By Li Wei, DRC

2018-01-15

The report of the 19th CPC National Congress pointed out that after years of efforts, socialism with Chinese characteristics has ushered in a new era. This conclusion is mainly based on the fact that the principal contradiction facing Chinese society has evolved and what we are facing now is the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people's ever-growing needs for a better life. The key to gaining an accurate understanding of the evolution of the principal contradiction lies in an overall comprehension of the connotation about imbalanced and inadequate development.

The notion of imbalanced development is related to economic and social system structure and it mainly refers to the unreasonable proportional relationship, insufficient inclusiveness and inappropriate sustainability, which will constrain the overall improvement of productivity. Generally speaking, it gives expression to the following six aspects: 1. The imbalance between the development of real and virtual economy; 2. The uneven regional development; 3. The disparity between rural and urban development; 4. The gap in income distribution; 5. The imbalanced social and economic development; 6. The disharmony in economic and ecological development. With regard to inadequate development, it points to the aggregate amount and quality. It mainly refers to the lack of staying power for development, the insufficient release of development potential and the weak links in development. What’s more, China’s development level, especially the per capita national income level, still lags far behind that of developed countries in the world. It includes the following six aspects: 1. The insufficiency in market competitiveness; 2. The role of efficiency has not been given full play; 3. The development potential is not fully released; 4. The effective supply is not sufficient; 5. The insufficiency in the transfer of driving forces; 6. The inappropriate institutional innovation.

The evolution of the principal social contradiction in China has decided the focal issues of economic work in the future, which claims that China’s economic development must truly be based on high quality. High quality-based development means an advanced demand on supply, requirement, resource allocation, input and output, income distribution as well as economic circulation. When we pursue high-quality development, we must be on guard against and truly resolve major risks. With respect to this year’s economic performance, we must be ready to address the following major uncertainties in the world and relevant challenges at home. Internationally speaking, the major uncertainties include the impact posed by trade and investment protectionism, the spill-over effect exerted by international macro-policy adjustment and the shock spawned by the turmoil of international geopolitics. Domestically speaking, the relevant challenges include: 1. The concentration of financial risks has not yet been fundamentally alleviated; 2. The volatility of real estate market has not been truly solved; 3. The local governmental debts remain to be further regulated.

In light of fulfilling the high-quality development goal and addressing the profound risks and challenges we are now facing, the Central Economic Work Conference held in December last year stressed that in 2018, we need to follow the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stable performance, adhere to the new development philosophy, focus on the evolution of the principal social contradiction, push forward the supply-side structural reform, strive to innovate and improve macro-regulations, work hard for better quality, higher efficiency and more robust drivers of economic growth through reform, seek progress in preventing and solving major risks and other challenging aspects and promote the sustainable and sound economic and social development. The high-quality economic development is inseparable from think tanks’ work on policy research and policy options. As one of the national high-end think tanks, the Development Research Center of the State Council (DRC) will, through conducting pilot projects, follow Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era, firmly adhere to the fundamental task of providing policy-making consultations for the Central Government, take as its guideline the major decisions and arrangements made at the 19th CPC National Congress and make great efforts in policy research and consultation work. DRC will make more contributions to the modernization of national governance system and capability, the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, the winning of great success of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new area and the realization of Chinese Dream for national rejuvenation.