Keywordsareoneofthebestwaystounderstandacountry.InChina,withtherapiddevelopmentindifferentareas,thekeywordskeepchanging.ChinAfricabringsaselectionofprevailingkeywordstohelpreadersunderstandChinabetter.
Confiningtheexerciseofpowertoaninstitutionalcage
AllpowerinChinacomesfromthepeopleandshouldbeexercisedonlyforthebenefitofthepeople.Toconfinetheexerciseofpowertoaninstitutionalcagemeansstrengtheningsupervisionofthegovernment鈥檚worktopreventpossiblemisuseofpowerbyofficials.
Itentailsestablishingamechanismtopreventandpunishcorruption.Themechanismshouldprovideinstitutionalfirepowertofightcorruptionandpromoteintegritybyaddressingboththesymptomsandrootcausesofcorruption.
Chinahasestablishedaneffectiveframeworkofaccountabilitywithinstitutionalchecksoncorruption.Itisdesignedtoensurethatnoofficialenjoyspowerabovethelawandthatallofficialsexercisetheirpowertoservethepeople,accounttothemandaccepttheiroversight.
Ittakesagoodblacksmithtomakegoodsteel
ItisapopularChineseadagewhichmeansthatonlybyconductingyourselfhonorablycanyouexpectotherstodothesame.Inotherwords,agoodexampleisthebestprecept.XiJinpingquotedtheproverbtoexplaintheimportanceofPartybuildingwhenhemetthepressatthe18thCommunistPartyofChina(CPC)NationalCongressattheGreatHallofthePeoplein2012.
ThenewlyelectedgeneralsecretaryoftheCPCCentralCommitteestressedthatastherulingparty,theCPCmusttakeaprincipledanddisciplinedapproachtoPartybuildingasthisisthekeytotheadvancementofsocialismwithChinesecharacteristics.OnlywithastrongCPCcantherebeprogresstowardChina鈥檚goals,prosperityandstability,andhappinessandpeaceforthepeople.
Top-leveldesign
TheProposalonDevelopingthe12thFive-YearPlan(2011-15)forNationalEconomicandSocialDevelopment,adoptedbythe17thCPCCentralCommitteeatitsFifthPlenarySessiononOctober18,2010introducedtheideaofgreaterfocusondesigningatthetoplevelandoverallplanning.TheconcepthassubsequentlybeenembeddedinChina鈥檚reformprogramandfeaturedinotherofficialdocumentsandmeetingsofthecentralleadership.
鈥淭op-leveldesign鈥漴epresentsakeyelementofChina鈥檚reformefforts.Itmeansitisthecentralleadershipthatisresponsiblefordevisingasystematicoverallplanforthenation鈥檚reformsfromastrategicperspective,withtheaimofbetterallocatingtheresourcesrequiredandensuringefficientrealizationofgoals.
Supply-sidereform
Theimportanceof鈥渟upply-sidereform鈥漺asemphasizedbyXiatthe11thmeetingoftheCPCCentralLeadingGroupforFinancialandEconomicAffairsonNovember10,2015.Supply-sidepolicies,whichfocusonsupplyandproduction,areoftendiscussedincontrasttoademand-sideapproach.Toimprovesupply-sideperformanceistoencourageproductivityandmaintainacompetitiveedge,withgreaterinnovation,decommissioningofobsoletemanufacturing,lessovercapacity,andlowertaxrates,soastoboosteconomicgrowth.
Thisreformplacesgreateremphasisonoptimizingtheeconomicstructureandenhancingtheefficiencyofallcontributingfactors.Tothisend,measureswillbeimplementedtostreamlinethegovernmentanddelegatepowers,relaxmacro-regulation,spurinnovation,andreformthefinancialsector,landuserights,andstate-ownedenterprises.
Thereformplanisdesignedtoacceleratestructuralchange,fueldomesticdemandandexpandsupply.Innovationwillbeencouragedtogenerategreaterdemand,whichwillinreturnleadtoimprovementinsupply.Steadygrowthandstructuraladjustmentshouldbemutuallysupportiveandproceedinparallel.
Widespreadentrepreneurshipandinnovation
AttheCentralEconomicWorkConference(theannualmeetingoftheCPCCentralCommitteeandtheStateCouncil,China鈥檚cabinet,tosetthenationaleconomicagenda)inDecember2014,PresidentXicalledforeffortstocreateanenvironmentatpolicyandinstitutionlevelsthatwouldfosterentrepreneurshipandinnovation.
Threemonthsbeforethat,attheSummerDavosForuminTianjinininnorthChina,PremierLiKeqiangsaidthatChinawouldencouragethewidestpossibleparticipationinentrepreneurialactivitiesandhelpstimulateinnovationatthegrassroots.
WidespreadentrepreneurshipandinnovationwouldbeanewengineforChinatoupgradetheeconomy,makingitmoreefficient.ThephraseindicatestheleadingroleofthepeopleandtheneedtotapintotheirunboundcreativityfortheirfullparticipationinChina鈥檚modernizationdriveandenjoymentofreformdividendsaswellasthefruitsofdevelopment.
Promotingentrepreneurshipandinnovationwouldcreatemorejobs,increasepeople鈥檚income,boostupwardsocialmobility,andcontributetosocialequityandjustice.Thiswouldinturnencourageindividualstofurtherpursuetheiridealsandrealizetheirfullpotentialwhilegeneratinghigherlevelsofwealth.
Streamlininggovernmentworkanddelegatingauthority
Streamlininggovernmentworkaimstoeliminateoverstaffingandaddressduplicationoroverlappingofstatefunctionstoresolveproblemssuchasinadequateprovisionofsocialpublicgoodsandservicesandlackofefficiency.Delegatingauthorityintendstocuttheredtapethatsubjectsbusinessestoacomplexandlengthygovernmentapprovalprocess.Thiswouldfreethegovernmentfromunnecessarysupervisiontofocusonwhatreallyfallswithinitspurview,especiallydutiesithasnotperformedadequately.
ThecurrentChineseadministrationgivesprioritytoacceleratingtheprocessoftransforminggovernmentfunctions,streamliningthegovernmentanddelegatingauthority.
Thekeytotransforminggovernmentfunctionsistostrikeabalancebetweendelegatingauthorityandexercisingcontrol.Todelegateauthoritymeanstoinjectmorevitalityintoeconomicactivities.Toexercisecontrolistoensurethatthemarketfunctionsappropriatelybutnottostifletheeconomywithregulatoryoverreach.
Theinitiativetostreamlinegovernmentfunctionsanddelegateauthoritywillrationalizetherelationshipbetweenthegovernmentandthemarket,givingthemarketabiggerroleinallocatingresources.Thiswillresultinreform,restructuringandimprovingpeople鈥檚well-being.
Shiftingthefocusfrompre-implementationapprovaltomonitoringduringandafterprojectimplementationcallsforamoredetail-orientedandbettertargetedsupervisoryfunctionforthegovernment.It鈥檚achangethatisachallengeforgovernmentdepartments.
Thereisnowaneedforaparadigmshiftandenhancedcapacity-building.Itisvitaltodevelopaforward-lookingvisionandbeproactiveingaugingmarketdynamicstoamplifythepositiveeffectofmarketdriversandminimizethenegativeinfluenceofanymarketfailureinatimelymanner.
(Source:KeywordstoUnderstandChinapublishedbyChinaAcademyofTranslationandChinaInternationalPublishingGroup)