Deepening the Law-Based Understanding of Doing Economic Work Well

The 2023 Central Economic Work Conference put forward the “Five Musts,” which embody the upholding of fundamental principles and breaking of new ground in understanding the laws of development, further enrich and develop Xi Jinping’s economic thought, and deepen our Party’s law-based understanding of doing economic work well in the New Era. A profound grasp of the scientific connotation of the “Five Musts” holds very important theoretical and practical significance for comprehensively advancing Chinese-path modernization through high-quality development.

2023年中央经济工作会议提出“五个必须”，体现了对发展规律认识的守正创新，进一步丰富和发展了习近平经济思想，深化了我们党对新时代做好经济工作的规律性认识。深刻把握“五个必须”的科学内涵，对于以高质量发展全面推进中国式现代化具有十分重要的理论和现实意义。

We must take high-quality development as the hard truth of the New Era

必须把坚持高质量发展作为新时代的硬道理

High-quality development is the hard truth of the New Era, reflecting the inherent requirement of transforming the development model. For a long period in the past, China’s economic development was mainly manifested as extensive expansion. As the comparative advantages of production factors have changed, labor costs have gradually risen, and the carrying capacity of resources and the environment has reached a bottleneck, it is imperative to push China’s economy from extensive expansion toward intensive development. To achieve intensive development, it is necessary to strengthen technological innovation, institutional innovation, and management innovation, rely on innovation to lead development, adhere to a focus on improving quality and efficiency, and promote the economy to achieve effective qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth.

高质量发展是新时代的硬道理，体现了转变发展方式的内在要求。过去很长一段时间，我国经济发展主要表现为外延式扩张。随着生产要素相对优势出现变化，劳动力成本逐步上升，资源环境承载能力达到瓶颈，推动我国经济从外延式扩张转向内涵式发展势在必行。实现内涵式发展，必须加强技术创新、制度创新、管理创新，依靠创新引领发展，坚持以提高质量和效益为中心，推动经济实现质的有效提升和量的合理增长。

High-quality development is the hard truth of the New Era, reflecting the inevitable requirement of adapting to changes in the principal contradiction in society. At present, the people’s aspiration for a better life has generally shifted from “whether one has it or not” to “whether it is good or not.” People look forward to more stable jobs, more satisfactory incomes, more comfortable living conditions, more reliable social security, better education, and higher-level medical and health services. This requires us, through high-quality development, to continuously meet the people’s needs for a better life. At the same time, the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development remains prominent. Unbalanced development is manifested as imbalances among regions, fields, and aspects, which constrain the improvement of the overall level of economic development. Inadequate development is manifested as insufficient quality and efficiency of development in some regions, fields, and aspects, with the problem of underdevelopment still existing, and the task of development remains very heavy. To solve the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development, high-quality development must be achieved.

高质量发展是新时代的硬道理，体现了适应社会主要矛盾变化的必然要求。当前，人民对美好生活的向往总体上已经从“有没有”转向“好不好”，大家期盼有更稳定的工作、更满意的收入、更舒适的居住条件、更可靠的社会保障、更好的教育、更高水平的医疗卫生服务，这就要求我们通过高质量发展，不断满足人民群众对美好生活的需要。与此同时，发展不平衡不充分问题仍然突出，发展不平衡表现为各区域各领域各方面存在失衡现象，制约整体经济发展水平的提升，发展不充分表现为一些地区一些领域一些方面发展质量和效益不够高，存在发展不足的问题，发展任务仍然很重。解决发展不平衡不充分问题，必须实现高质量发展。

Achieving high-quality development must be guided by the new development philosophy. The new development philosophy and high-quality development are intrinsically unified; high-quality development is development that embodies the new development philosophy, and the new development philosophy provides the fundamental guidance for promoting high-quality development. Innovation is the primary driving force leading development; the essence of high-quality development is development driven and led by innovation. High-quality development must focus on solving development difficulties and bottlenecks, enhancing the overall and coordinated nature of development. High-quality development must firmly establish and practice the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, and plan development from the height of harmony between humanity and nature. High-quality development must coordinate both domestic and international markets and both types of resources, and continuously expand high-standard opening up. Sharing is the fundamental purpose of achieving high-quality development; we must adhere to development for the people, development relying on the people, and development achievements shared by the people, and promote the realization of common prosperity for all the people.

实现高质量发展必须以新发展理念为引领。新发展理念和高质量发展是内在统一的，高质量发展就是体现新发展理念的发展，新发展理念为推动高质量发展提供了根本遵循。创新是引领发展的第一动力，高质量发展实质是创新驱动和引领的发展。高质量发展必须着力破解发展难题和瓶颈，增强发展的整体性协调性。高质量发展要牢固树立和践行绿水青山就是金山银山的理念，站在人与自然和谐共生的高度谋划发展。高质量发展必须统筹国内国际两个市场、两种资源，持续扩大高水平对外开放。共享是实现高质量发展的根本目的，要坚持发展为了人民、发展依靠人民、发展成果由人民共享，推动实现全体人民共同富裕。

We must persist in the coordinated发力 of deepening supply-side structural reform and expanding effective demand

必须坚持深化供给侧结构性改革和着力扩大有效需求协同发力

Supply and demand are two sides of the same coin in economic development. If problems arise in either aspect, the economic cycle cannot be smooth, and high-quality development cannot be achieved. As China’s economy shifts from a stage of high-speed growth to a stage of high-quality development, the principal contradiction constraining sustained and healthy economic development has transformed into a structural problem, mainly manifested in the supply structure’s inability to adapt to changes in the demand structure. Relying on “flood irrigation” and short-term strong stimulus can no longer resolve the contradictions; it is necessary to deepen supply-side structural reform so that the supply system better adapts to changes in the demand structure. To this end, while appropriately expanding aggregate demand, we must focus on improving the quality of supply, so that supply capacity meets the people’s growing, upgrading, and personalized material, cultural, and ecological environment needs; we must promote industrial optimization and reorganization, accelerate the cultivation of strategic emerging industries, develop modern producer services, and enhance the adaptability and flexibility of the supply structure to changes in demand. At the same time, we must focus on releasing the potential of domestic demand and expanding effective demand. Leverage the guiding role of government investment to stimulate the vitality of private investment; improve the income distribution system, continuously raise the level of employment, improve residents’ income expectations, increase consumption capacity, enhance consumption willingness, and promote stable consumption growth. Persist in the coordinated发力 of deepening supply-side structural reform and expanding effective demand to achieve a higher-level dynamic balance between supply and demand.

供给和需求是经济发展的一体两面，其中任何一个方面出现问题，经济循环都不可能畅通，也不可能实现高质量发展。随着我国经济由高速增长阶段转向高质量发展阶段，制约经济持续健康发展的主要矛盾已转化为结构性问题，主要表现在供给结构不能适应需求结构的变化。靠“大水漫灌”和短期强刺激已难以化解矛盾，必须深化供给侧结构性改革，使供给体系更好适应需求结构变化。为此，要在适度扩大总需求的同时着力提高供给质量，使供给能力满足广大人民日益增长、不断升级和个性化的物质文化和生态环境需要；要促进产业优化重组，加快培育战略性新兴产业，发展现代生产性服务业，增强供给结构对需求变化的适应性和灵活性。同时，要着力释放内需潜力，扩大有效需求。发挥政府投资撬动作用，激发民间投资活力；完善收入分配制度，不断提高就业水平，改善居民收入预期、提高消费能力、增强消费意愿，促进消费稳定增长。坚持深化供给侧结构性改革和着力扩大有效需求协同发力，实现供给和需求更高水平动态平衡。

Currently, the global political and economic environment is undergoing profound changes, unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, and economic globalization is encountering headwinds. After more than 40 years of sustained and rapid development through reform and opening up, China has gradually formed advantages of a super-large market in terms of market demand, industrial system, human resources, and infrastructure. In addition, China also has a complete industrial system, with the added value of manufacturing accounting for about 30% of the global total, with obvious advantages in scale and efficiency. Most products can achieve full industry chain supporting within the country, possessing strong production capacity. As the potential of domestic demand is continuously released, the vitality of the domestic circulation is increasingly strong. Adapting to changes in the situation, transforming development thinking, placing the foothold of development domestically, and building a new development pattern centered on smoothing the national economic cycle have become strategic choices for reshaping China’s new advantages in international cooperation and competition. We must give full play to the advantages of the super-large market and strong production capacity, establish the domestic circulation on the basis of domestic demand as the main driving force, and improve the quality and level of international circulation.

当前，全球政治经济环境深刻变化，单边主义、保护主义抬头，经济全球化遭遇逆流。我国经过改革开放40多年持续快速发展，逐步在市场需求、产业体系、人力资源、基础设施等方面形成超大规模市场优势。此外，我国还拥有完整的工业体系，制造业增加值约占全球的30%，规模和效率具有明显优势，大部分产品在国内就可以实现全产业链配套，具备强大的生产能力。随着内需潜力不断释放，国内大循环活力日益强劲，适应形势变化，转变发展思路，把发展立足点放在国内，以畅通国民经济循环为主构建新发展格局，成为重塑我国国际合作和竞争新优势的战略抉择。要充分发挥超大规模市场和强大生产能力的优势，使国内大循环建立在内需主动力的基础上，提升国际循环质量和水平。

We must persist in relying on reform and opening up to enhance the endogenous driving force of development

必须坚持依靠改革开放增强发展内生动力

The purpose of reform is to continuously promote the self-improvement and development of our socialist system and endow socialism with new vitality and vigor. Our reform is a reform that advances along the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics; it neither takes the old path of closed-door rigidity nor the evil path of changing the banner and flag. The core of our reform is to uphold and improve the Party’s leadership and to uphold and improve the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. In the process of promoting reform, our Party adheres to correct thinking methods, adheres to dialectics, and correctly handles the relationships between emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts, between overall advancement and breakthroughs in key areas, between the overall situation and the partial, between top-level design and crossing the river by feeling the stones, between being bold in action and steady in pace, and between reform, development, and stability, effectively promoting the resolution of a series of prominent contradictions and problems facing China’s development.

改革的目的是要不断推进我国社会主义制度自我完善和发展，赋予社会主义新的生机活力。我们的改革是在中国特色社会主义道路上不断前进的改革，既不走封闭僵化的老路，也不走改旗易帜的邪路。我们的改革最核心的是坚持和改善党的领导、坚持和完善中国特色社会主义制度。我们党在推动改革的过程中，坚持正确的思想方法，坚持辩证法，正确处理解放思想和实事求是的关系、整体推进和重点突破的关系、全局和局部的关系、顶层设计和摸着石头过河的关系、胆子要大和步子要稳的关系、改革发展稳定的关系，有力推动解决我国发展面临的一系列突出矛盾和问题。

Reform and opening up is an important magic weapon for contemporary China to catch up with the times in big strides, the only way to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics, and a key move that determines the success or failure of Chinese-path modernization. Entering the New Era, while continuing to deepen reform, we have focused on building a new system for a higher-standard open economy, promoting the formation of an open pattern linking the land and sea internally and externally, and mutually benefiting the east and the west. We have vigorously promoted the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, actively participated in global economic governance, adhered to better combining “bringing in” and “going global,” actively participated in the international division of labor, integrated more deeply into the global industrial chain and supply chain system, accelerated the formation of a basic institutional system and regulatory model compatible with international investment and trade rules, continuously relaxed market access for foreign investment, strengthened intellectual property protection, and created a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized first-class business environment. These measures have effectively raised the level of China’s opening up to the outside world, promoted high-quality economic and social development, and achieved mutual benefit and win-win results with other countries. On the new journey, we must promote market-oriented reform and expand high-standard opening up with greater determination and effort, continuously enhancing the driving force and vitality for advancing Chinese-path modernization.

改革开放是当代中国大踏步赶上时代的重要法宝，是坚持和发展中国特色社会主义的必由之路，是决定中国式现代化成败的关键一招。进入新时代，在继续深化改革的同时，我们着力建设更高水平开放型经济新体制，推动形成陆海内外联动、东西双向互济的开放格局，大力推动共建“一带一路”高质量发展，积极参与全球经济治理，坚持“引进来”和“走出去”更好结合，积极参与国际分工，更深层次融入全球产业链供应链体系，加快形成与国际投资、贸易通行规则相衔接的基本制度体系和监管模式，持续放宽外资市场准入，加强知识产权保护，打造市场化、法治化、国际化一流营商环境。这些举措有力提升我国对外开放水平，推动经济社会高质量发展，与各国实现互利共赢。新征程上，要以更大的决心和力度推进市场化改革、扩大高水平开放，不断增强推进中国式现代化的动力活力。

We must persist in the benign interaction between high-quality development and high-level security

必须坚持高质量发展和高水平安全良性互动

The world today is undergoing major changes unseen in a century, and China is in a critical period of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Peace and development remain the themes of our times, but factors of instability and uncertainty are increasing, and the risks and challenges we face are becoming more complex. These risks and challenges are unavoidable in the process of China’s development from a large country to a strong one. This requires us to clearly recognize the historical stage of China’s development and the tasks and situation facing national security, better coordinate development and security, and achieve a benign interaction between high-quality development and high-level security.

当今世界正经历百年未有之大变局，我国正处于实现中华民族伟大复兴的关键时期。和平与发展仍是当今时代主题，但不稳定不确定因素增多，我们面临的风险挑战愈加复杂。这些风险挑战是我国由大向强发展进程中无法回避的。这就要求我们认清我国发展所处的历史方位、国家安全面临的形势任务，更好统筹发展和安全，实现高质量发展和高水平安全良性互动。

Security is the prerequisite for development, and development is the guarantee of security. Development is the Party’s primary task in governing and rejuvenating the country and the key to solving all of China’s problems. Without economic and social development, it is impossible to achieve lasting national stability and order, social stability and order, or the people’s peaceful and contented lives. National security is the basic prerequisite for the survival and development of the country and an important cornerstone for stabilizing and securing the state. Without national security, it is impossible to achieve sustainable economic and social development, and the results already achieved will be lost. Facts have proven that development and security complement each other and cannot be neglected, and they are unified in the great practice of upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics.

安全是发展的前提，发展是安全的保障。发展是我们党执政兴国的第一要务，是解决中国一切问题的关键。没有经济社会发展，就不可能实现国家长治久安、社会安定有序、人民安居乐业。国家安全是国家生存发展的基本前提，是安邦定国的重要基石。没有国家安全，就不可能实现经济社会可持续发展，已经取得的成果也会失去。事实证明，发展和安全相辅相成、不可偏废，统一于坚持和发展中国特色社会主义的伟大实践。

Development and security are like the two wheels of a cart or the two wings of a bird; if either side has a clear shortcoming, it will affect the process of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. On the new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country, coordinating development and security means ensuring security through development and promoting development through security. It is necessary both to enhance national security capabilities through development and to deeply advance innovation in national security thinking, institutions, and methods, creating a security environment conducive to economic and social development, giving more consideration to security factors in development, and striving to form a pattern of ensuring security through development and promoting development through security, achieving development that is of higher quality, more efficient, fairer, more sustainable, and more secure. It is essential to strengthen strategic, systematic, and forward-looking research and planning, deeply contemplate ideas and measures to prevent and defuse major security risks, and deeply consider how to integrate national security work into all fields and the entire process of national development, firmly grasping the initiative in national security work.

发展和安全，犹如车之两轮、鸟之两翼，任何一方面有明显短板，都会影响中华民族伟大复兴进程。在全面建设社会主义现代化国家新征程上统筹发展和安全，就是要在发展中保安全、在安全中促发展。既要通过发展提升国家安全实力，又要深入推进国家安全思路、体制、手段创新，营造有利于经济社会发展的安全环境，在发展中更多考虑安全因素，努力形成在发展中保安全、在安全中促发展的格局，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。必须加强战略性、系统性、前瞻性研究谋划，深入思考防范化解重大安全风险的思路举措，深入思考如何把国家安全工作融入国家发展各领域全过程，牢牢掌握国家安全工作主动权。

It is essential to make advancing Chinese-path modernization the biggest political task.

必须把推进中国式现代化作为最大的政治

The Communist Party of China is a Marxist political party. From its very founding, it has taken the realization of communism as its highest ideal and ultimate goal. Guided by this lofty political goal, the CPC has taken seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation as its original aspiration and founding mission, uniting and leading the people of all ethnic groups across the country in the great practice of revolution, construction, and reform, enabling the Chinese nation to achieve a great leap from standing up and growing prosperous to becoming strong. Chinese-path modernization is the socialist modernization led by the Communist Party of China. It has the common characteristics of modernization in all countries and, more importantly, Chinese characteristics based on its own national conditions. It is the modernization of a huge population, the modernization of common prosperity for all the people, the modernization of material civilization and cultural-ethical progress in harmony, the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature, and the modernization of taking the path of peaceful development. Chinese-path modernization represents and embodies the fundamental interests of all the people, encompasses the broadest social demands, the most diverse groups and ideological trends, and reflects the common aspiration of all Chinese people at home and abroad. Making advancing Chinese-path modernization the biggest political task reflects the Party’s profound grasp of its own historical mission and political responsibility in the New Era and provides a fundamental guideline for the work of the entire Party.

中国共产党是马克思主义政党，一经成立就把实现共产主义作为党的最高理想和最终目标。正是在这一崇高政治目标指引下，中国共产党把为中国人民谋幸福、为中华民族谋复兴作为初心和使命，团结带领全国各族人民进行革命、建设、改革伟大实践，使中华民族迎来了从站起来、富起来到强起来的伟大飞跃。中国式现代化，是中国共产党领导的社会主义现代化，既有各国现代化的共同特征，更有基于自己国情的中国特色，是人口规模巨大的现代化、全体人民共同富裕的现代化、物质文明和精神文明相协调的现代化、人与自然和谐共生的现代化、走和平发展道路的现代化。中国式现代化代表和体现着全体人民的根本利益，涵盖了最广泛的社会诉求、最多样的人群和思想动态，体现了海内外所有中华儿女的共同心愿。必须把推进中国式现代化作为最大的政治，体现了我们党对新时代新征程自身历史使命和政治责任的深刻把握，为全党工作提供了根本遵循。

Making advancing Chinese-path modernization the biggest political task requires correctly handling a series of relationships. First, handle the relationship between top-level design and practical exploration. We must adhere to the Chinese characteristics, essential requirements, and major principles of Chinese-path modernization, while deeply exploring the laws of economic and social development and promoting the advancement of the cause through reform and innovation. Second, handle the relationship between strategy and tactics. We must have a high degree of strategic awareness to provide strong strategic support for Chinese-path modernization, while also attaching great importance to tactics to provide scientific methods for strategy implementation. Third, handle the relationship between upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground. We must unswervingly adhere to the Chinese characteristics, essential requirements, and major principles of Chinese-path modernization, uphold the Party’s basic theory, basic line, and basic policy, and ensure the correct direction of Chinese-path modernization, while boldly exploring and striving to innovate, so that innovation becomes common practice throughout society. Fourth, handle the relationship between efficiency and fairness. Chinese-path modernization must not only create higher efficiency than capitalism but also more effectively safeguard social fairness, better achieving the balance, mutual promotion, and unity of efficiency and fairness. Fifth, handle the relationship between vitality and order. We must deepen institutional and mechanism reforms, mobilize the initiative, creativity, and enthusiasm of all sectors of society, while coordinating development and security, developing whole-process people’s democracy, and forming an active and orderly favorable development environment. Sixth, handle the relationship between self-reliance and opening up to the outside world. We must adhere to independence and self-reliance, placing the development of the country and the nation on the basis of our own strength, while continuously expanding high-level opening up, steadily expanding institutional opening up, deeply participating in the global division of labor and cooperation, and expanding the development space for Chinese-path modernization.

把推进中国式现代化作为最大的政治，要正确处理好一系列关系。一是处理好顶层设计与实践探索的关系，既要坚持中国式现代化的中国特色、本质要求和重大原则，又要深入探索经济社会发展规律，通过改革创新来推动事业发展。二是处理好战略与策略的关系，既要有高度的战略意识，为中国式现代化提供强大战略支撑，又要高度重视策略，为战略实施提供科学方法。三是处理好守正与创新的关系，既要毫不动摇坚持中国式现代化的中国特色、本质要求和重大原则，坚持党的基本理论、基本路线、基本方略，确保中国式现代化的正确方向，又要大胆探索，努力创新，让创新在全社会蔚然成风。四是处理好效率与公平的关系，中国式现代化既要创造比资本主义更高的效率，又要更有效地维护社会公平，更好实现效率与公平相兼顾、相促进、相统一。五是处理好活力与秩序的关系，既要深化体制机制改革，调动社会各方面的积极性、主动性、创造性，又要统筹发展和安全，发展全过程人民民主，形成活跃有序的良好发展环境。六是处理好自立自强与对外开放的关系，既要坚持独立自主、自立自强，把国家和民族发展放在自己力量的基点上，又要不断扩大高水平对外开放，稳步扩大制度型开放，深度参与全球产业分工与合作，拓展中国式现代化的发展空间。

The “five musts” deepen the Party’s law-based understanding of doing economic work well in the New Era. We must deeply understand and grasp the scientific connotation of the “five musts,” focus on economic construction as the central task and high-quality development as the primary task, and turn the grand blueprint of Chinese-path modernization into a beautiful reality step by step.

“五个必须”深化了我们党对新时代做好经济工作的规律性认识，我们要深刻认识和领会“五个必须”的科学内涵，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。

Online editor: Paul

网络编辑：保罗