The Centralized and Unified Leadership of the Party Central Committee Is the Fundamental Guarantee for Sound Economic Work

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Whether we can steer the world's second-largest economy well and maintain sustained and healthy economic and social development fundamentally depends on how well the Party's leadership core role is played in economic and social development." The Central Economic Work Conference [1]1 The Central Economic Work Conference is an annual high-level meeting of the CPC Central Committee (typically held in December) that sets economic policy for the following year. held at the end of last year further deepened our Party's understanding of the laws governing economic work, emphasizing that "centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee is the fundamental guarantee for sound economic work. At critical moments and important junctures, the Party Central Committee timely assesses the situation, makes decisions and deployments, ensuring that China's economic ship sails against the wind and waves and advances steadily and far." The centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee is the fundamental guarantee for sound economic work – this is the greatest consensus formed by the entire Party and further strengthens our determination and confidence in doing economic work well in the face of difficulties and challenges.

习近平总书记指出：“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。”去年底举行的中央经济工作会议进一步深化了我们党对经济工作的规律性认识，强调“党中央集中统一领导是做好经济工作的根本保证，在关键时刻、重要节点，党中央及时研判形势、作出决策部署，确保我国经济航船乘风破浪、行稳致远”。党中央集中统一领导是做好经济工作的根本保证，这是全党上下形成的最大共识，也进一步坚定了我们在困难和挑战面前做好经济工作的决心和信心。

Law-based understanding formed in the practice of China's economic development

我国经济发展实践中形成的规律性认识

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Our Party is the ruling party; doing a good job in economic work is its bounden duty and responsibility." The centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee is the fundamental guarantee for sound economic work. It is an important part of Xi Jinping's economic thought [2]2 Xi Jinping's economic thought is the component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era that focuses on guiding economic development. and an important law-based understanding formed from China's economic development practice. The practice of China's economic development since the 18th National Congress of the CPC [3]3 The 18th National Congress of the CPC was held in November 2012; it marked the beginning of Xi Jinping's tenure as Party leader and the start of the "New Era." has fully proved that at critical moments and important junctures, it is precisely because the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core timely assessed the situation and made scientific decisions and deployments that China's economy was able to overcome risks and challenges and advance steadily and far.

习近平总书记指出：“我们党是执政党，抓好经济工作责无旁贷、义不容辞。”党中央集中统一领导是做好经济工作的根本保证，是习近平经济思想的重要内容，也是从我国经济发展实践中形成的一条重要规律性认识。党的十八大以来我国经济发展实践充分证明，在关键时刻、重要节点，正是因为以习近平同志为核心的党中央及时研判形势、科学决策部署，才确保了我国经济战胜风险挑战，行稳致远。

For example, the COVID-19 pandemic struck suddenly in 2020. Facing this pandemic of the century, some countries chose a "lying flat" response, casting a shadow over the global economy. Our Party accurately judged the situation, carefully planned and deployed, took decisive action, relied on strong comprehensive national power, and launched an all-round human organization war, material support war, science and technology assault war, and resource movement war, concentrating the greatest strength in the shortest time to block the spread of the epidemic. At the same time, it steadily and orderly resumed economic and social activities, did a good job in the "six stabilizations" work, implemented the "six guarantees" tasks [4]4 The "six stabilizations" (stabilizing employment, finance, foreign trade, foreign investment, domestic investment, and expectations) and "six guarantees" (guaranteeing job security, basic livelihoods, market entities, food and energy security, stable industrial and supply chains, and grassroots operations) were policy measures introduced in 2020 to counter the economic impact of the pandemic., promoted the resumption of work and production, formed an economic and social operating order compatible with epidemic prevention and control, and strove to minimize the impact and influence of the epidemic on economic and social development. By the end of April of that year, the resumption rate of industrial enterprises above designated size nationwide exceeded 99%, the resumption rate of small and medium-sized enterprises reached 88.4%, and the resumption rate of major projects exceeded 95%. Precisely because our Party coordinated epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development and increased macro-control efforts, China's economy was the first to recover among countries in the world, with a GDP growth of 2.2% in 2020. In comparison, according to data from the International Monetary Fund, the average global economic growth rate that year was -2.7%, with the US economy growing at -2.2%, Japan at -4.2%, and the Eurozone at -6.1%. China was the only major economy in the world to achieve positive economic growth.

比如，2020年新冠疫情突如其来。面对这场世纪疫情，一些国家选择“躺平”应对，给全球经济蒙上阴影。我们党准确判断形势，精心谋划部署，果断采取行动，依托强大综合国力，开展全方位的人力组织战、物资保障战、科技突击战、资源运动战，在最短时间集中最大力量阻断疫情传播。同时，稳妥有序放开经济和社会活动，做好“六稳”工作，落实“六保”任务，推动复工复产，形成同疫情防控相适应的经济社会运行秩序，努力将疫情对经济社会发展的冲击和影响降到最低。到当年4月底，全国规模以上工业企业复工率超过99%，中小微企业复工率达到88.4%，重大项目复工率超过95%。正是因为我们党统筹疫情防控和经济社会发展，加大宏观调控力度，才使我国经济在世界各国中率先复苏，2020年国内生产总值（GDP）增长2.2%。比较来看，根据国际货币基金组织数据，当年世界经济平均增速为-2.7%，其中美国经济增速为-2.2%，日本经济增速为-4.2%，欧元区经济增速为-6.1%，我国是全球唯一实现经济正增长的主要经济体。

Another example: 2024 is a critical year for achieving the goals and tasks of the 14th Five-Year Plan [5]5 The 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025) is China's national development plan outlining economic and social goals.. Looking outward, the international environment has become more severe and complex, with insufficient momentum for global economic growth and continuous intensification of containment and suppression by certain countries against China. Looking inward, domestic effective demand is insufficient, economic operation is diverging, risks and hidden dangers in key areas are still numerous, and there is pain in the transition between old and new drivers. The Central Economic Work Conference at the end of 2023 made systematic deployments for economic work. In 2024, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held multiple meetings to analyze and judge the economic situation, grasp the overall economic trend, and adjust economic policies in a timely manner. In the latter part of the second quarter of 2024, especially entering the third quarter, China's main economic indicators saw a decline in growth rates, market expectations weakened, and anxiety at home and abroad spread to some extent. On September 26 of that year, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee decisively deployed a package of incremental policies, covering five aspects: strengthening and improving the implementation of macro policies, further expanding domestic demand, increasing support for enterprises, promoting stabilization and recovery of the real estate market, and striving to boost the capital market. This sent a strong signal of stabilizing the overall situation of economic development and continuing the long-term positive trend. This package of incremental policies combined problem orientation with goal orientation, balanced short-term effects with long-term layout, effectively boosted social confidence and led to a clear economic recovery.

又如，2024年是实现“十四五”规划目标任务的关键一年。向外看，国际环境更加严峻复杂，全球经济增长动能不足，个别国家对我国遏制打压持续加码；向内看，国内有效需求不足，经济运行出现分化，重点领域风险隐患仍然较多，新旧动能转换存在阵痛。2023年中央经济工作会议对经济工作进行系统部署，2024年中共中央政治局多次召开会议，分析研判经济形势，把握经济总体态势，及时调整经济政策。2024年二季度后期特别是进入三季度，我国主要经济指标增速回落，市场预期走弱，海内外忧虑情绪有所蔓延。当年9月26日中共中央政治局会议果断部署，推出一揽子增量政策，从加力提效实施宏观政策、进一步扩大内需、加大助企帮扶力度、促进房地产市场止跌回稳、努力提振资本市场五个方面，释放出稳住经济发展大局、延续长期向好大势的强烈信号。这一揽子增量政策兼具问题导向与目标导向，兼顾短期效果与长远布局，使社会信心有效提振，经济明显回升。

Overall, since the New Era [6]6 The "New Era" refers to the period since the 18th National Congress of the CPC (2012), characterized by Xi Jinping's leadership and a new stage of building socialism with Chinese characteristics., China's economic and social development has achieved historic accomplishments, undergone historic transformations, and shifted to high-quality development, fully proving that the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee is the fundamental guarantee for sound economic work. In practice, our Party has continuously refined and summarized this law-based understanding, and recent Central Economic Work Conferences have deeply expounded on it. For example, the 2019 Central Economic Work Conference pointed out that in the face of the complex situation where domestic and international risks and challenges were clearly escalating, "the achievements were hard-won, and the fundamental reason lies in our adherence to the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee." The 2020 Central Economic Work Conference pointed out that "the authority of the Party Central Committee is the fundamental reliance for the entire Party and people of all ethnic groups in the country to face difficulties in times of crisis. At major historical junctures and before major tests, the judgment, decision-making, and action capabilities of the Party Central Committee play a decisive role." The 2023 Central Economic Work Conference emphasized that "under the unified leadership of the Party, unite the broadest masses of the people, focus on the central task of economic construction and the primary task of high-quality development, and turn the grand blueprint of Chinese-path modernization into a beautiful reality step by step." The centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core is the fundamental guarantee for sound economic work – this is an important conclusion repeatedly proven by China's economic development practice in the New Era, and an important deepening of our Party's understanding of the laws governing economic work.

总的来看，新时代以来，我国经济社会发展取得历史性成就、发生历史性变革、转向高质量发展，充分证明党中央集中统一领导是做好经济工作的根本保证。在实践中，我们党也不断提炼和总结这一规律性认识，近年来的中央经济工作会议对此作出深刻阐述。比如，2019年中央经济工作会议指出，面对国内外风险挑战明显上升的复杂局面，“成绩来之不易，根本原因在于我们坚持党中央集中统一领导”；2020年中央经济工作会议指出“党中央权威是危难时刻全党全国各族人民迎难而上的根本依靠，在重大历史关头，重大考验面前，党中央的判断力、决策力、行动力具有决定性作用”；2023年中央经济工作会议强调“在党的统一领导下，团结最广大人民，聚焦经济建设这一中心工作和高质量发展这一首要任务，把中国式现代化宏伟蓝图一步步变成美好现实”。以习近平同志为核心的党中央集中统一领导是做好经济工作的根本保证，这是被新时代我国经济发展实践反复证明了的重要结论，是我们党对做好经济工作规律性认识的重要深化。

Deeply grasp the scientific connotation of this law-based understanding from the perspective of high-quality development

从高质量发展的角度深入把握这一规律性认识的科学内涵

Advancing the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation on all fronts through Chinese-path modernization is the central task of the Party and the country in the New Era and the new journey. To complete this central task, we must focus on the central work of economic construction and the primary task of high-quality development. Only by understanding the law-based understanding that "centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee is the fundamental guarantee for sound economic work" in the context of high-quality development can we more deeply grasp the scientific connotation of this law-based understanding.

以中国式现代化全面推进强国建设、民族复兴伟业，是新时代新征程党和国家的中心任务。完成这一中心任务，必须聚焦经济建设这一中心工作和高质量发展这一首要任务。把“党中央集中统一领导是做好经济工作的根本保证”这一规律性认识放在高质量发展中去理解，才能更深入地把握这一规律性认识的科学内涵。

Only by adhering to the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee can we uphold and improve the basic socialist economic system. The basic socialist economic system is the institutional guarantee for high-quality development. Only by adhering to the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee can we uphold and improve the basic socialist economic system. Since the New Era, our Party has incorporated "distribution according to work as the mainstay with multiple forms of distribution coexisting" and "the socialist market economy system" into China's basic socialist economic system, marking that China's basic socialist economic system has become more mature and more established. It has also created the institutional basis for the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee over economic work from aspects such as the ownership of the means of production, the distribution mode of production results, and the resource allocation mode. At the same time, upholding and improving the basic socialist economic system cannot be separated from the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, which is determined by the dialectical relationship between productive forces and relations of production, and between the economic base and the superstructure. As the institutional embodiment of relations of production, the basic socialist economic system is continuously enriched and improved according to the requirements of the development of China's productive forces. As the economic base that sums up the relations of production in the primary stage of socialism in China, the consolidation and improvement of the basic socialist economic system requires the active and dynamic role of the superstructure. In China, an important aspect of giving play to the dynamic role of the superstructure over the economic base is to adhere to the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee. Since the New Era, our Party has adhered to comprehensively deepening reform, fully leveraged the leading role of economic system reform, continuously improved the socialist market economy system, and promoted the system and mechanism of the Party's leadership over economic work to become more mature and more complete. This has effectively guaranteed the stable operation of China's economy, the continuous improvement of macroeconomic governance, and the continuous expansion of opening up, greatly stimulating the endogenous dynamics of China's economic development.

坚持党中央集中统一领导，才能坚持和完善社会主义基本经济制度。社会主义基本经济制度是高质量发展的制度保障。坚持党中央集中统一领导，才能坚持和完善社会主义基本经济制度。新时代以来，我们党将按劳分配为主体、多种分配方式并存和社会主义市场经济体制纳入我国社会主义基本经济制度，标志着我国社会主义基本经济制度更加成熟、更加定型，也从生产资料的归属关系、生产成果的分配方式、资源配置方式等方面，为党中央对经济工作的集中统一领导创造了制度依据。同时，坚持和完善社会主义基本经济制度，也离不开党中央集中统一领导，这是由生产力与生产关系、经济基础与上层建筑的辩证关系决定的。作为生产关系的制度体现，社会主义基本经济制度是根据我国生产力发展要求不断丰富和完善的；作为我国社会主义初级阶段生产关系总和的经济基础，社会主义基本经济制度的巩固和完善需要发挥上层建筑的积极能动作用。在我国，发挥上层建筑对经济基础的能动作用，一个重要方面就是坚持党中央集中统一领导。新时代以来，我们党坚持全面深化改革，充分发挥经济体制改革的牵引作用，不断完善社会主义市场经济体制，推动党领导经济工作的体制机制更加成熟更加完善，有力保障了我国经济平稳运行、宏观经济治理不断完善、对外开放不断扩大，极大激发了我国经济发展的内生动力。

Only by adhering to the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee can scientific governance and overall coordination be achieved. High-quality development is a general requirement for all aspects of economic and social development. It requires adhering to a systems perspective, coordinating the interests of all parties, achieving overall planning and balanced consideration, system optimization, highlighting priorities, coordinated advancement, seeking progress while maintaining stability, and establishing the new before abolishing the old. This must adhere to the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee. From the perspective of macroeconomic governance, steering the great ship of China to advance steadily and far requires facing diversified interests of different entities, multiple governance goals, and diverse policy tools. Only by adhering to the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee can policy orientation consistency be enhanced, the effectiveness of macroeconomic governance be improved, and structural upgrading and improvement in quality and efficiency be promoted while maintaining aggregate balance. From the perspective of economic restructuring, imbalance and insufficiency are the prominent problems currently facing the promotion of high-quality development. Only by adhering to the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee can the coordination and balance of urban-rural and regional development be improved, the simultaneous development of new-type industrialization, informatization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization be promoted, and the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries and the development and growth of emerging industries be coordinated. Practice shows that achieving scientific governance and strengthening overall coordination can only and must rely on the Party's leadership core role in overseeing the overall situation and coordinating all parties.

坚持党中央集中统一领导，才能做到科学治理、统筹协调。高质量发展是对经济社会发展方方面面的总要求，要求坚持系统观念，协调好各方面利益，做到统筹兼顾、系统优化、突出重点、协调推进、稳中求进、先立后破。这必须坚持党中央集中统一领导。从宏观经济治理看，推动中国号巨轮行稳致远，需要面对不同主体利益多元化、治理目标多重性、政策工具多样性等。只有坚持党中央集中统一领导，才能增强政策取向一致性，提高宏观经济治理效能，在保持总量均衡的同时推进结构升级与质效向好。从经济结构调整看，不平衡不充分是当前推动高质量发展面临的突出问题。只有坚持党中央集中统一领导，才能提高城乡区域发展的协调性平衡性，推动新型工业化、信息化、城镇化、农业现代化同步发展，统筹推动传统产业转型升级和新兴产业发展壮大。实践表明，实现科学治理、加强统筹协调，只能也必须发挥党总揽全局、协调各方的领导核心作用。

Only by adhering to the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee can the relationship between the government and the market be correctly handled. Currently, promoting high-quality development still faces many bottlenecks and obstacles that need to be resolved. We must take economic system reform as the lead to further deepen reforms comprehensively and promote resolution from the institutional and mechanism perspective. The core issue of economic system reform is to properly handle the relationship between the government and the market, especially to form new relations of production through further comprehensive deepening of reform in accordance with the requirements of the development of new quality productive forces. Taking the continuous efforts to strengthen, improve, and expand China's digital economy as an example, incorporating data as a new type of production factor into the production function requires reform and innovation in the ownership of the means of production, income distribution system, etc., in terms of institutional construction; requires market mechanism regulation and continuous innovation by micro-entities such as enterprises in terms of resource allocation; and requires improvement and optimization of the national strategic planning system, fiscal policy mechanism, monetary policy mechanism, etc., in terms of macroeconomic governance. All these require handling the relationship between the government and the market. Only by adhering to the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee and making strong deployments for key areas and crucial links of economic system reform can we promote a better combination of an effective market and a competent government, form an economic order that is both "able to release vitality" and "able to be effectively regulated," and continuously shape new momentum and new advantages for development.

坚持党中央集中统一领导，才能正确处理政府和市场关系。当前，推动高质量发展还有许多卡点瓶颈需要破解，必须以经济体制改革为牵引进一步全面深化改革，从体制机制上推动解决。经济体制改革的核心问题是处理好政府和市场关系，特别是要根据新质生产力发展要求，通过进一步全面深化改革形成新型生产关系。以不断做强做优做大我国数字经济为例，把数据作为新型生产要素纳入生产函数，在制度建设方面要求对生产资料所有制、收入分配制度等进行改革创新，在资源配置方面需要市场机制调节、企业等微观主体不断创新，在宏观经济治理方面要求国家战略规划体制、财政政策机制、货币政策机制等进行完善优化，等等。这些都要求处理好政府和市场关系。只有坚持党中央集中统一领导，对经济体制改革重点领域和关键环节作出有力部署，才能推动有效市场和有为政府更好结合，形成既“放得活”又“管得住”的经济秩序，不断塑造发展新动能新优势。

Prioritize action, ensure that all decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee are implemented

坚持干字当头，确保党中央各项决策部署落到实处

The Central Economic Work Conference held at the end of last year emphasized: "We must strengthen the Party's leadership over economic work, prioritize action, enhance confidence, face difficulties head-on, and strive to achieve results, ensuring that all decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee are implemented." We must deeply study and implement the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference, both grasp the general trend and strengthen confidence, while also facing difficulties squarely and maintaining sobriety, and effectively enhance the sense of responsibility, urgency, and initiative in implementing tasks.

去年底举行的中央经济工作会议强调：“要加强党对经济工作的领导，坚持干字当头，增强信心、迎难而上、奋发有为，确保党中央各项决策部署落到实处。”我们要深入学习贯彻中央经济工作会议精神，既把握大势、坚定信心，又正视困难、保持清醒，切实增强抓落实的责任感、紧迫感和主动性。

Improve the ability and level of doing economic work well. The economy is the foundation of politics, and politics is the concentrated expression of the economy. Leading cadres at all levels should be good at observing and analyzing economic and social issues from a political perspective, good at thinking about and advancing economic work from a political height, and continuously improve their political judgment, political understanding, and political execution. They should adhere to scientific decision-making, continuously improve their level of understanding and grasping objective economic laws, improve their ability to control the socialist market economy, and better answer theoretical and practical questions of economic development. They should keep pace with the times, especially adapting to the requirements of economic globalization, the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation deepening development, comprehensively improve the ability to integrate theory and practice, and continuously enhance the professional level of doing economic work.

提高做好经济工作的能力和水平。经济是政治的基础，政治是经济的集中表现。各级领导干部要善于用政治眼光观察和分析经济社会问题，善于从讲政治的高度思考和推进经济工作，不断提高政治判断力、政治领悟力、政治执行力。要坚持科学决策，不断提高认识和掌握客观经济规律的水平，提高驾驭社会主义市场经济的能力，更好回答经济发展的理论和实践问题。要坚持与时俱进，特别是适应经济全球化、新一轮科技革命和产业变革深入发展的要求，全方位提升理论与实践相结合的能力，不断提升做好经济工作的专业化水平。

Be adept at using rule-of-law thinking and rule-of-law methods to solve economic problems. The socialist market economy is essentially a rule-of-law economy. It is necessary to adhere to rule-of-law thinking, strengthen rule-of-law concepts, and regulate and govern the economy according to law. Since the New Era, our Party has promoted the completion of the revision of the Anti-Monopoly Law, promoted the implementation and effectiveness of the "Regulations on Fair Competition Review," and the Central Office and State Council issued the "Opinions on Improving the Market Access System," etc., continuously building a systematic, complete, scientifically standardized, and effectively operating institutional system. It has changed the method of managing the economy solely by administrative means, changed the method of using means and policies that exceed laws and regulations to grasp enterprises and launch projects to promote development, and changed the method of using outdated planning means and coercive means to complete tasks. Leading cadres at all levels should consciously use rule-of-law thinking and rule-of-law methods to solve deep-seated problems facing economic and social development, govern the economy according to law, and coordinate and handle various interest issues according to law.

善于运用法治思维和法治方式解决经济问题。社会主义市场经济本质上是法治经济，必须坚持法治思维、增强法治观念，依法调控和治理经济。新时代以来，我们党推动完成反垄断法修改、推动《公平竞争审查条例》落地见效等，中办国办印发《关于完善市场准入制度的意见》等，不断构建系统完备、科学规范、运行有效的制度体系，改变单纯依靠行政手段来管理经济的办法，改变用超越法律法规的手段和政策来抓企业、上项目推动发展的办法，改变采取陈旧的计划手段、强制手段完成任务的办法。各级领导干部要自觉运用法治思维和法治方式解决经济社会发展面临的深层次问题，依法治理经济，依法协调和处理各种利益问题。

Accelerate the construction of a high-level socialist market economy system. The centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee over economic work ultimately needs to be realized in the operation of the socialist market economy. The level of the socialist market economy system directly affects the efficiency and level of the Party Central Committee's centralized and unified leadership over economic work. To this end, in accordance with the deployment requirements of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC [7]7 The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC, held in July 2024, focused on further deepening reform to advance Chinese modernization. and the Central Economic Work Conference, we should give play to the leading role of economic system reform, accelerate the construction of a high-level socialist market economy system, strengthen coordination and cooperation among fiscal, monetary, employment, industrial, regional, trade, environmental protection, and regulatory policies as well as reform and opening-up measures, promote the implementation and effectiveness of landmark reform measures, and better stimulate the endogenous dynamics and innovation vitality of the whole society.

加快构建高水平社会主义市场经济体制。党中央对经济工作的集中统一领导，最终需要在社会主义市场经济运行中实现。社会主义市场经济体制水平的高低，直接关系党中央对经济工作集中统一领导的效率和水平。为此，要按照党的二十届三中全会和中央经济工作会议的部署要求，发挥经济体制改革牵引作用，加快构建高水平社会主义市场经济体制，加强财政、货币、就业、产业、区域、贸易、环保、监管等政策和改革开放举措的协调配合，推动标志性改革举措落地见效，更好激发全社会内生动力和创新活力。

(The author is former President of Renmin University of China)

（作者为中国人民大学原校长）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧