China’s Economy Has Strong Advantages for Long-Term Stable Development

Since China’s economy entered the New Era, and especially since the 20th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly stressed: China’s economic development possesses strong endogenous driving force, resilience, and potential, and the fundamentals for long-term improvement have not changed and will not change. On November 16, 2023, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit held in San Francisco, General Secretary Xi Jinping specifically pointed out that China’s economy has “four

中国经济进入新时代特别是党的二十大以来，习近平总书记多次强调：中国经济发展具备强劲的内生动力、韧性、潜力，长期向好的基本面没有变也不会变。2023年11月16日，习近平总书记在旧金山举行的亚太经合组织工商领导人峰会上特别指出中国经济具有“四大优势”，即“社会主义市场经济的体制优势、超大规模市场的需求优势、产业体系配套完整的供给优势、大量高素质劳动者和企业家的人才优势”，“我们有信心、更有能力实现长期稳定发展”。习近平总书记的“四大优势”概括精准深刻，揭示了我国经济发展的广阔空间，极大增强了国内外对我国经济发展的信心。

I. China’s Economy Has the Institutional Advantage of the Socialist Market Economy

一、中国经济具有社会主义市场经济的体制优势

The socialist market economy system is an economic system created by the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people based on China’s economic and social development practice, one that can best unleash the potential of social productive forces. It possesses both the general function of the market playing a decisive role in resource allocation and the institutional advantage, absent in the capitalist market economy system, of concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks. As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “The strong leadership of the Party and the institutional advantage of our socialist system in concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks are the fundamental guarantees for achieving stable and sustained economic development and social stability.”

社会主义市场经济体制是中国共产党和中国人民立足我国经济和社会发展实践创立的、最能激发社会生产力潜能的经济体制，既具有市场在资源配置中发挥决定性作用的一般功能，又有资本主义市场经济体制所不具备的集中力量办大事的体制优势。正如习近平总书记指出的：“党的坚强领导，我国社会主义制度能够集中力量办大事的制度优势，是实现经济行稳致远、社会安定的根本保证。”

This economic system is conducive to the sustainability of economic development. The socialist market economy system upholds the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the socialist system, effectively leverages the role of national strategic planning, and considers economic development issues from a long-term strategic perspective. The National Congress of the Communist Party of China, held every five years, makes strategic arrangements for China’s modernization cause. Based on the arrangements of the National Congress, relatively specific “Five-Year Plans” for economic and social development are formulated, thereby ensuring one phase continues from the previous, and one phase builds upon the work of the last. This economic system of ours can ensure the strategic direction and strategic priorities of economic development, enhance the operational efficiency of the national economy, and strengthen the sustainability of China’s economic development.

这种经济体制有利于经济发展的可持续。社会主义市场经济体制坚持中国共产党的领导和社会主义制度，有效发挥国家战略规划的作用，从长远战略上考虑经济发展问题。五年一次中国共产党全国代表大会对中国现代化事业进行战略性布局，按照党代会布局再对经济和社会发展做出比较具体的“五年规划”，从而实现一茬接着一茬续、一茬接着一茬干。我国的这种经济体制能够确保经济发展的战略方向和战略重点，提升了国民经济运行效率，增强我国经济发展的可持续性。

This economic system is conducive to concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks. The market economy has the advantages of flexibility and efficiency, but it also has the disadvantages of spontaneity and lag, showing obvious deficiencies in solving major strategic issues related to the overall and long-term interests of the nation. The socialist market economy system can give full play to the role of the government, leverage the advantages of state-owned enterprises, effectively overcome the shortcomings of the market economy, allocate resources efficiently based on the overall and long-term interests of society, and concentrate resources to accomplish major tasks. After the founding of New China, and especially since reform and opening up, the reason we were able to establish a relatively complete national economic system on the basis of a poor and blank foundation within a few decades, to complete the industrialization process that took Western countries several hundred years, and to create the miracle of rapid economic development and long-term social stability, is to a large extent attributable to the advantage of concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks.

这种经济体制有利于集中力量办大事。市场经济具有灵活高效的优点，但也存在自发性、滞后性的缺点，在解决关系国家整体利益和长远利益的重大战略问题上有明显不足。社会主义市场经济体制可以充分发挥政府作用，发挥国有企业优势，有效克服市场经济的不足，从社会整体和长远利益出发有效配置资源，集中力量办大事。新中国成立后特别是改革开放以来，我们之所以能够用几十年时间在一穷二白基础上建立起比较完整的国民经济体系，能够走完西方国家几百年走过的工业化历程，创造出经济快速发展和社会长期稳定的奇迹，很大程度上要归因于集中力量办大事的优势。

This economic system is conducive to reducing the polarization between rich and poor. The contradiction between fairness and efficiency is a thorny problem that must be faced in the development of a market economy. The socialist market economy system is based on public ownership and aims to realize the fundamental interests of the people. It can not only let the market play a decisive role in resource allocation but also better play the role of the government. It can ensure the efficiency of the market mechanism while also providing the material foundation and institutional guarantee for reducing the polarization between rich and poor and promoting social fairness and justice. In contrast, the capitalist market economy system, based on private ownership, where a small number of capitalists monopolize national wealth and dominate economic development, inevitably leads to the polarization between rich and poor. China’s economic system embodies the fundamental principle of common prosperity, which is beneficial for promoting social fairness, ensuring the stable operation of society, and healthy economic development.

这种经济体制有利于减小贫富两极分化。公平和效率的矛盾是市场经济发展必须面对的棘手难题。社会主义市场经济体制是以公有制为基础、以实现人民的根本利益为目的，既能发挥市场在资源配置中的决定性作用，又能更好发挥政府作用，既能保证市场机制的效率，又为减少贫富两极分化、促进社会公平正义提供物质基础和体制保证。而以私有制为基础的资本主义市场经济体制，少数资本家垄断着国家财富、主导经济发展，必然导致贫富两极分化。我国的经济体制体现了共同富裕这一根本原则，有益于促进社会公平，促进社会平稳运行和经济健康发展。

II. China’s Economy Has the Demand Advantage of an Ultra-Large-Scale Market

二、中国经济具有超大规模市场的需求优势

China possesses the market advantage of an ultra-large scale and enormous domestic demand potential. This is the result of long-term accumulation from quantitative change to qualitative change. “In the coming period, the characteristic of the domestic market dominating the economic cycle in our country will become more apparent, and the potential of domestic demand for economic growth will be continuously released.”

中国拥有超大规模的市场优势和巨大的内需潜力，这是量变到质变长期积累的结果。“未来一个时期，我国国内市场主导经济循环的特征会更加明显，经济增长的内需潜力会不断释放。”

The scale of market demand in China’s economy is enormous. China is a huge economy with a population of over 1.4 billion and a GDP of over 120 trillion yuan, contributing an average of over 30% to world economic growth in recent years. In 2022, China’s total fixed asset investment in the whole society and total retail sales of consumer goods were approximately 57 trillion yuan and 44 trillion yuan respectively; urban and rural residents’ consumption expenditure was nearly 35 trillion yuan; the total import and export volume of physical goods exceeded 42 trillion yuan; and the international market share of goods trade exports was close to 15%, maintaining the position of the world’s largest goods trading country for six consecutive years. China has become an important global consumer market, exerting a strong attraction for global consumption and attracting numerous multinational corporations and international brands to invest and expand their markets.

中国经济市场需求规模庞大。中国是一个具有14亿多人口规模、120多万亿国内生产总值的庞大经济体，这些年对世界经济增长平均贡献率超过30%。2022年，我国全社会固定资产投资和全社会消费零售额总额分别达到57万亿、44万亿左右，城乡居民消费支出将近35万亿、实物商品进出口总额超过42万亿，货物贸易出口国际市场份额接近15%，连续6年保持世界第一货物贸易国地位。中国已经成为全球重要消费市场，对全球消费产生强大吸引力，吸引了众多跨国公司和国际品牌前来投资和拓展市场。

The development potential of China’s economic market is enormous. Calculated in current US dollars, China’s per capita GDP crossed the threshold of the world average in 2021, ranking 63rd in the world in 2022, indicating huge development potential. Currently, the urbanization rate calculated by household registration is still less than 50%, the urban-rural gap and regional gap are still relatively large, and the tasks of new-type urbanization, industrialization, and agricultural modernization are arduous. In particular, the household consumption rate is still less than 30%, lower than the world average. China’s economic development has huge comparative advantages and huge development potential, and the people’s demand space for moving towards a high-quality life is vast. According to the strategic deployment of the 20th National Congress of the CPC, by 2035, China will enter the ranks of moderately developed countries, with per capita GDP reaching over US$20,000. In 2022, China’s per capita GDP was US$12,726. Achieving the development goals set by the 20th National Congress means that by 2035, China’s per capita GDP must grow by at least about 60%. Considering the expansion of China’s middle-income group and the increase in the household consumption rate, China’s domestic consumption capacity is expected to double on the basis of 2022 by 2035.

中国经济市场发展潜力巨大。按照现价美元计算的我国人均国内生产总值，2021年跨过了世界平均水平的门槛，2022年在世界排第63名发展潜力巨大。目前，按照户籍计算的城镇化率还不到50%，城乡差距、区域差距还比较大，新型城镇化、工业化、农业现代化任务繁重。尤其是居民消费率还不到30%，低于世界平均水平。我国经济发展比较优势巨大、发展潜力巨大，人民群众迈向高品质生活的需求空间广阔。按照党的二十大的战略部署，2035年，我国将进入中等发达国家行列，人均GDP将达到2万美元以上。2022年，我国人均GDP为12726美元，实现党的二十大确定的发展目标，意味着到2035年我国人均GDP最低要增长60%左右。考虑到我国中等收入群体规模扩大和居民消费率提升因素，2035年我国国内消费能力有望在2022年基础上实现翻番。

The demand levels of China’s economic market are diverse. China is the world’s largest developing country, with continuously

中国经济市场需求层级多样。我国是世界上最大的发展中国家，消费能力持续增强，这是中国经济超大规模市场的又一特色和优势。我国人口多、区域差异大、消费群体非常多样，不同地区、不同年龄、不同收入水平的消费者有着不同的需求和偏好。作为快速发展中的国家，我国经济将持续增长、城乡居民收入持续提高、民生保障水平不断提升完善，对商品和服务的需求持续升级，对于高端、高品质、高附加值的产品需求将不断增加。同时，我国还是数字化快速转型的国家，数字化将给我国消费增长注入强劲动能。中国消费的多层级、数字化使得我国消费市场将向全领域拓展，这也将为国内外市场经营主体提供发展舞台，为内需扩大提供更广阔的空间。

3. China’s economy has the supply advantage of a complete and well-coordinated industrial system

三、中国经济具有产业体系配套完整的供给优势

Supply and demand are the two basic aspects of the intrinsic relationship in a market economy. At different stages of development, the principal aspect of the contradiction within this unity of opposites—supply and demand—is not immutable; sometimes demand plays the dominant role, and sometimes supply plays the dominant role, thereby causing economic development to exhibit different characteristics. After more than 40 years of reform and opening up, the relationship between aggregate supply and aggregate demand in China’s economic operation has undergone profound changes. Supply is playing an increasingly greater role in the process of economic development, and a strong supply advantage, characterized by a complete and well-coordinated industrial system, has already taken shape.

供给和需求是市场经济内在关系的两个基本方面。在不同发展阶段，供需这对矛盾统一体的矛盾主要方面不是一成不变的，有时需求发挥着主导作用，有时供给发挥着主导作用，从而使经济发展呈现出不同特征。经过改革开放40多年的发展，我国经济运行中的总供给和总需求矛盾关系深刻变化，供给在经济发展过程中的作用越来越大，产业体系配套完整的强大供给优势已经形成。

The supply side of the Chinese economy is making a comprehensive push. Because China’s level of productive forces was relatively low in the early period of reform and opening up, for a considerable time after reform and opening up, urban and rural residents first had to solve the problems of food, clothing, housing, and transportation, and economic development mainly relied on the pull of basic demand. Entering the New Era, the Party Central Committee proposed that at the current stage, the principal contradiction in China’s economic development has transformed into a structural problem, with the main aspect of the contradiction on the supply side. It is necessary to take supply-side structural reform as the main line of economic work, optimize the supply structure, and improve the quality and efficiency of supply. Through efforts in recent years, China’s supply side has made a comprehensive push, a new economic system representing the direction of industrial development is taking shape, and a new development trend of thriving supply and demand is forming.

中国经济的供给侧正在全面发力。由于我国改革开放初期生产力水平比较低，改革开放以后相当长时期里，城乡居民首先要解决的是吃穿住行的问题，经济发展主要依靠基本需求拉动。进入新时代，党中央提出，现阶段我国经济发展主要矛盾已转化成结构性问题，矛盾主要方面在供给侧，必须以供给侧结构性改革为经济工作主线，优化供给结构，提高供给的质量和效益。经过这些年的努力，我国供给侧全面发力，代表产业发展方向的新经济体系正在成型，新型的供需两旺的发展态势正在形成。

The Chinese economy has the most complete range of industrial categories. China is also a country with a vast territory and complex geographical conditions; “covering all aspects” is an inevitable requirement for the industrial system of such a catch-up large country. After the development since the founding of New China, especially over the 40-plus years of reform and opening up, we have not only established a relatively sound basic industrial system but also have an industrial layout in the world’s first echelon, forming the most complete range of industrial categories globally. China is the only country in the world that possesses all industrial categories in the United Nations industrial classification, covering 41 major industrial categories, 207 medium categories, and 666 small categories. In 2022, China’s total industrial added value reached 40.2 trillion yuan, accounting for 33.2% of GDP; among this, the added value of manufacturing reached 33.5 trillion yuan, accounting for 27.7% of GDP and about 30% of the global share, nearly twice that of the United States, with the scale of manufacturing ranking first in the world for 13 consecutive years. With the continuous upgrading of China’s manufacturing industry, China’s advantageous position in the global industrial layout will become more pronounced, providing strong support for the economic development of China and the world.

中国经济的工业门类最为齐全。我国又是一个地域广大、区位条件错综复杂的国家，“面面俱到”是对这种追赶型大国工业体系的必然要求。经过新中国成立以来尤其是改革开放40多年的发展，我们不但拥有了比较健全的基础工业体系，也有了世界第一方阵的产业布局，已经形成了全球最为齐全的工业门类，成为拥有41个工业大类、207个中类、666个小类的全世界唯一拥有联合国产业分类中全部工业门类的国家。2022年，中国全部工业增加值达40.2万亿元大关，占GDP比重达到33.2%；其中制造业增加值达33.5万亿元，占GDP比重为27.7%，占全球比重已经达到30%左右、接近美国的两倍，制造业规模连续13年居世界首位。随着中国制造业的持续升级，中国在全球工业布局中的优势地位将更加明显，将为中国和世界经济发展提供强大支撑。

The Chinese economy has a complete industrial supply system. In the process of China’s industrial modernization, we have both followed the laws of industrial evolution and proceeded from China’s national conditions, adhering to agriculture as the foundation and industry as the driving force, gradually extending and expanding into the tertiary sector. Especially in the process of open development, starting from the establishment of wholly foreign-owned and joint ventures, from importing components for modular “assembly” to achieving self-production of components and then extending to both ends of the “smiling curve.” At present, the vast majority of China’s industrial products have achieved full industrial chain expansion from self-research and development of components to product integration and assembly, after-sales service, and financial services. With the entry into the post-industrialization and new-type industrialization era, China’s industrial development has achieved a complete industrial system from traditional agriculture dominated by planting and breeding, basic industry for industrial goods production, to the development of modern service industries. The proportion of added value of China’s tertiary sector in GDP has risen from over 20% in the early period of reform and opening up to about 55% currently. The continuously developing and optimizing national economic system, especially the sound service industry system, complements agriculture and industry, enabling China’s industrial system to maintain a healthy development momentum and providing a strong foundation for the overall development of the national economic system and the optimization and upgrading of supply capacity.

中国经济的产业供给体系完备。在我国产业现代化发展进程中，我们既遵循产业演进规律，又从中国国情出发，坚持以农业为基础、工业为牵引，逐步向第三产业延伸拓展。尤其是在开放发展进程中，从建立独资、合资企业起步，从进口零部件进行模块化“组装”，到实现零部件自我生产进而向“微笑曲线”两边延伸。目前，我国绝大多数工业产品，已经实现从零部件的自我研发和生产产品集成组装、售后和金融服务等全产业链拓展。随着进入后工业化、新型工业化时代，我国产业发展已经实现由种植业养殖业为主的传统农业、工业品生产的基础工业向现代服务业发展的完整产业体系。我国第三产业增加值占国内生产总值比重，已经由改革开放初期的20%多上升了目前55%左右。不断发展和持续优化的国民经济体系，特别是健全的服务业体系，与农业、工业形成互补，使我国产业体系保持着健康发展势头，为国民经济体系整体发展、供给能力优化提升提供强大基础。

IV. The Chinese Economy Has the Talent Advantage of a Large Number of High-Quality Workers and Entrepreneurs

四、中国经济具有大量高素质劳动者和企业家的人才优势

People are the decisive factor in social productive forces, and human resources are a unique and huge advantage of our country.

人是社会生产力中的决定性因素，人力资源是我国特有的巨大优势。

China’s population “quantity dividend” remains substantial. After the founding of New China, the improvement in people’s living standards also brought about “population prosperity” and a great development of the population. The three generations born in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s precisely provided sufficient labor supply for China’s reform and opening up. The annual increase in the labor force aged 18 and above remained basically above 20 million, and China’s economic development thus gained a huge population quantity dividend. With the improvement in people’s living standards, the fertility intentions of the younger generation have changed to some extent. However, due to the large base size of China’s population, the annual number of births remains high globally. Starting in 1998, the number of newborns fell below 20 million. But from 1999 to 2018, over 20 years, China’s annual births still exceeded 15 million. That is to say, at least until around 2035, the annual increase in China’s labor force will still exceed 15 million, and it will continue to have a huge labor quantity dividend.

中国人口“数量红利”仍然庞大。新中国成立后，人民生活水平的改善也带来“人丁兴旺”、人口大发展，20世纪50年代、60年代、70年代出生的这三代人，正好为我国改革开放提供了充足的劳动力供应，每年新增18岁以上的劳动力基本保持在2000万以上，我国经济发展因此获得了巨大的人口数量红利。随着人民生活水平改善，青年一代生育意向有了一定变化。但是，由于我国人口基数规模庞大，年出生人口量仍然高居全球前列。1998年开始，新出生人口跌破2000万。但是，从1999年到2018年的20年里，我国年出生人口依然超过1500万。就是说，至少到2035年前后，我国每年新增加的劳动力仍将超过1500万，将继续拥有巨大的劳动力数量红利。

China is ushering in a huge “talent dividend.” The demographic dividend depends not only on total quantity but more on quality; not only on population but more on talent. Since reform and opening up, China has established the world’s largest education system. Taking higher education as an example, the number of undergraduate and college graduates grew from 147,000 in 1980 to 11.58 million in 2023, with a total of over 86 million graduating from 2012 to 2023; the number of graduate students graduating annually grew from 476 in 1980 to 862,000 in 2022, with a total of 6.3 million graduates from 2012 to 2022. In addition, the scale of returning overseas students is increasing, from over 270,000 in 2012 to over 580,000 in 2019. At the same time, China has built the world’s largest vocational education system, with secondary and higher vocational schools sending about 10 million high-quality technical and skilled talents to society each year. Currently, the number of people in China who have received higher education exceeds 240 million, and the average years of education for the new labor force has reached 14 years. The vast army of high-quality talent has become the backbone supporting the transformation and upgrading of the national industrial structure and promoting the improvement of China’s manufacturing and service levels. China’s “talent dividend” is a greater advantage in human resources and will provide stronger momentum for the sustainable, high-quality development of China’s economy.

中国正在迎来巨大的“人才红利”。人口红利既要看总量、更要看质量，既要看人口、更要看人才。改革开放以来，我国建立起了全球最为庞大的教育体系。以高等教育为例，本专科毕业生从1980年的14.7万人增长到2023年的1158万人，2012年到2023年总共毕业了8600多万；每年毕业的研究生，由1980年的476人增长到2022年的86.2万，从2012年到2022年毕业生规模为630万。另外，回国留学生规模越来越大，2012年是27万多，2019年就增长到58万多。同时，我国已建成全世界规模最大的职业教育体系，每年中高职学校向社会输送1000万左右的高素质技术技能人才。我国目前接受高等教育的人口已超过2.4亿，新增劳动力平均受教育年限达到14年。庞大的高素质人才大军，已经成为支撑国家产业结构转型升级、推进中国制造和服务水平提升的中坚力量。我国“人才红利”是更大的人力资源优势，将为我国经济可持续、高质量发展提供更加强劲的动能。

China’s “entrepreneur dividend” is full of vitality. Enterprises are the main body of market economic activities, and entrepreneurs are the soul of enterprises. China’s entrepreneur team has grown and matured along with reform and opening up. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, with the gradual improvement of China’s socialist market economy system, a strong enterprise team has formed in China. Taking the private economy as an example, as of September 2023, the number of registered private enterprises nationwide exceeded 52 million, and the number of registered individual industrial and commercial households reached 122 million. Facing the fiercely competitive domestic and international market environment, a large-scale Chinese entrepreneur team with a clear market orientation, firm rule-of-law awareness, and broad international vision is creating a broader prospect for high-quality development in the New Era.

中国“企业家红利”活力无限。企业是市场经济活动的主体，企业家则是企业的灵魂。我国企业家队伍是伴随改革开放成长壮大起来的。党的十八大以来，随着我国社会主义市场经济体制逐步完善，一个强大的企业队伍在中国已经形成。以民营经济为例，截至2023年9月，全国登记在册民营企业数量超过5200万户，登记在册个体工商户已达1.22亿户。面对激烈竞争的国内外市场环境，一支市场化导向鲜明、法治化意识坚定、国际化视野广阔的规模庞大的中国企业家队伍，正为新时代开创更加广阔的高质量发展前景。

Online Editor: Zhang Fujun

网络编辑：张福军