China earnest, steadfast in further deepening reforms

An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 2, 2024 shows a container vessel berthing at the smart zero-carbon terminal of Tianjin Port in north China's Tianjin. [Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo]

BEIJING -- As the world's second-largest economy arrives at a new critical juncture of reform, the just-concluded third plenum of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) clearly demonstrates that China means business in further deepening reforms comprehensively.

The resolution adopted at the landmark meeting, held from July 15 to 18, unveiled more than 300 reform measures in various fields such as economy, politics, culture, society, ecological civilization and Party building, covering all aspects of advancing Chinese modernization.

Drawing on a vast pool of wisdom, the document has clear priorities, concrete policies and feasible measures, charting the course for China's future reform and opening up. It sends a strong signal that China is earnest and steadfast in reform and opening up. The resolution serves as an overall plan and call to action for comprehensively advancing broader and deeper reform on the new journey in the new era.

It is easy to imagine how complex and challenging the new round of reforms will be, as they aim to address the major institutional problems hindering Chinese modernization. For example, the market system still needs improvement; the over-reliance on key and core technologies controlled by others has not seen fundamental changes; wide gaps persist in development and income distribution between urban and rural areas and between regions.

By clarifying why, where and how to carry out reform on the new journey, the document guides the reforms in a pragmatic way, combining both problem-oriented and goal-oriented approaches.

The more complex the reform agenda, the greater the demand for precise orientation, careful deployment and solid implementation. It makes the third plenum and the resolution adopted so much more significant. The new reform measures are distinctly targeted, aiming to address the most pressing issues with great intensity and high quality.

In building a high-standard socialist market economy, the resolution reaffirms that the market will play the decisive role in resource allocation and that the government will better fulfill its role. It also underscores that "the role of the market must be better leveraged, with a fairer and more dynamic market environment to be fostered and resource allocation to be made as efficient and productive as possible."

"Restrictions on the market will be lifted while effective regulation will be ensured to better maintain order in the market and remedy market failures." It indicates that the policies aim to strike a balance between efficiency and fairness.

On reforming the fiscal and tax system, the resolution says the country will place more fiscal resources at the disposal of local governments, expand the sources of tax revenue at the local level and grant greater authority for tax management to local governments as appropriate.

Describing opening up as a "defining feature of Chinese modernization," the resolution reaffirms that China will "steadily expand institutional opening up, deepen the foreign trade structural reform, further reform the management systems for inward and outward investment, improve planning for regional opening up, and refine the mechanisms for high-quality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative."

"New quality productive forces" is a buzzword in China's economy. The resolution states: "We will improve the institutions and mechanisms for fostering new quality productive forces in line with local conditions, for promoting full integration between the real economy and the digital economy, for developing the service sector, for modernizing infrastructure, and for enhancing the resilience and security of industrial and supply chains."

Meanwhile, to boost all-around innovation, China will deepen comprehensive reform in education, structural scientific and technological reform, and institutional reforms for talent development. It will refine the mechanisms to push for breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields.

Fulfilling these reform tasks will determine China's future development. The sustainable growth of China hinges on a range of factors, including domestic demand and technological innovation.

China's leadership has attached great importance to the methodology behind deepening reform. A more systematic, across-the-board and coordinated approach could ensure that reform measures in all sectors could reinforce each other, with their "chemistry" fully released. Thus, the reform agenda could gain steam.

The message is clear: Reform and opening up is the key to solving problems in development and addressing risks and challenges on the road ahead. As the CPC responds to people's needs, the success of reform will not only benefit China, but also contribute to the prosperity of the world.  

The views don't necessarily reflect those of Qiushi Journal.