Bearing in Mind the "Great Affairs of the State" to Systematically Plan Economic and Social Development

General Secretary Xi Jinping has profoundly pointed out: "In governing the country, the most important thing for the Party leading the people is to properly handle various complex political relationships and always maintain the correct political direction of the Party's and the state's undertakings." [1] Economic work is the central task of the Party's governance; the economic activities, economic policies, and economic reforms carried out under the Party's leadership all contain a political character. Paying greater attention to conducting economic work from a political perspective and being adept at observing and analyzing economic and social issues through a political lens is not only an inherent requirement for establishing and practicing a correct outlook on political performance at present, but also bears on whether we can firmly grasp the strategic initiative in advancing Chinese-path modernization.

习近平总书记深刻指出：“党领导人民治国理政，最重要的就是处理好各种复杂的政治关系，始终保持党和国家事业发展的正确政治方向。”经济工作是党治国理政的中心工作，党领导下的经济活动、经济政策、经济改革，都蕴含着政治属性。更加重视从讲政治的高度做经济工作，善于用政治眼光观察和分析经济社会问题，不仅是当前树立和践行正确政绩观的内在要求，更事关我们能否牢牢掌握推进中国式现代化的战略主动权。

At present, the world is undergoing changes unseen in a century, accelerating in their evolution. China's development has entered a period in which strategic opportunities and risks and challenges coexist, with increasing uncertainties and unpredictable factors. Structural contradictions and cyclical fluctuations in the economic sphere are prone to spill over into the social and political spheres. Party members and cadres must comprehend the political implications and practical requirements of the "great affairs of the state," [2] insist on observing the general trend and planning the overall situation from a political height, be adept at discerning the political essence from economic phenomena, predict political impacts from development trends, and continuously enhance their political capacity to manage complex situations.

当前，世界百年未有之大变局加速演进，我国发展进入战略机遇和风险挑战并存、不确定难预料因素增多的时期，经济领域的结构性矛盾和周期性波动容易向社会、政治领域传导。党员干部要领悟“国之大者”的政治意蕴和实践要求，坚持站在政治的高度观大势、谋全局，善于从经济现象中看清政治本质，从发展趋势中预判政治影响，不断增强驾驭复杂局面的政治能力。

For example, food security is a top priority and an eternal issue concerning the survival and development of the nation. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized, "The food issue cannot be viewed only from an economic perspective; it must be viewed from a political perspective. Ensuring national food security is an important foundation for achieving economic development, social stability, and national security," and "The Chinese people's rice bowl must always be firmly held in their own hands." Food is not only a commodity but also a strategic material. Food security is not only an economic issue but also an important foundation for national security. Therefore, it is necessary to view the food issue from a political height and deeply implement the strategy of storing grain in the land and storing grain in technology. [3] It is necessary not only to strengthen the resilience of the food supply chain, enhance the construction of agricultural infrastructure, material equipment, and technological support capabilities, and improve the flexibility of the food supply system, but also to hold the bottom line of farmland protection and strategic reserves, and firmly grasp the assurance of food security as a major political responsibility.

例如，粮食安全是事关国家生存发展的头等大事和永恒课题。习近平总书记强调，“粮食问题不能只从经济上看，必须从政治上看，保障国家粮食安全是实现经济发展、社会稳定、国家安全的重要基础”“中国人的饭碗任何时候都要牢牢端在自己手中”。粮食不仅是商品，更是战略物资。粮食安全不仅是经济问题，也是国家安全的重要基础。因此，必须从政治高度看待粮食问题，深入实施藏粮于地、藏粮于技战略。不但要强化粮食供应链韧性，加强农业基础设施、物质装备与科技支撑能力建设，提高粮食供给体系的弹性，而且要守住耕地保护和战略储备的底线，把保障粮食安全作为重大政治责任抓实抓牢。

Another example is that the independent and controllable nature of key core technologies is the hard support for mastering the initiative in national development. In the international division of labor, developed countries not only obtain high profits through technological monopolies but also implement "long-arm jurisdiction" and political coercion through technological blockades and supply chain decoupling. When a country is highly dependent on others for "bottleneck" technologies, [4] impeded economic circulation can easily translate into strategic passivity in the political sphere. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "Key core technologies cannot be obtained by asking, buying, or begging. Only by mastering key core technologies in our own hands can we fundamentally guarantee national economic security, national defense security, and other securities." Therefore, one cannot always rely on the technological achievements of others to improve one's own technological level, let alone become a technological appendage of other countries. It is necessary to focus on the direction of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, strengthen original innovation and the tackling of key core technologies, promote the achievement of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening as well as the independent controllability of industrial and supply chains, and firmly grasp the initiative in development with the hard power of technology.

又如，关键核心技术自主可控是掌握国家发展主动权的硬支撑。在国际分工体系中，发达国家凭借技术垄断不仅获取高额利润，而且通过技术封锁与供应链脱钩，实施“长臂管辖”与政治胁迫。一国在“卡脖子”技术上高度受制于人时，经济循环不畅容易转化为政治上的战略被动。习近平总书记指出：“关键核心技术是要不来、买不来、讨不来的。只有把关键核心技术掌握在自己手中，才能从根本上保障国家经济安全、国防安全和其他安全。”因此，不能总是指望依赖他人的科技成果来提高自己的科技水平，更不能做其他国家的技术附庸。要聚焦新一轮科技革命和产业变革方向，加强原始创新和关键核心技术攻关，推动实现高水平科技自立自强与产业链供应链自主可控，用技术的硬实力牢牢掌握发展主动权。

Yet another example is that ecological and environmental protection is a major political issue concerning the Party's mission and purpose and a major social issue concerning people's livelihoods. General Secretary Xi Jinping has proposed, "We cannot view the strengthening of ecological civilization construction, the strengthening of ecological and environmental protection, and the promotion of green and low-carbon lifestyles merely as economic issues." Precisely because environmental issues are both major economic issues and major social and political issues, and the people's need for a beautiful ecological environment has become an important aspect of the principal contradiction in society, our Party has always, with a highly responsible attitude towards the people and future generations, firmly grasped ecological civilization construction as a major practical matter concerning people's livelihoods.

再如，生态环境保护是关系党的使命宗旨的重大政治问题和关系民生的重大社会问题。习近平总书记提出，“我们不能把加强生态文明建设、加强生态环境保护、提倡绿色低碳生活方式等仅仅作为经济问题”。正因为环境问题既是重大经济问题也是重大社会和政治问题，人民群众对优美生态环境的需要已成为社会主要矛盾的重要方面，我们党始终以对人民群众、子孙后代高度负责的态度，把生态文明建设作为重大民生实事紧紧抓在手上。

Practice has proven that when deciding whether to conduct an economic activity or evaluating whether an economic policy is scientific, one cannot only look at partial efficiency and short-term gains, but must also consider whether it is conducive to promoting high-quality development and achieving common prosperity, and whether it is conducive to safeguarding national economic security and social stability.

实践证明，决策是否进行一项经济活动，评价一个经济政策是否科学，不能只看局部效率和短期收益，还要看是否有利于促进高质量发展和实现共同富裕，是否有利于维护国家经济安全和社会稳定。

Economic and social development is a systematic project. Carrying out work must comprehensively consider multiple factors such as politics and economics, reality and history, material and culture, development and people's livelihoods, resources and ecology, and domestic and international aspects, and must avoid oversimplification. The more we enter the stage of high-quality development, the higher the demands placed on economic governance capabilities. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: "We must establish a systems concept, grasp the general trend with a correct view of history and the overall situation, balance all considerations, and take the initiative." The systems concept is the concentrated embodiment of Marxist dialectical materialism at the methodological level. Leading cadres need to bear in mind the "great affairs of the state" to systematically plan economic and social development, continuously improve their professional ability to lead economic work, and especially make efforts in the following aspects.

经济社会发展是一个系统工程，开展工作必须综合考虑政治和经济、现实和历史、物质和文化、发展和民生、资源和生态、国内和国际等多方面因素，切忌简单化。越是进入到高质量发展阶段，越是对经济治理能力提出更高的要求。习近平总书记强调：“必须树立系统观念，以正确的历史观、大局观把握大势、统筹兼顾、掌握主动。”系统观念是马克思主义唯物辩证法在方法论层面的集中体现。领导干部需心怀“国之大者”系统谋划经济社会发展，不断提升领导经济工作的专业能力，特别是要在以下几方面下功夫。

Enhance overall awareness. Break the fixed mindset of discussing the economy solely in economic terms, and place macroeconomic governance within the coordinate system of the "great affairs of the state." When analyzing and handling economic issues, one cannot only calculate the economic account and the immediate account; one must calculate the political account and the long-term account. One cannot stop at partial growth and short-term performance; one must connect economic operations with national strategy, institutional security, social stability, and the interests of the people. It is necessary to continuously improve political judgment, political understanding, and political execution, [5] transform the traditional thinking of "judging heroes solely by GDP," [6] and, on the basis of accurately grasping the laws of social development contradictions, achieve the unity of following objective laws and serving subjective purposes.

增强全局意识。打破就经济论经济的思维定式，将宏观经济治理置于“国之大者”的坐标系中考量。在分析和处理经济问题时，不能光算经济账、眼前账，必须算政治账、长远账；不能停留于局部增长和短期绩效，必须把经济运行同国家战略、制度安全、社会稳定和人民利益贯通起来。要不断提高政治判断力、政治领悟力、政治执行力，转变“唯GDP论英雄”的传统思维，在准确把握社会发展矛盾规律的基础上，实现合规律性与合目的性的统一。

Apply dialectical methods. Economic operations are a complex system of intertwined multiple contradictions and dynamic evolution. The key to applying dialectical methods lies in abandoning linear thinking that is either black or white or advances on a single front.

运用辩证方法。经济运行是多重矛盾交织、动态演进的复杂系统。运用辩证方法，关键在于摒弃非黑即白、单兵突进的线性思维。习近平总书记强调：“在任何工作中，我们既要讲两点论，又要讲重点论，没有主次，不加区别，眉毛胡子一把抓，是做不好工作的。”观察和处理经济问题，不能脱离特定历史条件和发展阶段作抽象判断，必须在把握矛盾普遍性的同时，具体分析其阶段性特征和主次关系。特别是在推动高质量发展的过程中，既要看到总量增长的重要性，也要看到结构优化、动力转换和风险防范的紧迫性；既要立足当前解决突出矛盾，又要着眼长远夯实发展基础；既要抓住关键环节精准发力，又要注重各方面政策举措协调配合。只有坚持具体问题具体分析，在统筹兼顾中把握重点，在系统联动中校准方向，在动态平衡中推进发展，才能不断提高驾驭复杂经济局面的能力。

Adhere to bottom-line thinking. Based on the risk points, weak points, and key points of macroeconomic operation, estimate difficulties more fully, conduct risk assessment more deeply, and prepare contingency plans more comprehensively, thereby firmly grasping the initiative in development. In the configuration of the macro-policy toolkit, sufficient strategic depth and policy buffer space must be reserved. At the practical level, food security, energy and resource security, independent control of core technologies in the industrial and supply chains, and preventing and defusing systemic financial risks must be placed in a more prominent strategic position. Only by resolutely abandoning fluke mentality, responding to low-probability events with high-probability thinking, and building economic development on an unshakable foundation of security, can we further enhance the resilience of the national economic circulation system, make the fundamentals more stable, and ensure the smooth progress of China's modernization process.

坚持底线思维。立足宏观经济运行的风险点、薄弱点与关键点，把困难估计得更充分，把风险研判得更深入，把预案准备得更周全，从而牢牢掌握发展主动权。在宏观政策工具箱的配置上，必须留有充足的战略纵深和政策缓冲空间。在实践层面，要将粮食安全、能源资源安全、产业链供应链核心技术自主可控以及防范化解系统性金融风险摆在更加突出的战略位置。唯有坚决摒弃侥幸心理，以大概率思维应对小概率事件，将经济发展建立在牢不可破的安全基础之上，才能进一步增强国民经济循环体系韧性，让基本盘更稳固，确保我国现代化进程顺利推进。

(The author is a Distinguished Research Fellow of the Fujian Provincial Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and a Professor at the School of Marxism, Xiamen University.)

（作者系福建省习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心特约研究员、厦门大学马克思主义学院教授）