Several Major Issues in the National Medium and Long term Economic and Social Development Strategy

Several Major Issues in the National Medium and Long term Economic and Social Development Strategy ※

Xi Jinping

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, I have presided over meetings and made a lot of instructions and instructions to promote the prevention and control of the epidemic and economic and social development. At the same time, I also thought about major issues related to the country's medium - and long-term economic and social development in combination with epidemic prevention and control.

The world today is experiencing unprecedented changes in a century. This epidemic is also a once-in-a-century event, which is both a crisis and a big test. At present, the situation of epidemic prevention and control in China has crossed the inflection point, but the global pandemic is still on the rise, and the external situation is very serious. We must do a good job in importing external prevention and rebounding internal prevention, and never let the epidemic return. At the same time, we should draw inferences from other cases, think more long-term, improve the strategic layout, turn danger into opportunity, and achieve high-quality development. Next, I will focus on a few issues from the perspective of development strategy.

First, firmly implement the strategy of expanding domestic demand. Building a complete domestic demand system is related to China's long-term development and stability. After the reform and opening up, especially after China's accession to the WTO, China's entry into the international cycle has formed a "two ends out" development model for markets and resources (such as mineral resources), forming a "world factory", which has played an important role in seizing the opportunities of economic globalization, rapidly improving economic strength, and improving people's lives. In recent years, economic globalization has encountered headwinds. This epidemic may aggravate the trend of anti globalization. The tendency of countries to look inward has increased significantly, and the external environment facing China's development may undergo major changes. The implementation of the strategy of expanding domestic demand is the current need to cope with the impact of the epidemic, the need to maintain the long-term sustainable and healthy development of China's economy, and the need to meet the growing good life of the people.

From October 12 to 13, 2020, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the People's Republic of China and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, visited Guangdong. On the afternoon of the 13th, Xi Jinping waved to the local people and tourists as he walked to the opening port area of a small park in Shantou to observe the style and features of the block. Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Ye/photo

The advantage of a big country's economy is that it is internally recyclable. With a population of 1.4 billion and a per capita GDP of more than 10000 US dollars, China is the largest and most potential consumer market in the world. The optimization and upgrading of residents' consumption, combined with modern technology and production mode, contains huge growth space. We should firmly grasp the strategic basis of expanding domestic demand, make production, distribution, circulation and consumption more rely on the domestic market to achieve a virtuous circle, clarify the strategic direction of supply side structural reform, and promote the dynamic balance between total supply and total demand at a higher level. Expanding domestic demand and opening up are not contradictory. The smoother the domestic circulation is, the more it can form a gravitational field for global resource elements, the more conducive to building a new development pattern with domestic circulation as the main body and domestic and international double circulation promoting each other, and the more conducive to forming new advantages in participating in international competition and cooperation.

Consumption is an important engine of China's economic growth, and the middle-income group is an important basis for consumption. At present, China has about 400 million middle-income population, the largest absolute size in the world. We should take expanding the size of middle-income groups as an important policy goal, optimize the income distribution structure, and improve the mechanism that knowledge, technology, management, data and other factors of production are evaluated by the market and remuneration is determined by their contributions. We should expand human capital investment to enable more ordinary workers to enter the middle-income group through their own efforts.

Second, optimize and stabilize the industrial chain and supply chain. The industrial chain and supply chain cannot be broken at a critical moment, which is an important feature of a large country's economy. This epidemic is a stress test under the actual combat state. China's complete industrial system, strong mobilization organization and industrial transformation capability provide important material guarantee for epidemic prevention and control. The daily production of masks in China has increased from 10 million at the end of January to 500 million at present. At the same time, the impact of the epidemic has also exposed the potential risks of China's industrial chain and supply chain. In order to ensure China's industrial security and national security, we should strive to build an independent, controllable, safe and reliable industrial chain and supply chain, strive to have at least one alternative source for important products and supply channels, and form the necessary industrial backup system.

Now, the whole country is resuming production. We should not and cannot simply repeat the past model. Instead, we should strive to reshape the new industrial chain and comprehensively increase scientific and technological innovation and import substitution. This is the focus of deepening the supply side structural reform and the key to achieving high-quality development. First, we need to lengthen the board, consolidate and enhance the international leading position of competitive industries, forge some "killer" technologies, continue to enhance the advantages of the whole industrial chain in high-speed railway, electric power equipment, new energy, communication equipment and other fields, improve the industrial quality, tighten the dependence of the international industrial chain on China, and form a strong counter and deterrent capability against foreign artificial supply interruption. The second is to complement the weak points, that is, to build an independent, controllable, safe and reliable domestic production supply system in areas and nodes related to national security, so as to achieve self circulation at critical moments and ensure the normal operation of the economy in extreme circumstances.

China's online economy takes the lead in the world and has played an active role in the prevention and control of the epidemic. Online office, online shopping, online education, and online medical care have flourished and are deeply integrated with the offline economy. We should seize the momentum to accelerate the construction of the digital economy, digital society and digital government, promote the optimization and upgrading of digitalization in all fields, actively participate in the formulation of international rules such as digital currency and digital tax, and shape new competitive advantages. At the same time, it must be noted that the real economy is the foundation, and all kinds of manufacturing industries cannot be lost. As a large country with a population of 1.4 billion, food and real industries should focus on themselves, which must not be lost.

In order for the national economy to function properly, we must enhance the awareness of disaster prevention and preparedness. The weather is unpredictable, and people are doomed. We should vigorously strengthen the disaster prevention and preparedness system and capacity building. We should be willing to spend money and work hard to prevent ten disasters and nine disasters. In some areas, we should be ready to deal with disasters that occur once in a century. We should adhere to the principle of walking on two legs, combining the central reserve with the local reserve, combining the physical reserve with the production capacity reserve, combining the national reserve with the enterprise commercial reserve, and doing a good job in the military civilian integration reserve. It is necessary to optimize the variety and distribution of emergency supplies, reasonably determine the scale of reserves, and comprehensively increase investment and construction.

On October 14, 2020, the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone was held in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the State and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivered an important speech at the meeting. This is the morning of the same day, Xi Jinping and others visited the exhibition "from first try to first demonstration - celebrating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone". Xinhua News Agency reporter Ju Peng/photo

In the process of fighting against the epidemic, state-owned enterprises played an important role in the front, and also played a key role in promoting the industrial cycle. State owned enterprises are the important material and political foundation of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the important pillar and reliance of the Party in governing and rejuvenating the country, and must be strengthened, optimized and expanded. Of course, state-owned enterprises also need to be reformed and optimized, but they must not be denied or weakened. We should adhere to and improve the new national system, and constantly strengthen our leadership, organization and execution.

This epidemic prevention and control has made us realize that we must maintain the global public goods attribute of the industrial chain and supply chain, and firmly oppose politicizing and weaponizing the industrial chain and supply chain. In the international economic and trade negotiations, it is necessary to promote the formation of international consensus and norms to maintain the safety of the global industrial chain supply chain and eliminate the interference of non economic factors, and strive to prevent and combat the bad behavior of the global industrial chain and supply chain through international cooperation.

Third, improve the urbanization strategy. How to take the road of urbanization in China? This is a major issue. The key is to take people's life safety and health as the basic goal of urban development. At present, the urbanization rate of China's permanent population has reached 60.6%, and will rise in the future. We should better promote human centered urbanization, make the city healthier, safer, and more livable, and make it a high-quality living space for the people.

It is in line with the objective law to enhance the economic and population carrying capacity of central cities, urban agglomerations and other areas with economic development advantages. At the same time, urban development should not only consider the benefits of economies of scale, but also put ecology and security in a more prominent position, and coordinate the economic needs, living needs, ecological needs and security needs of urban layout. It is necessary to adhere to the people centered development idea, adhere to the comprehensive progress of society and the comprehensive development of people, formulate urban development plans under the guidance of the ecological civilization idea and the overall national security concept, build livable cities, resilient cities, smart cities, and establish high-quality urban ecosystems and security systems.

It is an objective economic law that industries and population concentrate in advantageous regions, but the scale of a single city cannot expand indefinitely. At present, the population density of China's megacities (more than 10 million permanent residents in urban areas) and megacities (more than 5 million permanent residents in urban areas) is generally high. The density of Beijing and Shanghai's main urban areas is more than 20000 people per square kilometer, while Tokyo and New York have only about 13000 people. In the long run, the population density of cities across the country should be reasonably controlled according to the actual situation, and the average population density of large cities should have control standards. It is necessary to build a batch of new suburban cities with industry city integration, balanced work and housing, ecological livability, and convenient transportation, promote the development of multi center and suburbanization, orderly promote the construction of digital cities, improve intelligent management capabilities, and gradually solve the problem of population and function density in the central urban area.

The situation in various parts of China is very different, so we should promote the diversification of urban spatial layout according to local conditions. In densely populated areas such as the east, we should optimize the internal spatial structure of urban agglomeration, reasonably control the size of large cities, and not blindly "spread the pie". It is necessary to promote urban cluster development and form a multi center, multi-level and multi node network city cluster structure. Cities should not only strengthen connectivity, but also have necessary ecological and security barriers. Provinces and regions in the central and western regions where conditions permit should consciously cultivate multiple central cities to avoid the disadvantage of "one city is dominant". There are 1881 counties and cities in China. It is common for farmers to buy houses in the county seat and gather in the county seat. We should select a number of counties with good conditions to focus on development, strengthen policy guidance, and make them an important support point for expanding domestic demand. There is huge demand and development space in the reconstruction of old cities and old residential areas, the construction of underground pipe networks, parking lots, childcare, elderly care, housekeeping, education, medical services and other aspects.

Fourth, adjust and optimize the structure of scientific and technological input and output. The prevention and control of this epidemic is a true test of the Chinese scientific and technological community. The scientific and technological front has not only demonstrated its skills, but also revealed its weaknesses. We need to optimize the distribution of scientific and technological resources, improve the ability of scientific and technological innovation, and create a scientific and technological research and development path that is in line with China's national conditions.

The development of science and technology should be problem oriented and goal oriented. Ensuring people's life safety and health is an important task of the Party and the country. Scientific research should focus on refining major scientific frontiers and major research topics. We should pay more attention to basic research in life sciences such as genetics, genetics, virology, epidemiology and immunology, accelerate research and development and technological innovation of related drugs and vaccines, and attach great importance to the application of information and big data technology in these fields. We should attach importance to the top-level design, optimize the layout of basic research, strengthen the advantageous fields, improve the specialty setting of colleges and universities, strengthen the education of basic disciplines and personnel training, make up for the unexpected shortcomings, gradually expand China's basic research system, and strive to produce more original achievements "from 0 to 1".

From September 16 to 18, 2020, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the People's Republic of China and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, visited Hunan. This is the afternoon of the 16th, in Shazhou Yao Village, Wenming Yao Township, Rucheng County, Chenzhou City, Xi Jinping and Zhu Xiaohong, a villager, are helping each other. Xinhua News Agency reporter Xie Huanchi/photo

In the prevention and control of the epidemic, many examples of the combination of industry, education and research have been formed, which is worth summarizing carefully. We should innovate the transformation mechanism of scientific and technological achievements, give play to the role of enterprises as the main body and the role of the government as a whole, promote the docking of capital, technology, application, market and other elements, and strive to solve the problem of the organic connection between the "first kilometer" of basic research and the "last kilometer" of achievements transformation and market application, so as to open up the innovation chain and value chain of industry, university and research.

Fifth, realize the harmonious coexistence between man and nature. I have repeatedly stressed that man and nature are a community of life, and human beings must respect, adapt to and protect nature. The prevention and control of this epidemic has made us more deeply aware that the construction of ecological civilization is a millennium plan related to the sustainable development of the Chinese nation, and economic and social development must be planned at the height of harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

Engels has long pointed out that "we should not be too intoxicated with our human victory over the nature. For every such victory, the nature will retaliate against us." Since the first industrial revolution, human's ability to use nature has been improving, but excessive development has also led to the reduction of biodiversity, forcing wild animals to migrate, Increase the spread of pathogens in wild animals. Since the new century, from SARS to avian influenza, the Middle East respiratory syndrome, Ebola virus, and the COVID-19 epidemic, the frequency of new infectious diseases has increased significantly worldwide. Only by better balancing the relationship between man and nature and maintaining the balance of the ecosystem can human health be protected. We should deepen our understanding of the laws of the community of human and natural life, and comprehensively accelerate the construction of ecological civilization. The flag of ecological civilization must be held high.

More and more human activities constantly touch the boundary and bottom line of natural ecology. We should maintain the safe boundary and bottom line for nature and form a harmonious coexistence pattern between man and nature. This includes both tangible and intangible boundaries. It is necessary to improve the land space planning, implement the main function zone strategy, clarify the ecological red line, accelerate the formation of the natural reserve system, improve the biodiversity protection network, and reasonably limit the economic and social activities in space.

We should strengthen the national awareness of ecological and environmental protection, encourage green production and consumption, and promote the formation of a healthy and civilized production and life style. We should carry out in-depth patriotic health campaigns, advocate healthy diet culture and good living habits, and crack down on illegal hunting and trading of wild animals.

Sixth, strengthen the construction of the public health system. China's public health has made internationally recognized achievements, but the epidemic prevention and control also reflects that there are obvious weaknesses in China's public health sector, which need to be quickly supplemented.

We should improve the position of the public health system in the national governance system from the top-level design, enrich the public health institutions at the central, provincial, municipal and county levels, strengthen the training of professionals and team building, and improve the ability to perform their duties. We should improve the public health environment in both urban and rural areas, and strengthen prevention and control and public health services at the grass-roots level in rural areas and communities. We should strengthen the planning and construction of public health institutions, hospital infection departments, biological laboratories, and do a good job in sensitive medical treatment and experimental data management. We should strengthen health education and scientific knowledge popularization, and improve the public health literacy of the masses. Traditional Chinese medicine has played an important role in the prevention and control of this epidemic. It is necessary to sum up experience in time, strengthen scientific demonstration, vigorously develop the cause of traditional Chinese medicine, strengthen the integration of traditional and western medicine, and constantly improve the ability and level.

All previous efforts to combat major infectious disease outbreaks have shown that we must accelerate the formation of a system of early detection, early warning and early response from bottom to top, and strive to control the epidemic in its infancy. Strengthening the ability of early monitoring and early warning should be the top priority of improving the public health system and improving the public health emergency management system. It is necessary to strengthen information sharing among disease control, hospitals and scientific research institutions, and enhance the early warning capability of known and emerging infectious diseases.

※ This is the speech delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping at the seventh meeting of the Central Finance and Economic Commission on April 10, 2020.