People's Livelihood as the Prime Focus: Approaches to Improvement of China's Basic Public Service

By Zhou Hongchun, Research Department of Social Development, DRC

At present, China's economy is at a crucial historical period. Domestically, China is facing the major tasks to transform economic development mode, overcome middle-income trap and ensure the progress of modernization. Internationally, global economy has entered the stage of profound readjustment and transformation，which has not only greatly affected the stable and healthy development of China's economy, but also posed grave challenges to China's comparative advantage innovation and the promotion of global industrial competence. During this period, it is both pressing and vital for China to maintain stable and healthy economic and social development and to speed up the transformation of economic development mode. In the near future, the underlying impacts of global financial crisis might become more evident; uncertainties and instability of global economic recovery will become aggravated; global market growth will be stagnant for a period of time and its negative impact on China's import might remain for a long time to come. Meanwhile, domestic stimulus measures to expand consumption and domestic demand could not achieve the expected effects and internal conflicts and problems due to imbalanced, uncoordinated and unsustainable economic development will become more prominent. As a result, economic growth will face increasing downward pressure.

Under these circumstances, how to maintain stable economic growth through timely readjustment of macro policies remains a major issue for China in a future period of time. We must be aware of the fact that progress for transformation of economic development mode should be made so as to maintain a stable and sound economic growth in the long run. Most importantly, more efforts should be made in handling the relationship of maintaining stable growth, restructuring and transforming development mode. In achieving progress on transformation of development mode through maintaining a stable economic growth, a number of in-depth and systematic studies should be conducted on relevant theories and policies. The Development Research Center of the State Council (DRC), as a policy research and advisory body under the direct administration of the State Council, will stick to its major function of providing policy options for central government's decision-making, follow up the social and economic development trend both at home and abroad and make endeavour to build DRC into a first-class think-tank, so as to afford high-quality policy proposals and consulting advice to the central government.

Thanks to the sustained efforts made by DRC researchers, a series of research reports with high academic and policy values as well as far-reaching social impacts are turned out. These reports are latest academic research findings, focusing on China's economic development. They are related to the strategic approaches on China's mid- and long-term economic development, and studies in specific fields such as reform on economic system, industrial restructuring, foreign trade, urbanization, social management, regulation and control of property market, the issue of agriculture, rural areas and farmers and fiscal financial risks.

It is the third year since the publication of DRC Book Series which have aroused wide concern from the society. Those holistic, strategic, enduring and forward-looking views and proposals contained in these books have served as major references for relevant departments, local governments, businesses, research institutes and relevant social circles. The present series consist of twelve books including Great Shift: Global Economic and Trade Environment and General Strategies for China's Peaceful Development and People's Livelihood as the Prime Focus: Approaches to Improvement of China's Basic Public Service. Most of them are research reports on major topics accomplished by DRC researchers in 2011, as well as excellent papers on bidding projects, all demonstrating the latest research findings conducted by DRC staff for the reference of central government's decision making.

We sincerely hope that readers from various social circles would give their valuable suggestions and advice to these books so that they could become a window for people to get a true picture about China's reform and opening-up and economic development. We also wish to receive social support to our work relating to policy research and consultancy. Let us make joint efforts to push forward the transformation of economic development mode and the stable, sound and sustained development of China's economy.