Grasp the Five "Must Be Coordinated" to Ensure the Economic Ship Sails Steadily and Far

The Central Economic Work Conference proposed that it is necessary to coordinate the relationship between an effective market and a proactive government, forming an economic order that is both "able to be liberalized" and "able to be managed." It is necessary to coordinate the relationship between aggregate supply and aggregate demand, smoothing the circulation of the national economy. It is necessary to coordinate the relationship between cultivating new drivers and renewing old drivers, developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions. It is necessary to coordinate the relationship between optimizing increments and revitalizing stock, comprehensively improving the efficiency of resource allocation. It is necessary to coordinate the relationship between improving quality and expanding total volume, consolidating the material foundation of Chinese-path modernization. The five "Must Be Coordinated" are programmatic requirements put forward by the Party Central Committee based on the trend of economic development. This scientific thesis both summarizes existing practice and, more importantly, provides guidance and inspiration for future development, further enriching and developing Xi Jinping's economic thought.

中央经济工作会议提出，必须统筹好有效市场和有为政府的关系，形成既“放得活”又“管得住”的经济秩序。必须统筹好总供给和总需求的关系，畅通国民经济循环。必须统筹好培育新动能和更新旧动能的关系，因地制宜发展新质生产力。必须统筹好做优增量和盘活存量的关系，全面提高资源配置效率。必须统筹好提升质量和做大总量的关系，夯实中国式现代化的物质基础。五个“必须统筹好”是党中央基于经济发展态势提出的纲领性要求。这一科学论断，既是对已有实践的总结概括，更是对未来发展的启示引领，进一步丰富和发展了习近平经济思想。

Effective Market and Proactive Government

有效市场和有为政府

In the process of developing the socialist market economy, a major practical and theoretical issue is how to handle the relationship between the government and the market. "It is necessary to coordinate the relationship between an effective market and a proactive government" actually contains three key terms: coordinate, effective market, and proactive government.

在社会主义市场经济的发展过程中，一个重大的现实和理论问题就是如何处理好政府与市场的关系。“必须统筹好有效市场和有为政府的关系”，实际上有三个关键词：统筹、有效市场、有为政府。

"Coordinate" means to balance and synergize, not to favor one over the other. On the issue of the role of the market and the role of the government, dialectics and the "two-point approach" must be applied; both the "invisible hand" and the "visible hand" must be used well. Coordinating the effective market and the proactive government can, in theory, enhance the understanding of the socialist market economy, and in practice, can resolve the dual failure problem caused by the uncoordinated relationship between government and market.

统筹的意思是兼顾、协同，不能厚此薄彼。在市场作用和政府作用的问题上，要讲辩证法、两点论，“看不见的手”和“看得见的手”都要用好。统筹好有效市场和有为政府，在理论上能够提升对社会主义市场经济问题的认知，在实践中能够破解政府与市场关系不协调所导致的双重失灵问题。

An effective market, first and foremost, means giving full play to the fundamental and decisive role of the market in resource allocation. Generally speaking, the market has the highest efficiency in resource allocation. In the next step, existing institutional and mechanistic obstacles that do not meet market requirements should be actively removed, and the constraints that bind market vitality should be broken. An effective market is key to being able to guide healthy market competition. Practice shows that in the development of the market economy, excessive price competition easily arises. In the next step, "involution-style" competition [1]1 "Involution-style competition" (内卷式竞争) refers to a form of excessive, zero-sum competition within a limited space or system, where participants intensify their efforts without achieving proportional gains or genuine progress, often leading to diminishing returns and burnout. can be comprehensively rectified, and government and enterprise behavior further standardized. An effective market also needs to actively respond to national strategies, becoming an important driving force for promoting innovation, especially original and disruptive innovation, allowing all kinds of advanced and high-quality production factors to flow smoothly towards the development of new quality productive forces.

有效市场，首要的是发挥好市场在资源配置中的基础性、决定性作用。普遍而言，市场在资源配置方面有着最高的效率。下一步，应积极破除不适应市场要求的现有体制机制障碍，打破束缚市场活力的条条框框。有效市场，关键在于能够引领市场良性竞争。实践表明，在市场经济发展过程中，很容易产生过度价格竞争问题。下一步，可综合整治“内卷式”竞争，进一步规范政府和企业行为。有效市场，还需积极响应国家战略，成为推动创新特别是原创性、颠覆性创新的重要驱动力，让各类先进优质生产要素向发展新质生产力顺畅流动。

However, the market is not always effective. This requires the tangible hand of the government to act proactively, in order to correct market failures and ensure sustained and healthy economic development. On the one hand, it should act proactively in macro-control and smoothing economic fluctuations. For example, during a period of downward economic growth, more proactive fiscal policies, monetary policies, and other macro-control measures should be adopted to help the economy emerge more quickly from the growth trough. On the other hand, it is necessary to ensure long-term and strategic investment, consolidating the foundation for high-quality development. For example, basic research has a very strong positive externality for innovation across society; relevant departments can provide funding through scientific research projects and other means.

然而，市场并不总是有效的。这就需要政府有形之手积极作为，以矫正市场失灵，确保经济持续健康发展。一方面，要在宏观调控、熨平经济波动等方面积极作为。比如，在经济增长下行期，应该通过更加积极的财政政策、货币政策等宏观调控手段，推动经济更快地走出增长低谷。另一方面，要确保长期性、战略性投入，夯实高质量发展基础。比如，基础研究对全社会创新具有非常强的正外部性，有关方面可通过科研项目等方式予以资助。

Under the new circumstances, there is still much work to be done in building a unified national market. A proactive government must make efforts to further create a fair competition market environment. For example, accelerate the implementation of a unified national system of property rights protection, market access, fair competition, and social credit; establish unified markets for land, labor, data, and energy. At the same time, attention should be paid to providing safety-net services, including basic social security, social relief, re-employment training, hardship assistance, and supporting affordable housing, and accelerate the improvement of the market exit system for business entities.

新形势下，建设全国统一大市场还有很多工作需要推进。有为政府，要在进一步营造公平竞争的市场环境上下功夫。比如，加快实行全国统一的产权保护制度、市场准入制度、公平竞争制度、社会信用制度，建立统一的土地市场、劳动力市场、数据市场、能源市场等。同时，要注重提供兜底服务，包括基本的社会保障、社会救济以及再就业培训、纾困救助、保障房配套等，并加快完善市场主体退出制度等。

Aggregate Supply and Aggregate Demand

总供给和总需求

After years of development, China already possesses the world's largest and most complete manufacturing system. Among 500 major industrial products, the output of over 220 types ranks first globally. While supply capacity has greatly increased, it should also be noted that there are situations of incoordination, asynchrony, and mismatch between aggregate supply and aggregate demand. Aggregate supply and aggregate demand are the core issues of macroeconomic operation. Coordinating the relationship between the two is conducive to maintaining a smooth circulation of the national economy and achieving stable economic operation.

经过多年发展，中国已拥有全球规模最大、门类最齐全的制造业体系。在500种主要工业产品中，有220多种产品产量位居全球第一。在供给能力大幅提升的同时，也应看到总供给与总需求之间存在不协调、不同步、不匹配的情况。总供给和总需求是宏观经济运行的核心问题。统筹好二者关系，有利于保持国民经济循环畅通，实现经济平稳运行。

It is necessary to maintain existing advantages in the supply side and continuously optimize industrial supply capacity. It should be recognized that within aggregate supply, there is a portion of low-quality, inefficient supply capacity that cannot meet the needs of high-quality development. This portion of supply capacity needs to be dealt with by category. For example, some production capacity with backward technology, high resource consumption, and low market potential should be shut down; for production capacity with certain market potential, it should be upgraded and transformed through technological improvement, digitalization, and other means.

要保持在供给方面的既有优势，对产业供给能力进行持续优化。应该看到，在总供给中，存在部分供给能力低质、低效的情况，不能适应高质量发展的需要。对这一部分供给能力，需分类进行处置。比如，对部分技术落后、资源消耗高、市场潜力小的产能，应予以关停；对有一定市场潜力的产能，应通过技术提升、数字化等方式进行提升改造。

At the same time, great importance should be attached to the role of scientific and technological innovation in improving supply quality, promoting the integrated development of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, and leading diversified demand with high-quality supply. Take the new energy vehicle industry as an example. China began supporting it as a strategic emerging industry in 2009. By 2021, China's new energy vehicle patent applications accounted for 41.20% of the global total, and breakthroughs were made in range, charging speed, safety, and reliability. Correspondingly, China's new energy vehicle production and sales in 2023 were 9.587 million and 9.495 million units respectively, with a market share of 31.6%, hitting a record high. Globally, China's new energy vehicle production and sales have ranked first in the world for nine consecutive years. In 2023, its share of the global market reached 65%. Since July 2024, retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles have begun to exceed those of fuel vehicles, becoming the main force in the automobile consumer market. This series of data shows that industrial and product innovation that meets the people's aspiration for a better life can greatly stimulate consumption potential.

同时，要高度重视发挥科技创新在供给质量提升方面的作用，推动科技创新和产业创新融合发展，以高质量供给引领多样化需求。以新能源汽车产业为例，中国自2009年开始将其作为战略性新兴产业予以大力支持。到2021年，中国新能源汽车专利申请量占全球的41.20%，并在续航里程和充电速度、安全性与可靠性等方面取得突破。与之相伴，中国新能源汽车产销量在2023年分别为958.7万辆、949.5万辆，市场占有率达到31.6%，创下历史新高。从全球看，中国新能源汽车产销量连续9年居世界第一。2023年，在全球市场的占比达65%。2024年7月以来，新能源乘用车零售销量开始超过燃油车，成为汽车消费市场的主力。这一系列数据说明，符合人民对美好生活向往的产业创新、产品创新，可以极大激发消费潜力。

The Central Economic Work Conference clearly proposed "carrying out large-scale application demonstration actions for new technologies, new products, and new scenarios," which is to use innovation to lead and deepen supply-side structural reform, drive new consumer demand with high-quality supply, thereby achieving synergy between supply and demand and ensuring a virtuous cycle of the national economy. It must be recognized that in coordinating the relationship between aggregate supply and aggregate demand, "consumption" is the core variable. Insufficient domestic demand is mainly manifested as insufficient consumption. In the first three quarters of 2024, the contribution rate of consumption expenditure showed a downward trend. However, data shows that China's consumption rate is about 20% lower than that of developed countries, so there is still potential to be tapped in "vigorously boosting consumption, improving investment efficiency, and expanding domestic demand in all aspects."

中央经济工作会议明确提出“开展新技术新产品新场景大规模应用示范行动”，就是要以创新牵引、深化供给侧结构性改革，以高质量供给带动消费新需求，进而实现供给和需求的协同，确保国民经济良性循环。必须看到，统筹好总供给和总需求的关系，“消费”是核心变量。国内需求不足主要表现为消费不足。2024年前三季度，消费支出的贡献率呈现下滑趋势。但数据显示，中国的消费率与发达国家相比低20%左右，“大力提振消费、提高投资效益，全方位扩大国内需求”还有潜力可挖。

Drawing on international experience, China has entered a stage of rapid growth in service consumption. As income levels rise, consumer demand is transforming towards personalization, experience, convenience, and quality; quality consumption, emotional consumption, and interest-based consumption are gradually becoming mainstream. Service consumption should be taken as an important lever for expanding and upgrading consumption, supporting consumption in areas such as cultural tourism, elderly care, childcare, and domestic services, and promoting the high-quality development of service consumption. It should also be noted that there is a mismatch between supply and demand in service consumption: homogeneous, low-end supply is excessive; the total volume of services with guaranteed quality and moderate prices is insufficient; and high-end, customized, and specialized services are clearly lacking. Efforts should focus on coordinating service supply and demand, including actively developing the debut economy, the ice and snow economy, and the silver economy, thereby coordinating the relationship between aggregate supply and aggregate demand.

从国际经验看，中国已进入服务消费快速增长的阶段。随着收入水平提升，消费需求向个性化、体验化、便利化、品质化转型，品质消费、情感消费、兴趣消费等逐渐成为主流。要把服务消费作为消费扩容升级的重要抓手，支持文旅、养老、育幼、家政等消费，促进服务消费高质量发展。还要看到，服务消费存在供需错位，同质化、低端供给过剩，质量有保障、价格适中的服务总量不足，高端、定制和特色服务明显不足。要着重统筹好服务供给与需求，包括积极发展首发经济、冰雪经济、银发经济，以此来统筹好总供给和总需求的关系。

On this basis, attention should also be paid to maintaining the balance between domestic demand and external demand. In the first three quarters of 2024, the net export of goods and services contributed 23.8% to economic growth. Against the backdrop of an unstable external environment with increasing uncertainties, it is necessary to unswervingly promote high-level opening up, actively develop service trade, green trade, and digital trade, and help stabilize foreign trade and foreign investment.

在此基础上，还应注重保持内需与外需的平衡。2024年前三季度，货物和服务净出口对经济增长贡献率为23.8%。在外部环境不稳定、不确定因素增多的背景下，要坚定不移推进高水平对外开放，积极发展服务贸易、绿色贸易、数字贸易，助力稳外贸、稳外资。

Cultivating New Drivers and Renewing Old Drivers

培育新动能和更新旧动能

Cultivating new drivers and renewing old drivers are important pathways for accelerating the formation of new quality productive forces. The "new" in new quality productive forces emphasizes establishing the new while abolishing the old, and establishing the new before abolishing the old, based on the existing foundation of economic development. On the one hand, before new industries and new models are established and new drivers are formed, it is not advisable to be overly hasty in abolishing old industries, old models, and old drivers; on the other hand, new quality productive forces can also be derived from the existing industrial system, and the renewal and transformation of old drivers cannot be ignored.

培育新动能和更新旧动能，是加快形成新质生产力的重要途径。新质生产力之“新”，强调在现有经济发展基础上有破有立、先立后破。一方面，在新产业和新模式未确立、新动能未形成之前，不宜操之过急地破除旧产业、旧模式、旧动能；另一方面，新质生产力也可以从现有的产业体系中衍生出来，不能忽略对旧动能的更新与改造。

For example, agriculture is an ancient industry, and regions dominated by agriculture are often seen as a sign of a low level of economic development. In fact, modern agriculture can form new quality productive forces through the large-scale application of biotechnology, digital technology, intelligent technology, and the like. Under the new circumstances, it is necessary to focus on the goal of building a strong agricultural country, increase scientific and technological innovation in areas such as seed industry and agricultural machinery and the application of innovation achievements, promote the development of modern agriculture with innovative technology, and ensure national food security.

举个例子，农业是一个古老的产业，以农业为主导的区域常被视为经济发展水平不高的表现。其实，现代农业可以通过大规模应用生物技术、数字技术、智能技术等形成新质生产力。新形势下，有必要围绕建设农业强国目标，加大种业、农机等科技创新和创新成果应用，用创新科技推进现代农业发展，保障国家粮食安全。

Looking further, in order to promote the sustained recovery and improvement of the economy, continuously raise the people’s living standards, and maintain social harmony and stability, relevant policies should, while cultivating new drivers of growth, also take into account the renewal of old drivers, such as promoting the digital and intelligent transformation of industries with old drivers, and tapping development potential from cost reduction, efficiency enhancement, and quality improvement.

进一步看，为了推动经济持续回升向好、不断提高人民生活水平、保持社会和谐稳定，相关政策在培育新动能的同时，也应兼顾更新旧动能，如推动旧动能产业的数字化、智能化转型，从降本增效提质中挖掘发展潜力。

Optimizing Increments and Revitalizing Stock

做优增量和盘活存量

High-quality development depends both on new increments and on a process of continuously revitalizing stock. Coordinating well the relationship between optimizing increments and revitalizing stock is the necessary path to comprehensively improving the efficiency of resource allocation.

高质量发展既依赖于新的增量，也是一个对存量进行持续盘活的过程。统筹好做优增量和盘活存量的关系，是全面提高资源配置效率的必由之路。

In terms of optimizing increments, the main approach is to encourage factors such as land, labor, capital, technology, and data to concentrate in areas with high efficiency, good returns, and great potential through precise policy guidance, improving market mechanisms, further optimizing the business environment, and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of private enterprises.

在做优增量方面，主要是通过精准政策引导、完善市场机制、进一步优化营商环境、保护民营企业合法权益等，鼓励土地、劳动力、资本、技术、数据等要素向效率高、效益好、潜力大的领域集中。

In terms of revitalizing stock, revitalizing stock land and commercial and office housing, and promoting the disposal of stock commercial housing is a key task. As of November 2024, the floor area of commercial housing for sale was 732 million square meters, a year-on-year increase of 12.1%. Based on the current sales rate, the destocking cycle is approximately 3.8 years. By increasing central government purchases and storage, strongly supporting rigid and improvement-oriented housing demand, and other means, it is expected to further revitalize the real estate stock. Housing should be determined by population, land by housing, and funds by housing, to promote a balance between real estate supply and demand and market stability; procurement and construction should be determined by demand, to increase the supply of government-subsidized housing, and the supply of subsidized sale housing should be increased.

在盘活存量方面，盘活存量用地和商办用房、推进处置存量商品房是一项重点工作。截至2024年11月，商品房待售面积7.32亿平方米，同比增长12.1%。按照现有的销售速度，去化周期约为3.8年。通过加大中央收储、大力支持刚性和改善性住房需求等方式，有望进一步盘活房地产存量。要以人定房、以房定地、以房定钱，促进房地产供需平衡、市场稳定；以需定购、以需定建，增加保障性住房供给，配售型保障房供给要加大力度。

In addition, implicit debts formed through various local government financing platform enterprises have constrained local governments’ ability to continuously provide high-quality public services and ensure financial security. To this end, starting from 2024, 800 billion yuan will be allocated annually for five consecutive years from newly issued local government special bonds to supplement government fund financial resources, specifically for debt resolution, with a cumulative total of 4 trillion yuan in implicit debt that can be replaced.

此外，通过各种地方融资平台企业形成的隐性债务，对地方政府持续提供优质公共服务以及确保金融安全等形成了制约。为此，从2024年开始，连续5年每年从新增地方政府专项债券中安排8000亿元，补充政府性基金财力，专门用于化债，累计可置换隐性债务4万亿元。

Improving Quality and Expanding Total Volume

提升质量和做大总量

High-quality development requires the unity of quantity and quality. Coordinating well the relationship between improving quality and expanding total volume is an important measure to consolidate the material foundation of Chinese-path modernization.

高质量发展，需要量和质的统一。统筹好提升质量和做大总量的关系，是夯实中国式现代化物质基础的重要举措。

Expanding total volume provides an important basis for quality improvement. In 2023, China’s per capita GDP was 89,380 yuan. According to the World Bank’s classification standards, we are moving from the upper-middle-income stage to the high-income stage. To cross the “middle-income trap” and achieve the “Two Centenary Goals”[n], the economy still needs to maintain a certain growth rate. This is also conducive to advancing work on expanding employment, improving people’s livelihoods, and preventing and defusing risks in a coordinated manner.

做大总量，为质量提升提供重要基础。2023年，中国人均GDP为8.938万元。按照世界银行的划分标准，我们正由中高收入阶段向高收入阶段迈进。要跨越“中等收入陷阱”、实现“两个一百年”奋斗目标，仍需经济保持一定的增速。这也有利于统筹推进扩大就业、改善民生、防范化解风险等工作。

From the perspective of employment, from January to November 2024, the average national urban surveyed unemployment rate was 5.1%, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points year-on-year, but the youth unemployment rate remains at a high level. In November, the unemployment rate for the urban labor force aged 16 to 24, excluding students, was 16.1%. In 2025, the number of college graduates is expected to reach 12.22 million. Employment support plans for key areas, key industries, urban and rural grassroots, and small and medium-sized enterprises can be implemented to promote employment for key groups, and promote the balanced and high-quality development of compulsory education, and solidly advance the expansion of high-quality undergraduate enrollment.

从就业来看，2024年1月至11月，全国城镇调查失业率平均值为5.1%，比上年同期下降0.1个百分点，但青年失业率仍处于高位。11月，全国城镇不包含在校生的16岁至24岁劳动力失业率为16.1%。2025年，高校毕业生规模预计达1222万人。可实施重点领域、重点行业、城乡基层和中小微企业就业支持计划，促进重点群体就业，并推动义务教育优质均衡发展，扎实推进优质本科扩容。

Looking further, guided by the new development philosophy, we must break away from the “speed worship” and “speed anxiety,” pursue real and unadulterated gross domestic product, pursue effective, high-quality, and sustainable economic development, and shift the focus of promoting development to improving quality and efficiency.

进一步看，要以新发展理念为指引，破除“速度崇拜”“速度焦虑”，追求实实在在、没有水分的生产总值，追求有效益、有质量、可持续的经济发展，把推动发展的立足点转到提高质量和效益上来。

In the final analysis, the five “Must Be Well Coordinated” are a regular understanding summarized and refined by the Party Central Committee in its assessment of the situation, and a scientific method for guiding economic work to overcome difficulties and tackle tough problems. It is necessary to grasp and apply the five “Must Be Well Coordinated,” adhere to pursuing progress while ensuring stability, promoting stability through progress, upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, establishing the new before abolishing the old, and achieving systematic integration and coordinated cooperation, to ensure that the Chinese economy, like a ship, sails steadily and far.

归根结底，五个“必须统筹好”是党中央研判形势而总结提炼出来的规律性认识，是指导经济工作爬坡过坎、攻坚克难的科学方法。要把握和运用五个“必须统筹好”，坚持稳中求进、以进促稳，守正创新、先立后破，系统集成、协同配合，确保中国经济航船行稳致远。

(The author is Vice President of the China Marketing Association and Professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

（作者为中国市场学会副会长、中国社会科学院大学教授）

Online Editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧