【Ｒｅｓｏｌｕｔｅ　Ｒｅｆｏｒｍ】 pre-Reform

　　 　　OPEN UP: A familiar poster in Shenzhen in south China with a large image of late leader Deng Xiaoping, who is usually credited with launching the economic revival in China
　　
　　Ahead of the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on July 1, leading Chinese official media published commentary articles reemphasizing the Central Government"s commitment to reform. In Studies Times, sponsored by the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, scholars and officials talked about the importance and orientation of the country’s reform as well as the difficulties. Excerpts follow:
　　
　　Change is critical
　　--Shen Baoxiang, Professor of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee
　　
　　China’s reform, starting from the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, has been going on for nearly 30 years. Along with huge achievements, the reform has also brought a raft of new problems and contradictions, which inevitably attracted the attention of all parts of society.
　　It is fully understandable that many people have different views on the reform as they encounter such problems as expensive medical fees, high housing prices and difficulties in schooling and seeking employment. The essence of these remarks actually lies in the requirement to continue the reform in a better way. We should take people’s dejection as a kind of signal and study the improvement of our reform.
　　It should be noted that among the discussions of reform, some people totally deny the reform in the name of “reflecting upon the reform.”
　　Reflecting upon the reform is necessary, but it should be carried out on the correct basis, which is, adhering to the target of building a market economic system.
　　Different views arose at the very beginning of reform. The focus was whether or not to take the building of a socialist market economic system as the objective model of the reform.
　　In late 1991, Deng Xiaoping pointed out that persevering in reform and opening-up could decide China’s fate, and the essential part was not to give up the reform and opening-up. He reemphasized the idea in early 1992, saying that without adherence to socialism or the reform and opening-up, without the improvement of people’s lives, it could only lead to a dead end. This was a conclusion of the successful practice of the reform and opening-up since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee and also a definite and clear response to the views that attempted to undermine the idea of the reform and opening-up. Today we need to review the basic theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, especially Deng’s incisive comment on the reform and opening-up.
　　Currently, we are facing a series of issues: carrying out the concept of scientific development and building a harmonious society, a socialist new countryside and an innovative country. And such problems as the widening gaps between the rich and the poor and among regions, the deteriorating ecological environment, abuse of power and corruption and disordered public security also need to be seriously addressed. What should we do? President Hu Jintao has pointed out that we should continue to push forward the socialist modernization drive based on a new historical starting point, and in the last analysis, we should rely on deepening the reform and further opening-up. Only by insisting on the reform can we find the way out.
　　After nearly 30 years of reform, contradictions at the relatively superficial level have generally been resolved. Now the reform in China is at a critical period, during which the administrative means in the allocation of resources should give way to the market forces. And the essential part is the transformation of government functions, that is, the reform of the administrative management system. So it is necessary to emphasize adherence to reform during such a vital period.
　　
　　Step by step
　　--Lu Zhongyuan, Director of the Department of Macroeconomic Research under the Development Research Center of the State Council
　　
　　
　　ECONOMIC BOOM: China has witnessed rapid economic growth in the reform and opening-up process
　　
　　The reform and opening-up is an important strategic decision that has a bearing on China’s future and destiny. At a new stage of building a well-off society, speeding up the transformation of the economic growth mode and clearing up the institutional obstacles that hinder the development of the productive forces finally depend on deepening reform to construct perfected new systems. And it also relies on the reform in key fields so as to provide effective institutional guarantees for carrying out the concept of scientific development, building a harmonious society and addressing sharp contradictions in economic development.
　　Deepening the reform should be pushed forward from two aspects. First, continue to reform the core part of the planned economy and further eliminate the obstruction of the old system to scientific development. Second, strive to perfect the new market economic system and meanwhile remedy the social cost caused by market failures, which does not mean returning to the old planned economic system.
　　Now, the idea of paying attention to social impartiality does not deny the principle of efficiency and is by no means a call for returning to egalitarianism, but emphasizes that we should further release and develop the productive forces by improving social fairness, especially the fairness in employment opportunities and income distribution. Based on this premise, we should make a good plan for the redistribution of the fruits of development, continuously improve public services and make the majority of society’s members, especially the poor, able to enjoy the increasing social wealth. This will not only encourage people to create more fortune but also help to promote social harmony.
　　Continuing to push forward the reform requires us to further clarify its focal points. For instance, government functions have not been thoroughly transformed. The government still interferes too much in resource allocation in the economic field while its functions of social administration and public service are rather weak, which has become a sharp institutional obstacle and also inevitably a focal point in the deepening of the reform.
　　To push forward the reform smoothly, we need to pay attention to the following principles:
　　First, the principle of initiative and reliability as well as scientific decision-making. We should be more determined and put more effort into dealing with the institutional contradictions at a deep level. For the institutional reform and policy adjustment, we should try our best to make stable progress.
　　Second, the principle of harmony and legalization. We should try to coordinate the reforms of the macro economy and micro economy, the reforms in the economic and social fields, urban and rural reform, and the reforms of the economic and political systems. For the reforms that involve many departments and touch upon interest patterns, we should strengthen high-level coordination and use legal means that are detached from departmental interests to promote the reforms.
　　Third, the principle of general preference or shared interests. The reform plans should benefit as many people as possible and enable the majority of people,
　　especially disadvantaged social groups, to enjoy the fruits of the reform.
　　Fourth, the principle of reasonable compensation. For those reform measures that cannot benefit every person, we need to provide reasonable compensation for the ones whose interests are damaged.
　　
　　Mind transformation
　　--Wang Changjiang, Professor of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee
　　
　　China’s development attracts worldwide attention. There is no denying that in the process of development, new situations and problems will inevitably emerge. The problems arising during the reform can only be solved by deepening the reform. This is an important understanding we’ve gained in our practice of the socialist modernization drive. But as a matter of fact, we notice that every time new situations or problems arose, there were doubts about the orientation and necessity of the reform. It is necessary to study and reasonably discuss the problems in the reform and development, but why are there always doubts? It is the problem of our way of thinking.
　　We are in a time in which new situations and problems emerge in an endless stream. And we cannot use the traditional dichotomy, which divides everything into two, to answer current complicated problems.
　　For example, the problem of the planned economy and market economy. Is it a fact that the Western countries do not need state macro control? No. Is it correct that socialist countries cannot proceed with a market economy? No. Socialism that refuses a market economy will surely become a closed “socialism” without the impetus of development.
　　Another example is the problem of fairness and efficiency. Emphasizing fairness but ignoring efficiency will lead to either egalitarianism or a welfare state with an unbearable burden, neither of which will promote the sound development of the economy and society. On the contrary, ignoring fairness will cause social instability. Experience has told us that the right choice is not to choose only one option from fairness and efficiency, but to seek a balance between the two according to the domestic situation.
　　All of these show that, faced with a complicated situation, we can no longer use the old way of thinking to deal with the raft of problems emerging in the process of reform and development. Deepening the reform and opening China wider to the world require us to transform our thought and to cast away the old way of thinking that shackles our minds.

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