Enhancing the Ability to Grasp and Apply Laws

At present, the adverse effects of changes in the external environment are deepening, and China’s economic operation still faces many difficulties and challenges. However, it must also be seen that China’s economic foundation is stable, with many advantages, strong resilience, and great potential, and the supporting conditions and basic trend of long-term improvement remain unchanged. The Central Economic Work Conference emphasized five “must be well coordinated,” providing important guidance for transforming all positive factors into tangible development results.

当前，外部环境变化带来的不利影响加深，中国经济运行仍面临不少困难和挑战。但也必须看到，中国经济基础稳、优势多、韧性强、潜能大，长期向好的支撑条件和基本趋势没有变。中央经济工作会议强调五个“必须统筹好”，为把各方面积极因素转化为发展实绩提供了重要指引。

First, we must well coordinate the relationship between an effective market and a competent government, forming an economic order that is both “vibrant and well-regulated.”

第一，必须统筹好有效市场和有为政府的关系，形成既“放得活”又“管得住”的经济秩序。

Making the market play the decisive role in resource allocation and giving better play to the role of the government is not only a great theoretical innovation but also a law that must be followed in building a high-level socialist market economy system.

使市场在资源配置中起决定性作用和更好发挥政府作用，不仅是理论上的伟大创举，也是建设高水平社会主义市场经济体制必须遵循的规律。

A high-level socialist market economy system is an important guarantee for Chinese-path modernization. We must better leverage the role of market mechanisms, create a fairer and more dynamic market environment, achieve optimization and maximization of resource allocation efficiency, making it both “vibrant and well-regulated,” better maintain market order, remedy market failures, smooth the national economic cycle, and stimulate the endogenous driving force and innovation vitality of the whole society.

高水平社会主义市场经济体制是中国式现代化的重要保障。必须更好发挥市场机制作用，创造更加公平、更有活力的市场环境，实现资源配置效率最优化和效益最大化，既“放得活”又“管得住”，更好维护市场秩序、弥补市场失灵，畅通国民经济循环，激发全社会内生动力和创新活力。

Only by following the general law of market economy that the market plays a decisive role in resource allocation, while avoiding the drawbacks of the capitalist market economy and giving better play to the role of the Party and the government, can we give full play to the dual advantages of the market mechanism and government governance, ensuring the vitality of economic development and the correct direction of development.

只有遵循市场在资源配置中起决定性作用这一市场经济的一般规律，又避免资本主义市场经济的弊端、更好发挥党和政府作用，才能充分发挥市场机制和政府治理的双重优势，保证经济发展的活力和正确的发展方向。

Second, we must well coordinate the relationship between aggregate supply and aggregate demand, smoothing the national economic cycle.

第二，必须统筹好总供给和总需求的关系，畅通国民经济循环。

At present, the difficulties and challenges faced by economic operation involve both supply-side and demand-side issues. From the supply side, the main problems are improving the quality and efficiency of industrial development and resolving overcapacity in some industries; from the demand side, the main problems are slowing investment, insufficient consumption, and weak exports.

当前，经济运行面临的困难和挑战，既有总供给的问题，也有总需求的问题。从总供给看，主要是产业发展提质增效和解决部分行业产能过剩问题；从总需求看，主要是投资趋缓、消费不足和出口乏力。

The Central Economic Work Conference identified “vigorously boosting consumption, improving investment efficiency, and expanding domestic demand in all directions” as the first of nine key tasks for economic work in 2025, proposing a series of measures such as implementing a special action to boost consumption, expanding and strengthening the implementation of the “two new” policy [1]1 The “two new” policy refers to the large-scale renewal of equipment and the trade-in of consumer goods for new ones., and providing greater support for the “two major” projects [2]2 The “two major” projects refer to major national strategies and the construction of security capabilities in key areas., which is to continuously increase aggregate demand.

中央经济工作会议将“大力提振消费、提高投资效益，全方位扩大国内需求”确定为2025年经济工作九大重点任务之首，提出实施提振消费专项行动、加力扩围实施“两新”政策、更大力度支持“两重”项目等一系列举措，就是持续增加总需求。

Third, we must well coordinate the relationship between cultivating new drivers and upgrading old drivers, developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions.

第三，必须统筹好培育新动能和更新旧动能的关系，因地制宜发展新质生产力。

The transition between old and new drivers is a realistic issue that inevitably arises when economic development reaches a certain stage. Its essence is a process of providing new momentum for economic development through institutional innovation, technological innovation, and other forms of innovation.

新旧动能转换是经济发展到一定阶段必然面临的现实问题。其本质是一个通过制度创新、科技创新等各种创新给予经济发展新动力的过程。

High-quality development is the primary task of building a modern socialist country in all respects. We must improve the incentive and constraint mechanisms for promoting high-quality development, develop new quality productive forces according to local conditions. Technological innovation can give rise to new industries, new models, and new drivers, and is the core element for developing new quality productive forces. In the next step, we must deepen reforms of the economic system and the science and technology system, focusing on removing the blockages and bottlenecks that constrain the development of new quality productive forces.

高质量发展是全面建设社会主义现代化国家的首要任务。要完善推动高质量发展激励约束机制，因地制宜发展新质生产力。科技创新能够催生新产业、新模式、新动能，是发展新质生产力的核心要素。下一步，要深化经济体制、科技体制等改革，着力打通束缚新质生产力发展的堵点、卡点。

Fourth, we must well coordinate the relationship between optimizing incremental assets and revitalizing existing assets, comprehensively improving the efficiency of resource allocation.

第四，必须统筹好做优增量和盘活存量的关系，全面提高资源配置效率。

Existing assets and incremental assets are both basic resources for economic development. In fact, if existing assets are continuously optimized and cycled, they can also create increments, thereby enriching the available resources and better meeting the needs of economic and social development and the people’s aspirations for a better life.

存量和增量都是经济发展的基本资源。事实上，存量资产不断优化循环起来，也能创造增量，从而使可支配的资源丰富起来，更好满足经济社会发展的需要和人民对美好生活的向往。

Under the new situation, we must continuously improve the efficiency and level of resource allocation by optimizing incremental assets and revitalizing existing assets. We must implement all existing stock policies and incremental policies in place, using a combination of tools; strengthen the coordination and matching of economic policies and reform and opening-up measures, improve mechanisms for effective communication, consultation, and feedback between departments, and integrate economic policies and non-economic policies into the consistency evaluation of macro policy orientation. On this basis, through further comprehensive deepening of reforms, we promote resource allocation to achieve maximum benefits and optimal efficiency based on market rules, market prices, and market competition.

新形势下，要通过做优增量和盘活存量，不断提高资源配置效率和水平。要把各项存量政策和增量政策落实到位，打好组合拳；加强政策和改革开放举措的协调配合，完善部门间有效沟通、协商反馈机制，并把经济政策和非经济性政策统一纳入宏观政策取向一致性评估。在此基础上，通过进一步全面深化改革，推动资源配置根据市场规则、市场价格、市场竞争实现效益最大化和效率最优化。

Fifth, we must well coordinate the relationship between improving quality and expanding aggregate volume, consolidating the material foundation of Chinese-path modernization.

第五，必须统筹好提升质量和做大总量的关系，夯实中国式现代化的物质基础。

Improving quality and expanding aggregate volume reflect the essential requirements of grasping the new development stage, implementing the new development philosophy, and building the new development pattern. [3]3 The new development stage, new development philosophy, and new development pattern are key concepts in China’s economic strategy: the stage of high-quality development, the philosophy of innovative, coordinated, green, open, and shared development, and the pattern of dual circulation (domestic and international). We must accelerate the building of a modernized economic system, focus on improving total factor productivity, focus on enhancing the resilience and security level of the industrial chain and supply chain, focus on promoting integrated urban and rural development and coordinated regional development, and promote the qualitative and quantitative improvement of the economy in a reasonable manner.

提升质量和做大总量，体现了把握新发展阶段、贯彻新发展理念、构建新发展格局的本质要求。要加快建设现代化经济体系，着力提高全要素生产率，着力提升产业链供应链韧性和安全水平，着力推进城乡融合和区域协调发展，推动经济实现质的有效提升和量的合理增长。

In the final analysis, whether we can manage the world’s second-largest economy well and maintain sustained and healthy economic and social development depends fundamentally on whether the Party’s core leadership role in economic and social development is well played. Leading cadres at all levels must strengthen their study, investigation and reflection, and practical training, enhance their ability to grasp and apply the laws of the market economy, social development, and nature, and strive to become experts in leading economic and social development.

归根结底，能不能驾驭好世界第二大经济体，能不能保持经济社会持续健康发展，从根本上讲取决于党在经济社会发展中的领导核心作用发挥得好不好。各级领导干部要加强学习、加强调研思考、加强实践历练，增强把握和运用市场经济规律、社会发展规律、自然规律的能力，努力成为领导经济社会发展的行家里手。

(The author is Director and Researcher of the Political Economy Research Office, Institute of Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

（作者为中国社会科学院经济研究所政治经济学研究室主任、研究员）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧