The Real Efficiency of State-Owned Enterprises Is Far Higher Than That of Private Enterprises — A Discussion with Mr. Zhang Wenkui

Mr. Zhang Wenkui, Deputy Director of the Enterprise Research Institute under the Development Research Center of the State Council, recently stated in an interview with a reporter from *China Times* that “a firm resolve should be made to advance the privatization of state-owned enterprises,” proposing that by 2030 the vast majority of state-owned enterprises should be privatized (see the relevant report in *China Times*, August 12, 2012). This proposition warrants serious discussion.

国务院发展研究中心企业所副所长张文魁先生近日在接受华夏时报记者采访时，提出“痛下决心推进国企民营化”，至2030年绝大部分国企完成私有化（见《华夏时报》2012年8月12日相关报道）。这一主张值得认真商榷。

The profit rate of Chinese state-owned enterprises exceeds that of U.S. enterprises

中国国企的利润率超过了美企

In this interview, Mr. Zhang Wenkui argued that state-owned enterprises are inefficient and corrupt, distort resource allocation, and are dragging down China’s economy: “Our analysis shows that the efficiency of state-owned enterprises is clearly lower than that of private enterprises, yet they occupy a large amount of production factors at relatively low prices, disproportionate to their efficiency and scale. The recognized indicators for measuring efficiency are return on equity (ROE) and total factor productivity (TFP). In 2003, the ROE of private enterprises was 13%, and that of state-owned enterprises was 12%; by 2007, the ROE of state-owned enterprises had reached 15%, while that of private enterprises was 23%. Now the gap between state-owned and private enterprises on this indicator is growing ever larger.” Mr. Zhang Wenkui further argued that only by privatizing the vast majority of state-owned enterprises can obstacles to China’s economic growth be removed and a foundation for sustainable growth be laid.

在这次访谈中，张文魁先生认为，国有企业低效腐败、扭曲资源配置，国有企业拖了中国经济的后腿：“我们的分析显示，国企效率明显低于民企，却大量地、以较低价格占用了与其效率和规模不相称的要素。衡量效率，公认的指标一个是净资产回报率（ROE），另一个是全要素生产率（TFP）。2003年民企ROE 是13%，国企ROE 是12%；到2007年国企ROE达15%，民企是23%，现在国企与民企这个指标的差距越来越大。”张文魁先生进而认为，只有将绝大部分国有企业私有化，才能排除中国经济增长的障碍，奠定可持续增长的基础。

The “total factor productivity” Mr. Zhang Wenkui refers to is based on the neoclassical theory of factor value, which holds that under a free market economy, each factor of production—labor, capital, land, etc.—will be remunerated according to its respective marginal productivity. This theory has significant logical flaws and was already refuted during the famous “Two Cambridges” debate in the 1960s. This article will not address this issue for now.

张文魁先生提到的“全要素生产率”，根据的是新古典经济学的生产要素价值论，即认为劳动、资本、土地等各生产要素在自由市场经济中将按照各自的边际生产力获得报酬的理论。这一理论，存在着重大的逻辑缺陷，早在上个世纪60年代的著名的“两个剑桥”的论战中就已经被推翻。本文姑且不涉及这一问题。

Return on equity is relatively easy to understand; it is essentially the ratio of enterprise profit to enterprise net assets (also called owners’ equity).

净资产回报率比较好理解，实际上就是企业利润与企业净资产（又叫所有者权益）之比。

Mr. Zhang Wenkui compared the performance of state-owned and private enterprises in 2003 and 2007. This article uses data from the 2011 volume of the *China Statistical Yearbook* for industrial enterprises above the designated size in 2010. In 2010, the total owners’ equity of all state-owned and state-holding industrial enterprises was 9.8 trillion yuan, total profit (profit before corporate income tax) was 1.4 trillion yuan, and the return on equity was 15.0%.

张文魁先生比较了2003年和2007年国企和私企的表现。本文采用《中国统计年鉴》2011年卷公布的2010年规模以上工业企业数据。2010年，全部国有及国有控股工业企业所有者权益总额9.8万亿元，利润总额（缴纳公司利润所得税之前的利润）1.4万亿元，净资产回报率15.0%。

In the same year, the net fixed capital stock of all U.S. corporate enterprises (roughly equivalent to enterprise net assets) was 12.9 trillion U.S. dollars, total pre-tax profit of all corporate enterprises was 1.4 trillion U.S. dollars, and the average pre-tax profit rate of all corporate enterprises was 11.0%. I believe Mr. Zhang Wenkui would also acknowledge that the United States is the model of a market economy worldwide, with the most complete market economy regulations and the most standardized and fairest competitive environment. The World Bank report *China 2030*, to which Mr. Zhang Wenkui contributed, presumably also implicitly or explicitly takes the United States as its ideal model. The profit rate of Chinese state-owned industrial enterprises exceeds the average level of U.S. enterprises, demonstrating that the efficiency of Chinese state-owned enterprises is not inferior even by global standards.

同年，美国的全部公司企业固定资本净值（与企业净资产大致相当）12.9万亿美元，全部公司企业税前利润1.4万亿美元，全部公司企业的平均税前利润率11.0%。我想张文魁先生也会承认，美国是全世界市场经济的样板，市场经济的法规最为完善，市场竞争的环境最规范、最公平。张文魁先生参与创作的世界银行报告《2030年的中国》想必也是有形无形中以美国为理想模式的。中国国有工业企业的利润率超过了美国企业的平均水平，这说明中国国有企业的效率在世界上也是不逊色的。

The abnormally high profit rate of private enterprises is due to their low social costs

私企利润率畸高是因为负担的社会成本低

To fairly evaluate the efficiency of an enterprise, it is necessary to comprehensively examine whether, in addition to paying various direct financial costs, the enterprise also fully pays the various social costs it should bear, and to assess on this basis whether competition among enterprises is fair.

要公正评价一个企业的效率，必须综合考察该企业除了支付各种直接财务成本以外、是否还充分支付了它本来应当支付的各项社会成本，并且据此来评价企业之间的竞争是否公平。

Let us conduct an in-depth analysis of whether private and foreign enterprises fully pay the various social costs they should bear. In 2010, all state-owned and state-holding industrial enterprises paid a total of 1.6 trillion yuan in value-added tax and main business taxes and surcharges, equivalent to 111% of total profit; all private industrial enterprises paid a total of 770 billion yuan in value-added tax and main business taxes and surcharges, equivalent to 51% of total profit; all foreign-invested and Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan-invested industrial enterprises paid a total of 660 billion yuan in value-added tax and main business taxes and surcharges, equivalent to only 44% of total profit.

让我们来深入分析一下私企、外企是否充分支付了它们应当支付的各项社会成本。2010年，全部国有及国有控股工业企业共缴纳增值税、主营业务税金及附加1.6万亿元，相当于利润总额的111%；全部私营工业企业共缴纳增值税、主营业务税金及附加7700亿元，相当于利润总额的51%；全部外商投资和港澳台商投资工业企业共缴纳增值税、主营业务税金及附加6600亿元，仅相当于利润总额的44%。

It can be seen that private and foreign enterprises obtain profits more than double those of state-owned enterprises, but the taxes they pay, combined, are still less than those paid by state-owned enterprises. This indicates that a considerable portion of the super-high profits of private and foreign enterprises likely stems from insufficient tax payments due to “super-national treatment” and arbitrary tax reductions and exemptions by local governments, and another portion may come from tax evasion and avoidance.

可见，私企和外企获得的利润为国企两倍有余，但是缴纳的税金加起来还没有国企多。这说明，私企、外企的超高利润，其中相当一部分很可能来自于由于各地政府的“超国民待遇”、任意减免税所导致的缴税不足，还有一部分可能来自于偷税漏税。

If private industrial enterprises paid taxes at the same rate as state-owned enterprises, they would owe 1.7 trillion yuan in value-added tax and main business taxes and surcharges, which is 910 billion yuan more than the actual amount paid. This shortfall is equivalent to 60% of the total profit of private industrial enterprises for that year. After deducting the taxes that should have been paid but were not, the total profit that private industrial enterprises should have obtained would be about 600 billion yuan, and the corresponding return on equity would be 11.5%.

如果私营工业企业按照与国有企业同样的税率纳税，那么应缴纳增值税、主营业务税金及附加1.7万亿元，与实际缴纳数额相比，少缴9100亿元，少缴数额相当于私营工业企业当年利润总额的60%。扣除应缴而未缴的税额以后，私营工业企业应得利润总额约6000亿元，应得净资产回报率11.5%。

If foreign-invested and Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan-invested industrial enterprises paid taxes at the same rate as state-owned enterprises, they would owe 1.7 trillion yuan in value-added tax and main business taxes and surcharges, which is about 1 trillion yuan more than the actual amount paid. This shortfall is equivalent to 67% of the total profit of foreign-invested and Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan-invested industrial enterprises for that year. After deducting the taxes that should have been paid but were not, the total profit that foreign-invested and Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan-invested industrial enterprises should have obtained would be about 500 billion yuan, and the corresponding return on equity would be 7.5%.

如果外商投资和港澳台商投资工业企业按照与国有企业同样的税率纳税，那么应缴纳增值税、主营业务税金及附加1.7万亿元，与实际缴纳数额相比，少缴约1万亿元，少缴数额相当于外商投资和港澳台商投资工业企业当年利润总额的67%。扣除应缴而未缴的税额以后，外商投资和港澳台商投资工业企业应得利润总额约5000亿元，应得净资产回报率7.5%。

State-owned enterprises, because they retain some socialist traditions, have relatively better treatment of employees and implement labor laws more strictly. Additionally, it is well known that private and foreign enterprises commonly have sweatshops, brutally exploit cheap labor, and disregard national labor laws and regulations.

国有企业由于还保留一部分的社会主义传统，职工待遇相对较好，执行劳动法相对严格。另外，众所周知，私企和外企普遍存在着血汗工厂、残酷剥削廉价劳动力、藐视国家劳动法规等现象。

In 2010, private industrial enterprises employed a total of 33.12 million workers. If private enterprises paid wages entirely according to the same standards as state-owned enterprises, the total wages payable by all private industrial enterprises would be 1.2 trillion yuan, but only 670 billion yuan was actually paid, a shortfall of 540 billion yuan. This shortfall is equivalent to 36% of the total profit of private industrial enterprises for that year.

2010年，私营工业企业全部就业人员3312万人。如果私营企业全部按照国有企业同样的标准支付工资，那么全部私营工业企业应支付工资总额1.2万亿元，实际仅支付6700亿元，少支付5400亿元，少支付数额相当于私营工业企业当年利润总额的36%。

In 2010, foreign-invested and Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan-invested industrial enterprises employed a total of 26.46 million workers. If foreign enterprises paid wages entirely according to the same standards as state-owned enterprises, the total wages payable by all foreign-invested and Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan-invested industrial enterprises would be 960 billion yuan. Assuming foreign enterprises paid wages at the average wage of other units in the manufacturing industry (which may overestimate the actual wage level paid by foreign enterprises), foreign enterprises would have paid only 810 billion yuan in total wages, a shortfall of 150 billion yuan. This shortfall is equivalent to 10% of the total profit of foreign-invested and Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan-invested industrial enterprises for that year.

2010年，外商投资和港澳台商投资工业企业全部就业人员2646万人。如果外企全部按照国有企业同样的标准支付工资，那么全部外商投资和港澳台商投资工业企业应支付工资总额9600亿元。假设外企按照制造业行业的其他单位平均工资支付工资（有可能高估了外企的实际工资支付水平），则外企仅支付工资总额8100亿元，少支付1500亿元，少支付数额相当于外商投资和港澳台商投资工业企业当年利润总额的10%。

If private and foreign enterprises paid taxes and wages according to the standards of state-owned enterprises, then in 2010, the total profit that all private industrial enterprises should have obtained would be 63 billion yuan, with a corresponding return on equity of 1.2%; the total profit that all foreign-invested and Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan-invested industrial enterprises should have obtained would be 340 billion yuan, with a corresponding return on equity of 5.2%.

如果私企和外企都按照国企的标准纳税和支付工资，那么，2010年，全部私营工业企业应得利润总额630亿元，应得净资产回报率1.2%；全部外商投资和港澳台商投资工业企业应得利润总额3400亿元，应得净资产回报率5.2%。

It can be seen that the super-high profits of China’s private and foreign enterprises are, to a considerable extent, derived from insufficient tax payments and the brutal exploitation of cheap labor. After deducting the various social costs that should actually be borne by private and foreign enterprises, the real capital return rates of private and foreign enterprises are only 1% to 5%, far lower than the capital return rate of state-owned enterprises.

可见，中国私企和外企的超高利润，相当一部分是来自于缴税不足以及残酷剥削廉价劳动力。在扣除了各种实际应由私企和外企支付的社会成本以后，私企和外企的真实资本回报率仅有1%~5%，大大低于国有企业的资本回报率。

State-owned enterprises are the true backbone of China

国企是真正的中国脊梁

While Chinese state-owned enterprises have achieved relatively high economic efficiency by world standards, they also bear a large amount of social costs that should be borne by private and foreign enterprises. If Mr. Zhang Wenkui and China’s mainstream economists insist on misleading the Chinese government into carrying out thorough “marketization,” which is in fact privatization, dismantling and selling off all remaining state-owned enterprises, then, one must ask: at that time, who will bear the various social costs currently borne by state-owned enterprises? Can private and foreign enterprises afford them?

中国国有企业在创造了世界上比较高的经济效率的同时，还负担了大量本应由私企和外企负担的社会成本。如果张文魁先生以及中国的主流经济学家一意孤行，一定要误导中国政府搞彻底的“民营化”，实际就是私有化，将剩余的国有企业全部拆光、卖光；试问，到了那时，现在仍然由国有企业承担的各项社会成本由谁来承担，私企和外企承担得起吗？

Facts have proven that even the United States, with its relatively standardized market economy, cannot avoid major economic crises because private enterprises are completely dominant. Once China is thoroughly privatized, how can it avoid major economic crises? Given the increasing intensification of various social contradictions in China and the very delicate political future, once a major economic crisis erupts, how can political stability be guaranteed?

事实证明，连美国这样比较规范的市场经济，由于私有企业占完全主导地位，也不可能避免大的经济危机。中国一旦彻底私有化了，如何避免大的经济危机。在中国的各种社会矛盾日益激化、政治未来十分微妙的情况下，一旦爆发大的经济危机，政治稳定如何保障？

By that time, private and foreign enterprises will not only fail to pay full taxes to the government but will also continuously pressure the government to reduce taxes; and the government, having lost the backing of state-owned enterprises, will be completely stripped of its bargaining power with private and foreign enterprises in the economic sphere. Moreover, having lost the protective barrier of state-owned enterprises, the basic rights of large numbers of workers will be left unprotected, and they will have no choice but to submit to exploitation by private and foreign enterprises. This will provoke widespread social discontent among workers, leading to a deterioration of public security in normal times, and in times of crisis, the situation will become impossible to control.

到了那时，私企、外企不但不会给政府足额缴税，反而会不断对政府施加压力，要求政府减税；而失去了国企后盾的政府，在经济上将完全失去与私企、外企的谈判能力。另外，失去了国企的屏障，大批劳动者的基本权利将得不到保障，将不得不任由私企、外企剥削，由此引起大批劳动者对社会不满，在平时会导致社会治安恶化，而到了非常时期就会一发不可收拾。

If it truly comes to that point, not only will the current political system be unsustainable, but even ordinary private and foreign enterprises will likely find themselves in the position of "when the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact" [2]2 A Chinese idiom (覆巢之下焉有完卵) meaning that when a fundamental structure collapses, nothing dependent on it can survive.. At that juncture, how will Mr. Zhang Wenkui justify his own theory?

真到了那个地步，不仅现在的政治体制无法维持，就是一般的私企、外企，恐怕也是覆巢之下焉有完卵。到了那个时候，张文魁先生又如何对自己的理论自圆其说？

Online editor: Jia Fei

网络编辑：嘉扉