deepen the reform of the fiscal and taxation system, establish and improve the social security mechanism, and improve the fairness of secondary distribution. Since the reform and opening up, we have continuously deepened the reform of the fiscal and taxation system, which has not only provided huge social funds for social transformation and capital construction, but also basically established a social security system covering urban and rural areas. However, in the fields of housing, health care, education and so on, there are also unfair phenomena. The next step is to focus on the central and local fiscal revenue distribution, corporate income tax and personal income tax reform, property tax and inheritance tax and other pilot projects, further deepen the reform of the education and medical system, increase the supply of urban affordable housing and public rental housing and other secondary distribution fields, Are important ways to achieve common prosperity. All reforms in these areas should be open, transparent, market-oriented and legalized, and will not affect the enthusiasm for "cake making".
Finally, encourage three distributions. The main task of the government is to promote and guide the establishment of relevant social donation organizations, form a mature and multi-level social donation mechanism, and emphasize the residents' property rights that have been clearly defined in the Constitution, so as to ensure that social donations are based on the principles of consciousness and voluntariness. As long as we clarify the above principles, establish and improve mechanisms and institutions, the three distribution based on social donations will inevitably grow, which is not only an inevitable law of social development, but also a law of human nature. As long as the seedlings are not promoted, the three distributions will not harm the enthusiasm of "cake making", but will greatly enhance the sense of honor of private entrepreneurs to "cake making" and further stimulate the enthusiasm of "cake making".
In a word, as long as the principles of primary distribution, secondary distribution and tertiary distribution are clearly defined before "cake making", and in accordance with the relevant spirit of residents' property rights since the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the explicit provisions of the Constitution, emphasizing the protection of residents' property rights, and not harming the enthusiasm of private entrepreneurs to "cake making", we will certainly achieve common prosperity.
Follow the path of common prosperity with Chinese characteristics
As a latecomer and peacefully rising market economy country, China's road to prosperity in the past 40 years is different from that of early capitalist countries, and the road to common prosperity in the future can only be the road to common prosperity with Chinese characteristics.
First of all, common prosperity seeks to be inclusive rather than average, and common prosperity rather than poverty. We should take a clear-cut stand against the idea of getting something for nothing and hating the rich blindly, and resolutely reject the old path of common poverty. Comrade Deng Xiaoping once pointed out: "We adhere to the socialist road, the fundamental goal is to achieve common prosperity, but it is impossible to achieve average development. In the past, equalitarianism and" big pot food "were actually common backwardness and common poverty, and we suffered from this." China's road to common prosperity over the past 40 years, although the gap between rich and poor has inevitably widened Class solidification, unfair factor possession and other phenomena, but there is no serious social differentiation phenomenon such as urban slums throughout the early capitalist society, and to a large extent, all walks of life, all strata and all regions have benefited from inclusive growth. In the future, we should continue to pursue inclusive rather than average, and pursue common wealth rather than common poverty.
Secondly, we should combine the characteristics of high-quality economic development in the new era, cultivate and expand China's middle-income groups through multiple channels. The future course of 40 years of reform and opening up has turned China's urban and rural residents into property owners. In addition to income from labor, farmers have income from land circulation and grain subsidies. Many urban residents have income from housing rental, self-employed businesses have income from business, and those who have cars, other means of production and transportation also have income from business, knowledge, art Practitioners in the information industry have intellectual property income and creative income, savers across the country have savings interest income, and nearly 200 million stock and fund holders have capital market investment income... Getting rich through labor is always an excellent tradition of the Chinese nation, but it pays attention to the property income of residents, and cultivates and expands middle-income groups through various ways, It is bound to broaden the road to common prosperity in the new era.
Third, China's future road to common prosperity is doomed to fail to replicate the model of developed countries such as Europe and the United States. In the take-off stage of economic growth in Britain, the United States, Japan and other countries, there are serious resource plundering, polarization between rich and poor and social problems. For example, the economic rise of Britain in the Victorian era was largely based on the plundering of wealth from India and other colonies. Even so, there was a serious polarization between rich and poor in Britain at that time; After the Meiji Restoration, Japan accelerated the domestic industrialization process by invading China and North Korea. While the national strength was growing, the life of the lower class people was basically not improved or even more difficult. In the 1920s, Japan's Gini coefficient once reached an extremely high level of 0.6, and the gap between the rich and the poor had reached the point where social stability was endangered; The rise of the US economy is also inseparable from the hegemony of the US dollar and its control over global resources. After World War II, in Europe, the United States, Japan and other developed countries, there was not only a period of rapid growth of the middle class, but also a period of "spindle" society with the middle class as the main body. The periodic "common prosperity" of developed countries is at the cost of developing countries, especially countries in Asia and South America, as the source of cheap raw materials and labor and the market for commodity dumping. China's road to "common prosperity" will not be guaranteed by colonial policies and global hegemony, nor will it steal cheap resources and raw materials from any other developing country and sell goods at a high price. On the contrary, in the process of China's industrialization and integration into globalization, the prices of all resources and raw materials imported by China from abroad will keep rising, All manufactured goods exported by China are constantly falling in price - China's latecomer road to common prosperity not only benefits all Chinese people, but also is destined to benefit the world.
In a word, the road of common prosperity with Chinese characteristics in the new era is a latecomer path of peaceful development. We must generally improve the living standards of our own people while creating huge wealth for the world. To this end, we must adhere to the inclusive growth model since the reform and opening up, and must maintain the entrepreneurial and development enthusiasm of Chinese private entrepreneurs. Whether it is a one-time distribution, a secondary distribution or a tertiary distribution, "cake sharing" cannot hurt the enthusiasm of "cake making", but must adhere to the "two unswervingly", and on the premise of protecting entrepreneurship and residents' property rights, We will encourage people to continue to make a big cake, and through the development of social organizations and the establishment and improvement of social donation mechanisms, voluntary social donations will be automatically triggered and guided to achieve common prosperity.
(The author of this article introduces: President of Wanbo New Economic Research Institute, Doctor of Economics, senior visiting scholar of Wharton Business School, part-time professor of Fudan University, Renmin University of China, Central University of Finance and Economics, member of the think tank of All China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and proposer of new supply economics and soft value theory.)
