Adhere to the Systems Concept to Further Deepen Reform Comprehensively

Deepening reform comprehensively is a complex systemic project, as well as a profound and comprehensive social transformation; it is the linkage and integration of reforms and improvements across all fields. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has engaged in forward-looking thinking, holistic planning, and overall advancement of reform, forcefully, orderly, and effectively resolving institutional obstacles, mechanistic blockages, and policy innovation issues in various fields and aspects. The cause of the Party and the state is full of vitality, opening up a completely new situation for China’s reform and opening up. Adhering to the systems concept is not only a valuable experience from deepening reform comprehensively in the New Era, but also a major principle that must be implemented in further deepening reform comprehensively.

全面深化改革是一项复杂的系统工程，也是一场深刻而全面的社会变革，是各领域改革和改进的联动和集成。党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央前瞻性思考、全局性谋划、整体性推进改革，有力有序有效解决各领域各方面体制性障碍、机制性梗阻、政策性创新问题，党和国家事业生机勃勃，开创了我国改革开放全新局面。坚持系统观念，既是新时代全面深化改革的一条宝贵经验，也是进一步全面深化改革必须贯彻的一个重大原则。

Valuable Experience from Deepening Reform Comprehensively

全面深化改革的宝贵经验

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, “The systems concept is a foundational thought and working method.” Adhering to the systems concept embodies the world outlook and methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, which observe things from the perspective of universal connection, comprehensive system, and developmental change. It requires correctly handling the relationships between the whole and the part, the present and the long-term, the macro and the micro, the principal contradiction and secondary contradictions, and the special and the general, using systemic thinking to advance the various undertakings of the Party and the state. This provides methodological support for advancing the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country and promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization.

习近平总书记强调，“系统观念是具有基础性的思想和工作方法”。坚持系统观念，体现了用普遍联系的、全面系统的、发展变化的观点观察事物的辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义世界观和方法论，要求把握好全局和局部、当前和长远、宏观和微观、主要矛盾和次要矛盾、特殊和一般的关系，运用系统思维推进党和国家各项事业。这为推进全面建设社会主义现代化国家、以中国式现代化全面推进中华民族伟大复兴提供了方法论支撑。

Adhering to the systems concept is a methodological summary of the practical experience of deepening reform comprehensively since reform and opening up, especially in the New Era. After reform and opening up, Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out that “reform is comprehensive reform, including economic system reform, political system reform, and corresponding reforms in other fields,” regarding reform as a grand systemic project. He made scientific judgments on relationships such as those between coastal areas and inland areas, the eastern and western regions, and getting rich first and common prosperity, focusing on correctly handling the relationships among reform, development, and stability. Comrade Jiang Zemin pointed out, “Strengthen the overall concept and comprehensiveness and systemicity in work,” emphasizing the need to correctly handle twelve major relationships in socialist modernization. Comrade Hu Jintao summarized the valuable experience of 30 years of reform and opening up as “ten combinations,” pointing out the need to “unswervingly adhere to the direction of reform, improve the scientific nature of reform decisions, and enhance the coordination of reform measures.” Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping, with great historical initiative, immense political courage, and a strong sense of responsibility, has personally planned, personally deployed, and personally promoted deepening reform comprehensively, emphasizing that “reform should pay more attention to systemic integration, insisting on planning and advancing reform with an overall concept and systemic thinking.” Deepening reform comprehensively has broken through barriers and advanced in depth, achieving a transformation from partial exploration and breaking the ice to systemic integration and comprehensive deepening. The basic institutional frameworks in various fields have been basically established, and many fields have achieved historic changes, systemic reshaping, and overall reconstruction, providing a strong institutional guarantee for completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and achieving the Party’s first centenary goal, propelling China onto a new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country.

坚持系统观念是对改革开放以来特别是新时代全面深化改革实践经验的方法论总结。改革开放后，邓小平同志指出“改革是全面的改革，包括经济体制改革、政治体制改革和相应的其他各个领域的改革”，把改革视为一项宏大系统工程，对沿海与内地、东部与西部、先富与后富等关系作出科学判断，注重正确处理改革、发展、稳定之间的关系。江泽民同志指出，“增强全局观念和工作上的全面性系统性”，强调要正确处理社会主义现代化建设中的十二个重大关系。胡锦涛同志将改革开放30年的宝贵经验概括为“十个结合”，指出要“毫不动摇地坚持改革方向，提高改革决策的科学性，增强改革措施的协调性”。党的十八大以来，习近平总书记以伟大的历史主动、巨大的政治勇气、强烈的责任担当，亲自谋划、亲自部署、亲自推动全面深化改革，强调“改革要更加注重系统集成，坚持以全局观念和系统思维谋划推进”。全面深化改革闯关夺隘、纵深推进，实现改革由局部探索、破冰突围到系统集成、全面深化的转变，各领域基础性制度框架基本建立，许多领域实现了历史性变革、系统性重塑、整体性重构，为全面建成小康社会、实现党的第一个百年奋斗目标提供有力制度保障，推动我国迈上全面建设社会主义现代化国家新征程。

Adhering to the systems concept is a major principle that must be implemented in further deepening reform comprehensively. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, “Reform involves breaking and establishing; getting the method right yields twice the result with half the effort.” Further deepening reform comprehensively involves a wide scope, touches upon deep interests, and presents great difficulty in tackling tough issues. At the same time, various reform measures are highly interconnected and require strong coordination. This demands that we neither act alone or rashly, nor grasp everything indiscriminately or treat symptoms without addressing root causes. Only by adhering to the systems concept can we grasp the strategic priorities, distinguish priorities and urgency, proceed step by step, and better leverage the integration effect.

坚持系统观念是进一步全面深化改革必须贯彻的一个重大原则。习近平总书记指出，“改革有破有立，得其法则事半功倍”。进一步全面深化改革，涉及范围广、触及利益深、攻坚难度大，同时各项改革措施关联程度高、协同程度强，这就要求既不能单打独斗、急躁冒进，也不能眉毛胡子一把抓、头痛医头脚痛医脚。只有坚持系统观念，才能把握好战略重点，分清轻重缓急，循序渐进，更好发挥集成效应。

Handling a Series of Major Relationships

处理好一系列重大关系

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that deepening reform comprehensively is a complex systemic project, requiring strengthening top-level design and overall planning, and enhancing research on the relevance, systemicity, and feasibility of various reforms. To handle a series of major relationships in deepening reform comprehensively, we must adhere to the systems concept, so that various reform measures complement each other in policy orientation, promote each other in the implementation process, and benefit each other in practical results.

习近平总书记指出，全面深化改革是一项复杂的系统工程，需要加强顶层设计和整体谋划，加强各项改革关联性、系统性、可行性研究。处理好全面深化改革的一系列重大关系，必须坚持系统观念，使各项改革举措在政策取向上相互配合、在实施过程中相互促进、在实际成效上相得益彰。

Handle the relationship between the economy and society to achieve mutual promotion and progress. The relationship between the economy and society is a major relationship concerning the long-term stability of the country. Economic development provides lasting momentum for social stability, and social stability provides a strong guarantee for economic development. Over more than 70 years since the founding of New China, our Party has led the people to create the twin miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability. This is a practical achievement of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and the national governance system, highlighting the significant advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and the national governance system. To further deepen reform comprehensively, we must uphold and improve the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, advance the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, coordinate planning and promote economic system reform and social system reform in tandem, achieve mutual promotion and progress between economic development and social stability, and promote sustained and healthy economic and social development.

处理好经济和社会的关系，实现互促共进。经济和社会的关系是事关国家长治久安的重大关系。经济发展为社会稳定提供持久动力，社会稳定为经济发展提供坚强保障。新中国成立70多年来，我们党领导人民创造了经济快速发展奇迹和社会长期稳定奇迹，这是中国特色社会主义制度和国家治理体系的实践成果，彰显了中国特色社会主义制度和国家治理体系的显著优势。进一步全面深化改革，要坚持和完善中国特色社会主义制度、推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化，统筹谋划、协同推进经济体制改革和社会体制改革，实现经济发展和社会稳定互促共进，推动经济社会持续健康发展。

Handle the relationship between the government and the market to achieve coordinated force from “both hands.” Handling the relationship between the government and the market is the core issue of economic system reform. On the one hand, market allocation of resources is the most efficient form; an effective market can guide the improvement of the allocation efficiency of social resource factors. On the other hand, the government can carry out long-term planning, macro-control, etc.; a competent government can guide the expectations of business entities, regulate the behavior of business entities in an orderly manner according to law, and compensate for market failures and other defects. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC emphasized, “A high-level socialist market economy system is an important guarantee for Chinese-path modernization.” To further deepen reform comprehensively, we must build a high-level socialist market economy system, give full play to the decisive role of the market in resource allocation and better play the role of the government, and effectively leverage the advantages of the socialist market economy system.

处理好政府和市场的关系，实现“两只手”协同发力。处理好政府和市场的关系是经济体制改革的核心问题。一方面，市场配置资源是最有效率的形式，有效市场能够引导社会资源要素配置效率提升；另一方面，政府可以进行长期规划、宏观调控等，有为政府能够引导经营主体预期，依法有序规范经营主体行为，弥补市场失灵等缺陷。党的二十届三中全会强调，“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，要构建高水平社会主义市场经济体制，充分发挥市场在资源配置中的决定性作用和更好发挥政府作用，切实发挥社会主义市场经济体制优势。

Handle the relationship between efficiency and fairness to achieve mutual benefit. Development is the key to solving all of China’s problems. Efficiency is premised on fairness, only then does development have confidence; fairness is based on efficiency, only then can development be sustained. Fairness is not egalitarianism; dividing the “cake” well first requires making the “cake” bigger. To further deepen reform comprehensively, we must achieve higher quality, more efficient, fairer, more sustainable, and safer development, coordinate and comprehensively advance institutional arrangements that enhance the efficiency of economic and social development and better maintain social fairness and justice, uphold and improve the basic socialist economic system, adhere to the “two unswervinglys,” [1]1 “Peaceful China” (平安中国) is a national security strategy aimed at maintaining social stability, public safety, and the rule of law. stimulate the vitality of various business entities, institutional vitality, and social creativity. At the same time, embody the people-centered development philosophy in every link of economic and social development, accelerate the establishment of a social fairness guarantee system with equal rights, equal opportunities, and fair rules as its main content, let the fruits of reform and development benefit all people more and more fairly, and solidly promote common prosperity.

处理好效率和公平的关系，实现相得益彰。发展是解决我国所有问题的关键。效率以公平为前提，发展才有底气；公平以效率为基础，发展才能持续。公平不是平均主义，分好“蛋糕”首先要做大“蛋糕”。进一步全面深化改革，要实现更高质量、更有效率、更加公平、更可持续、更为安全的发展，统筹兼顾、整体推进提升经济社会发展效率与更好维护社会公平正义的制度安排，坚持和完善社会主义基本经济制度，坚持“两个毫不动摇”，激发各类经营主体活力、制度活力和社会创造力，同时把以人民为中心的发展思想体现在经济社会发展各个环节，加快建立以权利公平、机会公平、规则公平为主要内容的社会公平保障体系，让改革发展成果更多更公平惠及全体人民，扎实推进共同富裕。

Handle the relationship between vitality and order to achieve both “being able to let go” and “being able to manage well.” In the historical process of modernization, handling the relationship between vitality and order is a worldwide challenge. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, “Social development needs to be full of vitality, but this vitality must be orderly activity.” Good social order supports and guarantees the continuous bursting forth of social vitality, and the continuous surge of social vitality further promotes the improvement of social order. The two complement each other and are indispensable, jointly promoting stable, healthy, and sustained economic and social development. To further deepen reform comprehensively, we must achieve a dynamic balance of being active without chaos, active and orderly, coordinate planning and coordinated advancement, deepen institutional and mechanism reforms in all aspects, fully stimulate the creative potential of the whole society, release a steady stream of development vitality, gather a persistent surge of development momentum, achieve “being able to let go,” while better maintaining market order and compensating for market failures, achieving “being able to manage well.”

处理好活力和秩序的关系，实现既“放得活”又“管得住”。在现代化的历史进程中，处理好活力和秩序的关系是一道世界性难题。习近平总书记指出，“社会发展需要充满活力，但这种活力又必须是有序活动的”。良好的社会秩序支撑和保障社会活力不断迸发，社会活力的持续涌动进一步促进社会秩序的提升，二者相辅相成、缺一不可，共同推进了经济社会平稳健康持续发展。进一步全面深化改革，要实现活而不乱、活跃有序的动态平衡，统筹谋划、协调推进，深化各方面体制机制改革，充分激发全社会创造潜能，释放源源不断的发展活力，汇聚持久涌流的发展动力，实现“放得活”，同时更好维护市场秩序、弥补市场失灵，实现“管得住”。

Properly handle the relationship between development and security, and achieve a positive interaction between high-quality development and high-level security. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that “security and development are the two wings of one body and the twin wheels of one vehicle.” Security is the prerequisite for development, and development is the guarantee of security; the two promote each other. To further deepen reform comprehensively, we must better coordinate development and security, achieve a positive interaction between high-quality development and high-level security, grasp the overall situation, coordinate and cooperate, comprehensively implement the holistic view of national security, build a higher-level Peaceful China, use high-level security to safeguard high-quality development, and at the same time, improve the systems and mechanisms for promoting high-quality economic development, perfect the incentive and constraint mechanisms for promoting high-quality development, shape new drivers and advantages for development, and use high-quality development to provide an inexhaustible driving force for high-level security.

处理好发展和安全的关系，实现高质量发展和高水平安全良性互动。习近平总书记指出，“安全和发展是一体之两翼、驱动之双轮”。安全是发展的前提，发展是安全的保障，二者相互促进。进一步全面深化改革，要更好统筹发展和安全，实现高质量发展和高水平安全的良性互动，把握全局、协同配合，全面贯彻总体国家安全观，建设更高水平平安中国，以高水平安全为实现高质量发展保驾护航，同时健全推动经济高质量发展体制机制，完善推动高质量发展激励约束机制，塑造发展新动能新优势，以高质量发展为高水平安全提供不竭动力。

Put the systems concept into practice

把坚持系统观念落到实处

Strengthen system integration and enhance the systematic nature of reform. Give play to the Party’s core leadership role in exercising overall leadership and coordinating all efforts, strengthen the Party’s top-level design and overall coordination of reform, coordinate the domestic and international situations, adhere to the principle of nationwide coordination, deeply grasp the direction and objectives of further deepening reform comprehensively, fully understand the interconnections and coupling between various fields, aspects, and links, work hard on coordination, seek breakthroughs at key points, drive the overall work through breakthroughs at individual points, gain strategic initiative, and safeguard the overall development situation.

加强系统集成，增强改革的系统性。发挥党总揽全局、协调各方的领导核心作用，加强党对改革的顶层设计和统筹协调，统筹国内国际两个大局，坚持全国一盘棋，深刻把握进一步全面深化改革的方向和目标，全面认识各领域各方面各环节之间的关联性与耦合性，在统筹上下功夫，在重点上求突破，以点的突破带动全局工作，赢得战略主动，维护好发展全局。

Strengthen holistic advancement and enhance the integrity of reform. Enhance overall interests, accelerate the construction of institutional systems that enhance the integrity of reform, achieve breakthroughs at key points within holistic advancement, use breakthroughs at key points to drive a comprehensive leap in the level of economic and social development, strive to ensure that the whole and the parts are matched, that addressing both symptoms and root causes is combined, and that gradual progress and breakthroughs are linked, grasp problems in various fields, levels, and links holistically, focus on consolidating foundations, leveraging strengths, shoring up weaknesses, and strengthening weak links, and promote the mutual promotion, coordination, and unification of development quality, structure, scale, speed, efficiency, and security within holistic advancement.

加强整体推进，增强改革的整体性。增进整体利益，加快推进增强改革整体性的制度建设，在整体推进中实现重点突破，以重点突破带动经济社会发展水平整体跃升，努力做到全局和局部相配套、治本和治标相结合、渐进和突破相衔接，整体把握各个领域、各个层次、各个环节的问题，着力固根基、扬优势、补短板、强弱项，推动实现发展质量、结构、规模、速度、效益、安全在整体推进中相促进、相协调、相统一。

Strengthen coordination and efficiency, and enhance the synergy of reform. Enhance dialectical thinking and strategic thinking capabilities, adhere to the unity of the “two-point theory” and the “key-point theory,” [2]2 “Two-point theory” (两点论) and “key-point theory” (重点论) are Maoist dialectical concepts: the former means recognizing both aspects of a contradiction, the latter means identifying the principal aspect. take the continued improvement and development of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity as the overall goal, take reform and innovation as the fundamental driving force, strengthen the positive interaction and coordinated cooperation among various reforms, including building a high-level socialist market economy system, improving the systems and mechanisms for promoting high-quality economic development, building systems and mechanisms to support comprehensive innovation, improving the macroeconomic governance system, perfecting the systems and mechanisms for integrated urban-rural development, perfecting the systems and mechanisms for high-level opening up, perfecting the whole-process people’s democracy system, perfecting the socialist rule-of-law system with Chinese characteristics, deepening the reform of the cultural systems and mechanisms, perfecting the systems and mechanisms for ensuring and improving people’s livelihoods, deepening the reform of the ecological civilization system, advancing the modernization of the national security system and capacity, continuously deepening the reform of national defense and the military, and improving the Party’s leadership level, to form a strong synergy for further deepening reform comprehensively. For some reforms with complex interest relationships and great difficulty in coordination, a strong coordination and promotion mechanism should be established, the intensity of supervision and accountability should be increased, and the implementation of reforms should be grasped with the spirit of driving the nail. [3]3 “Spirit of driving the nail” (钉钉子精神) is a metaphor used by Xi Jinping for persistent, focused implementation of policies.

加强协同高效，增强改革的协同性。增强辩证思维、战略思维能力，坚持“两点论”和“重点论”相统一，以继续完善和发展中国特色社会主义制度、推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化为总目标，以改革创新为根本动力，加强构建高水平社会主义市场经济体制、健全推动经济高质量发展体制机制、构建支持全面创新体制机制、健全宏观经济治理体系、完善城乡融合发展体制机制、完善高水平对外开放体制机制、健全全过程人民民主制度体系、完善中国特色社会主义法治体系、深化文化体制机制改革、健全保障和改善民生制度体系、深化生态文明体制改革、推进国家安全体系和能力现代化、持续深化国防和军队改革、提高党的领导水平等各项改革之间的良性互动与协同配合，形成进一步全面深化改革的强大合力。对一些利益关系复杂、协调难度大的改革，要建立强有力的协调推进机制，加大督查问效力度，以钉钉子精神抓好改革落实。

Online editor: Paul

网络编辑：保罗