Making Solid Progress Toward Common Prosperity

Making Solid Progress Toward Common Prosperity* President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping "Bringing prosperity to all is an essential requirement of socialism, as well as an im­portant feature of Chinese-style moderniza­tion. The common prosperity we are working to achieve is for everyone, and covers enri­chment of people’s lives in both the material and non-material sense. Even in the futu­re when we have reached a higher level of development, we still must not aim too high, and steer clear of the idle­ness-breeding trap of welfarism. "

AFTER THE LAUNCH OF REFORM AND conducive to bringing about prosperity for

opening up in 1978, through a thorough re- all. We have thus advanced into a histori-

view of both positive and negative historical cal stage in which we will make solid steps

experiences, our Party (Communist Party toward common prosperity.

of China) came to realize that poverty is not We are now marching toward the Second

socialism, and thus began breaking down Centenary Goal of building China into a

the constraints of outdated systems. This al- great modern socialist country. In response

lowed some areas and some people to beco- to the evolution of the principal challenge

me better-off first, and drove the liberation facing Chinese society and people’s growing

and development of productive forces. needs for a better life, we must make achie-

Since the 18th CPC National Congress ving common prosperity the focus of the

held in 2012, the Central Committee has Party’s efforts to seek happiness for all Chi-

kept a firm grasp on new changes in our sta- nese people, which will in turn solidify the

ge of development, and given greater weight foundations of the Party’s long-term gover-

to gradually achieving the goal of prosperity nance. High-quality development requires

for all. To this end, our Party has promoted high-caliber workers. Only by promoting

coordinated development between different common prosperity, increasing urban and

regions, and adopted effective measures to rural incomes, and improving human ca-

improve people’s wellbeing, win the batt- pital can we raise total factor productivity

les to eradicate extreme poverty and build and build a strong base of momentum for

a moderately prosperous society in all res- high-quality development. We are now li-

pects. These efforts have created conditions ving in a world in which income inequality

* The text is retrieved from Qiushi website, http://en.qstheory.cn/2022-01/18/c_699346.htm

How to cite: Xi, J. (2022). Making solid progress toward common prosperity. Belt & Road Initiative Quarterly, 3(2), 16-23.

is a glaring problem. Some countries have We should undertake thorough research

witnessed the growth of a huge gulf betwe- on targets in different stages, and advance

en rich and poor and the collapse of the common prosperity in phases. By the end of

middle class, which has led to social divi- the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025),

sion, political polarization, and a surge of we will have made solid progress toward

populism. This is a profound lesson. We in bringing prosperity to all, while gaps betwe-

China must make resolute efforts to prevent en individual incomes and actual consump-

polarization and promote common prospe- tion levels will gradually narrow. By 2035,

rity in order to safeguard social harmony we will have made more notable and subs-

and stability. tantive progress toward common prosperity,

Meanwhile, we must be soberly aware that and equitable access to basic public services

unbalanced and inadequate development will be ensured. By the middle of this cen-

remains a prominent problem in China. tury, common prosperity will be basically

In particular, there are large disparities in achieved, while gaps between of individual

both development and income distribution incomes and actual consumption levels will

between rural and urban areas, and between be narrowed to an appropriate range. To re-

regions. The latest round of scientific and te- ach these goals, we must promptly formu-

chnological revolution and industrial trans- late an action plan for promoting common

formation has not only given a strong push prosperity, and devise rational and workable

to economic development, but also exerted a systems of targets and methods of evaluation

profound impact on employment and inco- that suit China’s national conditions.

me distribution. This includes certain nega- There are four principles that we must ad-

tive impacts that we must take effective steps here to in advancing common prosperity.

to address.

First, encouraging people to pursue

Bringing prosperity to all is an essential prosperity through innovation and

requirement of socialism, as well as hard work

an important feature of Chinesestyle modernization. The common

prosperity we are working to achieve is Just as a happy life is achieved through

for everyone, and covers enrichment of hard work, common prosperity can only be

people’s lives in both the material and created with ingenuity and effort. We must

non-material sense. stay committed to ensuring and improving

people’s wellbeing through development.

Bringing prosperity to all is an essential Making high-quality development the top

requirement of socialism, as well as an im- priority, we will create more inclusive and

portant feature of Chinese-style moderniza- equitable conditions for people to further

tion. The common prosperity we are working their education and enhance their capacity

to achieve is for everyone, and covers enri- for self-development. This will boost human

chment of people’s lives in both the material capital and improve specialized skills throu-

and non-material sense. It is not prosperity ghout society, build up people’s capacity to

for a minority, nor is it rigid egalitarianism. find jobs and start businesses, and make

President Xi Jinping chaired and delivered a key speech at a forum on high-quality follow-up development of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in Nanyang, Henan Province. He is seen here the day before the meeting chatting with locals in nearby Zouzhuang Village at a green farm producing vegetables and fruits set up with business development fund for people relocated as a result of the water diversion project, May 14, 2021. (Wang Ye/Xinhua, 2021Wang Ye/Xinhua (2021). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.)

people better able to achieve prosperity. hy growth of the non-public sector of the

We must prevent rigidified social strata by economy and of people working in this sec-

maintaining clear channels for upward mo- tor. While allowing some people to become

bility and creating opportunities for more prosperous first, we should lay more stress

people to become better-off. By doing so, on pushing these people to give a helping

we will foster a development environment hand to those following in their wake. In

that encourages everyone to participate and particular, we should encourage people ins-

dissuades them from getting lost in the ide- piring others to pursue prosperity through

as of “lying flat” and “involution.” diligent work, entrepreneurship, and legiti-

mate business activities. Improper means of

Second, upholding our basic acquiring wealth must not be encouraged,

economic system and breaches of laws or regulations must be

handled in accordance with the law. We must base our work on the reality

that China remains in the primary stage of Third, doing our utmost while

socialism, and reaffirm our commitment working within our means

to the development of both the public and

non-public sectors of the economy. We We must set up a rational public policy

must uphold the predominance of public framework and form a reasonable pattern

ownership while also allowing various for- of distribution in which everyone gets a fair

ms of ownership to develop side by side, so piece of the pie. We must make greater ef-

as to leverage the important role of the pub- forts and adopt more effective measures to

lic sector in advancing common prosperity. see that the people have a greater sense of

Meanwhile, we should also promote healt- fulfillment. But at the same time, we must

also be aware that the gap between China rity, we must also encourage other areas

and developed countries in terms of level to explore effective paths tailored to the-

of development remains large. Taking into ir own conditions. We will draw together

account both what is necessary and what is experience, and then gradually apply it in

possible, we must ensure and improve pe- other areas.

ople’s wellbeing whilst maintaining the sustainability of our economic development

and financial resources. We must not be Our general guidelines in this regard

overly ambitious or get people’s hopes up are to adhere to the people-centered

by making promises that we are not able philosophy of development, promote

to keep. The government cannot take on common prosperity through high-

everything. Instead, its main responsibility quality development, and properly

should be strengthening the development balance the relationship between equity

of projects related to public wellbeing that and efficiency.

are fundamental, inclusive, and focused on meeting basic needs. Even in the futu-

re when we have reached a higher level of Our general guidelines in this regard

development and are equipped with more are to adhere to the people-centered philo-

substantial financial resources, we still sophy of development, promote common

must not aim too high or go overboard with prosperity through high-quality develop-

social security, and steer clear of the idle- ment, and properly balance the relationship

ness-breeding trap of welfarism. between equity and efficiency. We should

establish basic institutional arrangements

Fourth, pursuing incremental enabling coordination and complementa-

progress rity between the primary, secondary, and

tertiary distribution. We should intensify

As a long-term goal, achieving common our efforts to regulate distribution throu-

prosperity will take time. We cannot ex- gh taxation, social insurance, and transfer

pect to accomplish it overnight. We must payments while also working to make these

have a full picture of the long-term, comp- efforts more precise. This will help us ex-

lex, and onerous nature of this goal, and pand the relative size of the middle-income

recognize that to realize it we can neither group, raise incomes among low-income

wait around nor be too hasty. Some deve- earners, properly adjust excessive inco-

loped countries began industrializing cen- mes, and prohibit illicit income, creating

turies ago, yet as a result of deficiencies in an olive-shaped distribution structure that

their social systems, they have not only fa- is larger in the middle and smaller at each

iled to crack the problem of common pros- end. By doing so, we will be able to promo-

perity, but are facing increasingly severe te social fairness and justice and people’s

disparity between rich and poor. We must well-rounded development, and make solid

therefore be patient, and work one step at strides toward the goal of common prospe-

a time to ensure that our efforts produce rity for all.

concrete results. While making solid prog- To achieve this goal, we will focus our

ress in building Zhejiang Province into a efforts on the following six areas:

demonstration zone for common prospe-

President Xi Jinping speaks to locals taking part in ethnic cultural activities for the Double Third Festival outside the Anthropology Museum of Guangxi in Nanning on the morning of April 27 during a tour of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, April 25-27, 2021. (Xie Huanchi/ Xinhua, 2021Xie Huanchi/ Xinhua (2021). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.)

1. We will work to make our which enterprises of all sizes develop in an in-

development more balanced, ter-reliant and mutually reinforcing manner.

coordinated, and inclusive. 2. We will strive to expand the size of the

We will accelerate efforts to improve the middle-income group.

socialist market economy, and promote more

balanced, coordinated, and inclusive develop- Focusing on key groups, we will take targe-

ment. In order to make regional development ted measures to help more low-income earners

more balanced, we will implement major re- enter the middle-income bracket. Graduates

gional strategies and coordinated regional de- with higher education are an important source

velopment strategies, refine the transfer pay- for populating the middle-income group. We

ments system, reduce gaps in per capita fiscal must therefore raise the quality of higher edu-

spending between regions, and increase sup- cation, seeing that students are able to acquire

port for underdeveloped areas. We will also a specialty from schools and apply this speci-

work to boost coordination in development alty in practice. In this way, we will help gradu-

between different industries. To this end, we ates adapt to the needs of social development

will expedite reform of monopoly industries as quickly as possible. Technical workers also

and promote coordinated development betwe- represent an important part of the middle-in-

en the real economy and the financial and real come group. With this in mind, we will step up

estate industries. Moreover, we will support training of skilled personnel and increase wa-

the development of small and medium-sized ges among technical workers in order to attra-

enterprises, and create an environment in ct more high-caliber talent to join their ranks.

Owners of small and medium-sized enterpri- mote common prosperity. We must increase

ses as well as self-employed people are part of investment in human capital that covers all

an important group building wealth through groups, ease the education burden on fami-

entrepreneurship. To help them maintain ste- lies facing difficulty, and raise the education

ady business operations and enjoy sustained levels of children of low-income families. By

growth of income, we will improve the busi- refining the pension and medical insurance

ness environment, reduce tax burdens, and systems, we will narrow gaps in funding and

provide more market-based financial services. benefits between working and non-working

individuals, and between urban and rural residents step by step, and gradually increa- Low-income groups are the key target se basic pension benefits for rural and urban of assistance and support in our efforts residents. We will improve the assistance systo promote common prosperity. We tem for basic needs, working faster to reduce must increase investment in human disparities between urban and rural social capital that covers all groups, ease the assistance standards and gradually raising education burden on families facing minimum subsistence allowances for both difficulty, and raise the education levels urban and rural residents in order to ensure of children of low-income families. that people’s basic needs are met. We will also take steps to improve the housing supply and

With regard to rural migrant workers, who support systems. Acting on the principle that

constitute another important source of midd- houses are for living in rather than for spe-

le-income earners, we will deepen reform of culation, we will encourage both renting and

the household registration system, and add- purchasing of housing, implement city-spe-

ress problems related to education for children cific policies, refine policies for long-term

living with their parents who are from rural rental housing, and increase the supply of go-

areas but now working in cities, helping them vernment-subsidized rental housing. Priority

hold steady jobs and feel more at ease about will be given to addressing the demand for

living in the city. We will appropriately raise housing from new urban residents.

the pay packages of public servants, especially

those working at the local level, as well as pri- 4. We will adopt more rigorous measures

mary-level workers of state-owned enterprises to regulate high income.

and public institutions. Additional steps will

be taken to boost income generated from ur- While ensuring that legitimate income is

ban and rural houses, rural land, and financial protected in accordance with the law, we must

assets. also prevent polarization and eliminate unfair

practices in distribution. We will regulate ex-

3. We will promote equitable access to cessively high income in a reasonable manner,

basic public services. improve the personal income tax system, and

standardize the management of capital gains.

Low-income groups are the key target of We will make active and prudent efforts to

assistance and support in our efforts to pro- advance real estate tax legislation and reform,

and carry out trials in this regard. We will ti-monopoly oversight. Meanwhile, we must

enlarge the role of consumption-based taxes energize entrepreneurs, and promote sound

in regulating distribution, and look into ex- and well-regulated development of all types

panding the scope of excise taxation. We will of capital.

strengthen standardized management over public interest and charitable endeavors, and 5. We will strive to achieve common improve preferential tax policies in order to prosperity also in a non-material sense. encourage high-income groups and enterprises to give more back to society. We will put Bringing prosperity to all is highly unreasonable incomes in check, and intenintegrated with our efforts to promote wellsify efforts to regulate income distribution rounded human development. We must in monopoly industries and state-owned enreinforce the guiding role of core socialist terprises. In particular, we will rectify abnorvalues, and strengthen education on malities such as increasing executive incomes patriotism, collectivism, and socialism. By under the guise of reform so as to set income developing public cultural undertakings and distribution straight. We will strictly prohibit improving the public cultural service system, unlawful income, take determined steps to we will continue to satisfy people’s diverse, stop influence peddling, and crack down on multileveled, and multifaceted demands methods of obtaining illegal income incluin the intellectual and cultural sphere. We ding insider dealing, stock market manipulamust also do better at guiding discourse on tion, financial fraud, and tax evasion. the push for common prosperity, clear up confusion among people with a lack of solid

Bringing prosperity to all is highly understanding, and ensure that people are not

integrated with our efforts to promote too eager for quick results or afraid of facing

well-rounded human development. challenges, thereby cultivating a favorable

We must reinforce the guiding role of environment of public opinion for advancing

core socialist values, and strengthen common prosperity.

education on patriotism, collectivism,

and socialism. 6. We will bring common prosperity

to rural areas and rural residents.

After years of experiment, we have de- The most arduous and formidable tasks

veloped a complete package of measures to in advancing common prosperity still lie in

tackle poverty, but we still need to build up rural areas. While we need to press ahead

experience on how to achieve prosperity. We with common prosperity in rural areas, it is

will strengthen protection of property rights inadvisable to quantify targets like we did

and intellectual property rights, and ensure in the poverty alleviation campaign. We will

that legitimate activities to acquire wealth are consolidate and build upon the success we

protected. We must firmly oppose disorderly achieved in the fight against poverty. In doing

expansion of capital, establish negative lists so, we will strengthen monitoring over people

for access to sensitive fields, and intensify an- at risk of lapsing or relapsing into poverty,

Chinese President Xi Jinping in the symposium on advancing the high-quality follow-up development of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, in Nanyang, central China's Henan Province, May 14, 2021. (Wang Ye/ Xinhua, 2021Wang Ye/Xinhua (2021). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.)

and be prepared to take quick action to help not break it up into separate goals for urban

them if needed. We will also continue to give and rural areas or for the eastern, central, and

a leg up to counties that have been lifted out western regions. Instead, we should adopt

of poverty so as to guard against new poverty an overall perspective. In order to achieve

or large-scale relapse into poverty. We must common prosperity for 1.4 billion people, we

make all-round efforts to implement the rural must put in persistent effort and maintain a

revitalization strategy. For instance, we will realistic attitude. Our goal is neither to bring

accelerate agricultural industrialization, put prosperity to everyone simultaneously, nor

rural assets to use, and increase the property to see that regions reach a certain level of

income of rural residents, thereby helping affluence all at the same time. Different groups

them become prosperous through hard of people vary not only in terms of the level of

work. We will boost development of rural prosperity they can potentially achieve, but

infrastructure and public service systems, also the length of time they need to achieve

and improve the living environment in rural it. Furthermore, it would be impossible to

areas. develop all regions at the same pace because

To sum up, I believe that achieving common of the gaps in wealth that still exist between

prosperity is a holistic concept in the same them. This is a dynamic process of pushing

vein as building a moderately prosperous ahead, and we must put in continuous effort

society in all respects. Common prosperity is a to reap continuous results.

goal for all of society, and therefore we should

This was an excerpt from General Secretary Xi Jinping’s speech at the 10th meeting of the Central Financial and Economic Commission on August 17, 2021.