Starting from Multiple Aspects to Form a Governance Pattern with Joint Participation of Government, Market, and Society — Fully Leveraging the Advantages of the Socialist Market Economy System

The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC [1]1 The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC: A major meeting of the Communist Party of China’s top leadership, held in July 2024, focused on deepening reform and advancing Chinese modernization. set clear requirements for better exerting the role of the government, emphasizing that scientific macro-regulation and effective government governance are inherent requirements for leveraging the advantages of the socialist market economy system. The plenary session’s decision made arrangements for improving the macro-regulation system, comprehensively and correctly fulfilling government functions, and optimizing the government organizational structure, stressing that the government’s duties and roles are mainly to maintain macroeconomic stability, strengthen and optimize public services, ensure fair competition, strengthen market supervision, maintain market order, promote sustainable development, advance common prosperity, and remedy market failures.

党的二十届三中全会对更好发挥政府作用提出了明确要求，强调科学的宏观调控，有效的政府治理，是发挥社会主义市场经济体制优势的内在要求。全会决定对健全宏观调控体系、全面正确履行政府职能、优化政府组织结构进行了部署，强调政府的职责和作用主要是保持宏观经济稳定，加强和优化公共服务，保障公平竞争，加强市场监管，维护市场秩序，推动可持续发展，促进共同富裕，弥补市场失灵。

The socialist market economy system is a new type of economic system that organically combines the socialist system with the market economy. The advantages of the socialist market economy system are concentrated in the organic unity of an effective market and a well-functioning government. First, scientific macro-regulation is an important component of the socialist market economy system, capable of ensuring the stable and healthy development of the economy in a complex and changing environment. Macro-regulation adjusts economic operations in a timely and appropriate manner through fiscal, monetary, industrial, and other policy tools to achieve macroeconomic goals such as economic growth, price stability, full employment, and balance of payments equilibrium. To this end, it is necessary to improve the formulation and implementation mechanisms of macroeconomic policies, enhancing their foresight, targeting, and effectiveness. Strengthen coordination and cooperation among macroeconomic policies to form policy synergy and improve policy implementation outcomes. Establish and improve a macroeconomic monitoring and early warning system to promptly detect and address emerging and tendency-based issues in economic operations. Second, under the socialist market economy system, the government should primarily assume functions such as economic regulation, market supervision, social management, and public services. Economic regulation mainly involves influencing economic operations through the formulation and implementation of macroeconomic policies; market supervision is about maintaining market order and fair competition; social management aims to promote social harmony and stability; public services involve providing basic public services and ensuring people’s livelihoods. The government should comprehensively and correctly fulfill its various functions, neither excessively intervening in market operations nor allowing unchecked market development. In economic regulation, attention should be paid to the scientific nature and effectiveness of policies; in market supervision, law enforcement and regulatory capacity should be strengthened; in social management, methods and approaches of social governance should be innovated; in public services, service quality and efficiency should be improved. Third, optimizing the government organizational structure is key to improving government efficiency and governance capacity. This includes adjusting government institutional setups, optimizing functional allocations, and clarifying responsibility relationships. By streamlining institutions, merging departments with similar functions, and implementing a large-department system, the number of government levels and departments can be reduced, improving government decision-making and implementation efficiency. Optimizing the government organizational structure helps enhance the government’s governance capacity. The government should strengthen its own construction and management innovation, improving the quality and capability levels of civil servants. At the same time, the government should also strengthen communication and collaboration with all sectors of society, forming a sound pattern of government leadership, social participation, and multi-party co-governance.

社会主义市场经济体制是将社会主义制度与市场经济有机结合的一种新型经济体制。社会主义市场经济体制优势集中体现在有效市场与有为政府的有机统一上。首先，科学的宏观调控是社会主义市场经济体制的重要组成部分，能够确保经济在复杂多变的环境中平稳健康发展。宏观调控通过财政、货币、产业等政策工具，对经济运行进行适时适度的调节，以实现经济增长、物价稳定、充分就业和国际收支平衡等宏观经济目标。为此，必须完善宏观经济政策制定和执行机制，提高政策的前瞻性、针对性和有效性。加强宏观经济政策协调配合，形成政策合力，提高政策实施效果。建立健全宏观经济监测预警体系，及时发现和应对经济运行中的苗头性、倾向性问题。其次，在社会主义市场经济体制下，政府应主要承担经济调节、市场监管、社会管理和公共服务等职能。经济调节主要是通过制定和执行宏观经济政策来影响经济运行；市场监管则是维护市场秩序和公平竞争；社会管理旨在促进社会和谐稳定；公共服务则是提供基本公共服务和保障民生。政府应全面正确地履行各项职能，既不过度干预市场运行，也不放任市场无序发展。在经济调节方面，要注重政策的科学性和有效性；在市场监管方面，要加强执法力度和监管能力；在社会管理方面，要创新社会治理方式和方法；在公共服务方面，要提高服务质量和效率。第三，优化政府组织结构是提高政府效能和治理能力的关键。这包括调整政府机构设置、优化职能配置、理顺职责关系等方面。通过精简机构、合并职能相近的部门、推行大部门制等方式，可以减少政府层级和部门数量，提高政府决策和执行效率。优化政府组织结构有助于提升政府的治理能力。政府应加强自身建设和管理创新，提高公务员素质和能力水平。同时，政府还应加强与社会各界的沟通和协作，形成政府主导、社会参与、多方共治的良好格局。

To fully leverage the advantages of the socialist market economy system, it is necessary to start from the following aspects: First, maintain macroeconomic stability. Implement scientific macro-regulation, using economic means such as fiscal and monetary policies to adjust aggregate social demand and achieve stable national economic operations. Formulate and implement a prudent monetary policy, maintaining reasonable money supply and credit scale to prevent inflation and financial risks. Implement an active fiscal policy, increasing investment in infrastructure construction and promoting industrial upgrading and structural adjustment. Take supply-side structural reform as the main line to promote high-quality development. Accelerate the reinforcement of weaknesses and the strengthening of weak links, improving the quality and efficiency of the supply system. Promote technological innovation and industrial upgrading to enhance the endogenous growth momentum of the economy. Second, strengthen and optimize public services. Raise the level of public services, increase investment in education, healthcare, social security, and other areas related to people’s livelihoods, and improve the equalization level of public services. Promote “Internet + public services” to improve service efficiency and convenience. Strengthen the construction of grassroots public service systems to enhance grassroots public service capacity. Introduce market competition mechanisms and encourage social capital to participate in the provision of public services. Promote the diversification and personalized development of public services to meet the diverse needs of the people. Strengthen the supervision and evaluation of public services to ensure service quality and effectiveness. Third, ensure fair competition. Improve the fair competition system, establish and improve the fair competition review system to prevent the introduction of policies and measures that exclude or restrict competition. Strengthen anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition law enforcement to maintain a fair competition market environment. Legally and equally protect the legitimate rights and interests of all types of business entities, promoting fair competition among various enterprises. Optimize the business environment, deepen reforms to streamline administration, delegate power, improve regulation, and upgrade services, simplify approval processes, and reduce enterprise costs. Strengthen intellectual property protection, crack down on infringement, and stimulate enterprise innovation vitality. Advance the construction of a social credit system to enhance the integrity awareness and self-discipline capabilities of business entities. Fourth, strengthen market supervision. Raise the level of law enforcement, enhance the human resource training and professional skill improvement of regulatory agencies. Establish and improve law enforcement systems and standards to improve law enforcement efficiency and fairness. Innovate regulatory methods, using modern information technology means such as big data and artificial intelligence to raise the level of intelligent regulation. Strengthen cross-regional and cross-departmental cooperation to form regulatory synergy. Encourage industry self-discipline and social supervision to build a multi-governance regulatory pattern. Fifth, maintain market order. Crack down on illegal activities, severely combat illegal acts such as producing and selling counterfeit and shoddy products, publishing false advertisements, and engaging in price monopolies. Strengthen supervision in key areas such as food and medicine to protect the life and health safety of the people. Strengthen consumer education, raise consumers’ awareness of prevention and identification capabilities, and guide consumers to consume rationally. Strengthen the protection of consumer rights and interests, establish and improve consumer complaint and rights protection mechanisms. Sixth, promote sustainable development. Promote the development of clean energy. Increase investment in clean energy to promote the optimization and upgrading of the energy structure. Promote energy-saving and emission-reduction technologies and products to reduce energy consumption and pollution emissions. Strengthen environmental protection, formulate and implement strict environmental protection laws, regulations, and policy measures, and increase environmental supervision and law enforcement. Promote the deep-rooted acceptance of the concept of green development, forming a good atmosphere for the whole society to jointly participate in environmental protection. Seventh, promote common prosperity. Improve the income distribution system, establish and improve a more fair and reasonable income distribution system to narrow income gaps. Raise the income level of low-income groups and expand the size of the middle-income group. Promote coordinated regional development, increase support for underdeveloped regions to promote coordinated regional development. Promote integrated urban-rural development to narrow the urban-rural gap. Eighth, remedy market failures. Strengthen government intervention. In areas where the market fails, the government should strengthen intervention and regulation. By providing public goods, regulating income distribution, and other means, remedy the deficiencies of the market mechanism. Improve the social security system, establish and improve a social security system covering both urban and rural areas to provide basic living security for the people. Strengthen the connection and coordination of the social security system to raise the level of social security.

充分发挥社会主义市场经济体制优势，必须从以下几个方面入手：首先，要保持宏观经济稳定。实施科学的宏观调控，通过财政政策和货币政策等经济手段，调节社会总需求，实现国民经济平稳运行。制定和执行稳健的货币政策，保持合理的货币供应量和信贷规模，防止通货膨胀和金融风险。实施积极的财政政策，加大基础设施建设投入，促进产业升级和结构调整。以供给侧结构性改革为主线，推动经济高质量发展。加快补短板、强弱项，提高供给体系质量和效率。推动科技创新和产业升级，增强经济内生增长动力。其次，要加强和优化公共服务。提高公共服务水平，加大对教育、医疗、社保等民生领域的投入，提高公共服务均等化水平。推广“互联网+公共服务”，提高服务效率和便捷性。加强基层公共服务体系建设，提升基层公共服务能力。引入市场竞争机制，鼓励社会资本参与公共服务供给。推动公共服务多元化、个性化发展，满足人民群众多样化需求。加强公共服务监管和评估，确保服务质量和效果。第三，要保障公平竞争。完善公平竞争制度，建立健全公平竞争审查制度，防止出台排除、限制竞争的政策措施。加强反垄断和反不正当竞争执法，维护公平竞争的市场环境。依法平等保护各类经营主体合法权益，促进各类企业公平竞争。优化营商环境，深化“放管服”改革，简化审批流程，降低企业成本。加强知识产权保护，打击侵权行为，激发企业创新活力。推进社会信用体系建设，提高经营主体的诚信意识和自律能力。第四，要加强市场监管。提高执法水平，加强监管机构的人力资源培养和专业技能提升。建立完善的执法制度和标准，提高执法效率和公正性。创新监管方式，运用大数据、人工智能等现代信息技术手段，提高监管的智能化水平。加强跨地区、跨部门合作，形成监管合力。鼓励行业自律和社会监督，构建多元共治的监管格局。第五，要维护市场秩序。打击违法行为，严厉打击制售假冒伪劣产品、发布虚假广告、进行价格垄断等违法行为。加强对食品、药品等重点领域的监管力度，保障人民群众生命健康安全。加强消费者教育，提高消费者的防范意识和识别能力，引导消费者理性消费。加强消费者权益保护，建立健全消费者投诉和维权机制。第六，要推动可持续发展。促进清洁能源发展。加大对清洁能源的投资力度，推动能源结构优化升级。推广节能减排技术和产品，降低能源消耗和污染排放。加强环境保护，制定和实施严格的环保法规和政策措施，加大环境监管和执法力度。推动绿色发展理念深入人心，形成全社会共同参与环境保护的良好氛围。第七，要促进共同富裕。完善收入分配制度，建立健全更加公平合理的收入分配制度，缩小收入差距。提高低收入群体收入水平，扩大中等收入群体规模。推动区域协调发展，加大对欠发达地区的支持力度，促进区域协调发展。推动城乡融合发展，缩小城乡差距。第八，要弥补市场失灵。加强政府干预，在市场失灵的领域，政府应加强干预和调控。通过提供公共产品、调节收入分配等方式，弥补市场机制的不足。完善社会保障体系，建立健全覆盖城乡的社会保障体系，为人民群众提供基本生活保障。加强社会保障制度的衔接和协调，提高社会保障水平。

In summary, to fully leverage the advantages of the socialist market economy system, it is necessary to start from multiple aspects, form a governance pattern with joint participation of government, market, and society, and promote high-quality economic development and comprehensive social progress.

综上所述，要充分发挥社会主义市场经济体制优势，要从多个方面入手，形成政府、市场、社会共同参与的治理格局，推动经济高质量发展和社会全面进步。

(The authors are respectively a second-level professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of Public Administration, Renmin University of China, and a second-level researcher at the China Academy of Macroeconomic Research and former director of the Market and Price Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission)

（作者分别为中国人民大学公共管理学院二级教授、博导，中国宏观经济研究院二级研究员、国家发改委市场与价格研究所原所长）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧