Accelerate the Building of a High-Level Socialist Market Economy System

The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC [1]1 The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC: A major meeting of the Chinese Communist Party's top leadership, held in July 2024, focused on deepening reform and advancing Chinese modernization. clearly stated that by 2035, a high-level socialist market economy system will be fully established, the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics will be more complete, the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity will be basically realized, and socialist modernization will be basically realized, laying a solid foundation for building a great modern socialist country in all respects by the middle of this century. The high-level socialist market economy system is an important guarantee for Chinese-path modernization. To further deepen reform comprehensively, it is necessary to grasp the "bull's nose" [2]2 "Bull's nose": A Chinese idiom meaning the key link or crucial point in a complex task. of economic system reform.

党的二十届三中全会明确提出，到二〇三五年，全面建成高水平社会主义市场经济体制，中国特色社会主义制度更加完善，基本实现国家治理体系和治理能力现代化，基本实现社会主义现代化，为到本世纪中叶全面建成社会主义现代化强国奠定坚实基础。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。进一步全面深化改革，必须抓住经济体制改革这个“牛鼻子”。

Uphold and Implement the "Two Unwavering Principles" [3]3 The "Two Unwavering Principles": The policy of unwaveringly consolidating and developing the public sector of the economy and unwaveringly encouraging, supporting, and guiding the development of the non-public sector of the economy.

坚持和落实“两个毫不动摇”

The basic socialist economic system is an important pillar of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and also the foundation of the socialist market economy system. Practice has fully proven that the public sector of the economy and the non-public sector of the economy complement and promote each other. It is necessary to fully stimulate the endogenous driving force and innovation vitality of various market entities and create an environment of fair competition and competitive development for all forms of ownership. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC emphasized unwaveringly consolidating and developing the public sector of the economy, unwaveringly encouraging, supporting, and guiding the development of the non-public sector of the economy, ensuring that all forms of ownership use factors of production equally according to law, participate in market competition fairly, and receive equal legal protection, and promoting the complementary advantages and common development of all forms of ownership.

社会主义基本经济制度是中国特色社会主义制度的重要支柱，也是社会主义市场经济体制的根基所在。实践充分证明，公有制经济和非公有制经济两者相得益彰、相互促进。必须充分激发各类市场主体的内生动力和创新活力，为各种所有制经济创造公平竞争、竞相发展的环境。党的二十届三中全会强调，毫不动摇巩固和发展公有制经济，毫不动摇鼓励、支持、引导非公有制经济发展，保证各种所有制经济依法平等使用生产要素、公平参与市场竞争、同等受到法律保护，促进各种所有制经济优势互补、共同发展。

It is necessary to unwaveringly consolidate and develop the public sector of the economy. The public sector of the economy, especially state-owned enterprises, plays a leading role in the national economy and has made outstanding contributions and played an important role in national defense construction, economic development, and the improvement of people's lives. We should continue to deepen the reform of state-owned assets and state-owned enterprises, make state-owned capital and state-owned enterprises stronger, better, and larger, enhance their core functions, and improve their core competitiveness. Give play to the leading role of the state-owned economy, and enhance its vitality, control, and influence through strategic restructuring and specialized integration. Actively explore multiple forms of realization of the public sector of the economy and develop the mixed-ownership economy.

必须毫不动摇巩固和发展公有制经济。公有制经济特别是国有企业，在国民经济中起主导作用，在国防建设、经济发展、人民生活改善等方面都作出了突出贡献，发挥着重要作用。应持续深化国资国企改革，推动国有资本和国有企业做强做优做大，增强核心功能，提高核心竞争力。发挥国有经济主导作用，通过战略性重组和专业化整合，增强国有经济活力、控制力、影响力。积极探索公有制多种实现形式，发展混合所有制经济。

It is necessary to unwaveringly encourage, support, and guide the development of the non-public sector of the economy. The private economy is an inherent element of China's economic system, and private enterprises and private entrepreneurs are our own people, playing an important role in promoting innovation, increasing employment, and improving people's livelihoods. Encourage and support the development of private enterprises, continue to create a business environment conducive to the growth and expansion of private enterprises, and create stable development expectations for the private economy. Remove various "rolling doors," "glass doors," and "revolving doors" [4]4 "Rolling doors," "glass doors," and "revolving doors": Metaphors for various hidden or explicit barriers that hinder the development of the private economy, such as discriminatory regulations or unfair market access. that hinder the development of the private economy, improve the long-term mechanism for private enterprises to participate in the construction of major national projects, and support capable private enterprises to take the lead in undertaking major national technological research tasks.

必须毫不动摇鼓励、支持、引导非公有制经济发展。民营经济是我国经济制度的内在要素，民营企业和民营企业家是我们自己人，在推动创新、增加就业、改善民生等方面都发挥着重要作用。鼓励和支持民营企业发展，继续营造有利于民营企业发展壮大的营商环境，为民营经济创造稳定的发展预期。破除阻碍民营经济发展的各类“卷帘门”“玻璃门”“旋转门”，完善民营企业参与国家重大项目建设长效机制，支持有能力的民营企业牵头承担国家重大技术攻关任务。

Properly Handle the Relationship between the Government and the Market

处理好政府与市场的关系

The key to building a high-level socialist market economy system is to properly handle the core issue of the relationship between the government and the market, give full play to the decisive role of the market in resource allocation, and better play the role of the government. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC emphasized that we must better play the role of market mechanisms, create a fairer and more dynamic market environment, achieve optimal resource allocation efficiency and maximum benefits, be both "flexible in releasing" and "capable in managing," better maintain market order and remedy market failures, smooth the national economic cycle, and stimulate the endogenous driving force and innovation vitality of the whole society. China implements a socialist market economy system, and we must never forget the attribute "socialist" at any time. Moreover, the market economy itself has shortcomings such as blindness and lag, making it difficult to balance fairness and efficiency and avoid market failures. While giving full play to the decisive role of the market in resource allocation, we must pay attention to better playing the role of the government.

构建高水平社会主义市场经济体制，关键是要处理好政府和市场关系这个核心问题，充分发挥市场在资源配置中的决定性作用，更好发挥政府作用。党的二十届三中全会强调，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。我国实行的是社会主义市场经济体制，什么时候都不能忘了“社会主义”这个定语。而且，市场经济本身存在盲目性、滞后性等不足，难以兼顾公平和效率，难以避免市场失灵，在充分发挥市场在资源配置中的决定性作用的同时，必须注重更好发挥政府作用。

To give full play to the decisive role of the market in resource allocation, we should accelerate the construction of a unified national market and give full play to the advantages of China's super-large-scale market. Break down local protection and regional segmentation, break down ownership differences, and prevent monopolistic behavior in the platform economy field. Build a unified and standardized bidding and public resource trading platform system with information sharing, and establish integrated and connected circulation rules and standards. Deeply promote the market-oriented allocation of production factors, build a unified urban-rural construction land market, cultivate a national integrated technology and data market, and build a unified national electricity market, etc. Improve basic market economy systems such as property rights protection, market access, fair competition, and social credit, providing important guarantees for the socialist market economy system. The property rights system is the cornerstone of the market economy. The rights boundaries of various types of property of market entities should be clearly defined, and various types of rights and interests such as ownership, possession, use, income, and disposal should be scientifically and reasonably defined. Improve market access, continuously lower market thresholds, and continue to promote the construction of the negative list system. Continue to improve the fair competition system to provide fair and transparent market rules for market entities to participate in competition. Improve the social credit system, promote the sharing of credit information, and promote the realization of graded and classified supervision.

充分发挥市场在资源配置中的决定性作用，应加快构建全国统一大市场，充分发挥我国超大规模市场优势。破除地方保护和区域分割，打破所有制差异，防止平台经济领域的垄断行为。构建统一规范、信息共享的招标投标和公共资源交易平台体系，建立一体衔接的流通规则和标准。纵深推进生产要素市场化配置，构建城乡统一的建设用地市场，培育全国一体化技术和数据市场，建设全国统一电力市场等。完善产权保护、市场准入、公平竞争、社会信用等市场经济基础制度，为社会主义市场经济体制提供重要保障。产权制度是市场经济的基石，应明晰市场主体各类财产的权利边界，科学合理界定所有权、占有权、使用权、收益权、处置权等各种类型的权益。完善市场准入，不断降低市场门槛，持续推进负面清单制度建设。继续完善公平竞争制度体系，为市场主体参与竞争提供公平透明的市场规则。完善社会信用体系，推动实现信用信息共享，推进实现分级分类监管。

To better play the role of the government, it is necessary to further improve the macroeconomic governance system and deepen reforms in key areas such as fiscal and taxation, and finance. Public finance is an important foundation and pillar of national governance. A new round of fiscal and taxation system reform is an important part of economic system reform. Fiscal system reform should focus on solving the issue of fiscal sustainability and improving the fiscal relationship between the central and local governments. Establish and improve a modern fiscal and taxation system, improve the modern budget system, optimize the tax structure, increase local autonomous financial resources, and strengthen the incentive and constraint mechanisms of transfer payments. Finance is the core of the modern economy. Financial system reform is an important part of economic system reform. We should deepen financial supply-side structural reform, further improve the dual-pillar framework of monetary policy and macroprudential policy, and enhance the ability of finance to serve the real economy. Deepen the reform of the comprehensive financial regulatory mechanism, and bring all types of financial activities under supervision according to law. Improve the national strategic planning system and policy coordination mechanism, and enhance the consistency of macroeconomic policy orientation.

更好发挥政府作用，需要进一步健全宏观经济治理体系，深化财税、金融等重点领域改革。财政是国家治理的重要基础和支柱，新一轮财税体制改革是经济体制改革的重要内容。财政体制改革要着力解决财政的可持续性问题，完善中央和地方财政关系。建立健全现代财税制度，健全现代预算制度，优化税制结构，增加地方自主财力，强化转移支付激励约束。金融是现代经济的核心，金融体制改革是经济体制改革的重要内容，应深化金融供给侧结构性改革，进一步完善货币政策与宏观审慎政策双支柱框架，提升金融服务实体经济的能力。深化全方位金融监管机制改革，依法将各类金融活动纳入监管。完善国家战略规划体系和政策统筹协调机制，增强宏观政策取向一致性。

Adhere to the Basic State Policy of Opening Up

坚持对外开放基本国策

Reform and opening up complement and promote each other. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC emphasized that opening up is a distinctive hallmark of Chinese-path modernization. We must adhere to the basic state policy of opening up, insist on promoting reform through opening up, and adhere to the "dual-wheel drive" of reform and opening up. China is accelerating the construction of a new development pattern. It must rely on the advantages of the super-large-scale market, enhance its opening-up capability in expanding international cooperation, and achieve high-level opening up.

改革和开放相辅相成、相互促进。党的二十届三中全会强调，开放是中国式现代化的鲜明标识。必须坚持对外开放基本国策，坚持以开放促改革，坚持改革和开放“双轮驱动”。我国正在加快构建新发展格局，必须依托超大规模市场优势，在扩大国际合作中提升开放能力，实现高水平对外开放。

Deepen the reform of the foreign trade system, and deepen the reform of the management system for foreign investment and outbound investment. Ensure national treatment for foreign-funded enterprises in terms of factor acquisition, qualification licensing, standard setting, government procurement, etc., and effectively protect the investment rights and interests of foreign-funded enterprises. Further relax market access, reasonably shorten the negative list for foreign investment access, implement the requirement to "clear" restrictive measures for foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector as soon as possible, and fully implement the negative list for cross-border service trade. Vigorously improve the level of investment and trade facilitation, establish an efficient, convenient, and safe cross-border data flow mechanism, and improve the convenience systems for entry, residence, medical care, payment, and other aspects of life for overseas personnel. Optimize the regional opening-up layout, consolidate the leading position of the eastern coastal areas in opening up, raise the level of opening up in the central, western, and northeastern regions, guide all localities to actively integrate into the grand pattern of regional opening up, and accelerate the formation of a comprehensive opening-up pattern featuring domestic and international linkage, and mutual reinforcement between the east and the west. Improve the mechanism for promoting the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, and expand unilateral opening up to the least developed countries. Expand independent opening up, and orderly expand the opening up of commodity markets, service markets, capital markets, labor markets, etc.

深化外贸体制改革，深化外商投资和对外投资管理体制改革。保障外资企业在要素获取、资质许可、标准制定、政府采购等方面的国民待遇，切实保护外资企业投资权益。进一步放宽市场准入，合理缩减外资准入负面清单，尽快落实制造业领域外资准入限制措施“清零”要求，全面实施跨境服务贸易负面清单。大力提升投资、贸易便利化水平，建立高效便利安全的数据跨境流动机制，完善境外人员入境居住、医疗、支付等生活便利制度。优化区域开放布局，巩固东部沿海地区开放先导地位，提高中西部和东北地区开放水平，引导各地主动融入区域开放大格局，加快形成陆海内外联动、东西双向互济的全面开放格局。完善推进高质量共建“一带一路”机制，扩大对最不发达国家单边开放。扩大自主开放，有序扩大商品市场、服务市场、资本市场、劳务市场等对外开放。

Build a globally oriented high-standard free trade area network, forming a pattern of opening up to the outside world in a wider range, broader fields, and deeper levels. Relying on pilot free trade zones (free trade ports) for pioneering trials, proactively align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, and steadily expand institutional opening up in terms of rules, regulations, management, and standards. Achieve compatibility and connectivity of rules, regulations, management, and standards in areas such as intellectual property, industrial subsidies, environmental standards, labor protection, government procurement, e-commerce, and finance, deeply integrate into and reshape global economic and trade rules.

构建面向全球的高标准自由贸易区网络，形成更大范围、更宽领域、更深层次对外开放格局。依托自由贸易试验区（自由贸易港）先行先试，主动对标高标准国际经贸规则，稳步扩大规则、规制、管理、标准等制度型开放。在知识产权、产业补贴、环境标准、劳动保护、政府采购、电子商务、金融领域等实现规则、规制、管理、标准相通相容，深度融入并重塑全球经贸规则。

Online Editor: Paul

网络编辑：保罗