Fighting for common prosperity
Print Edition
The phrase common prosperity has gained prominence this year, as China is determined to bring better lives to more people. After winning the anti-poverty fight and achieving the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, China now has favorable conditions for promoting common prosperity.
鈥淐hina鈥檚 level of economic development has reached a point at which all its citizens should be able to enjoy a reasonable standard of life,鈥 said John Ross, a British academic and senior fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University.
More tangible progress toward common prosperity has been listed as one of China鈥檚 key long-term targets through 2035 when the country is expected to achieve basic modernization.
China鈥檚 vision for common prosperity is set against the backdrop of rising global inequality, with COVID-19 exposing accelerating social ruptures in some economies.
鈥淭he yawning gap between rich and poor in some developed countries is one of the causes of social unrest. This is what China will try to avoid,鈥 said Quan Heng, an economist with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
However, common prosperity does not mean building an egalitarian or a welfare state. It is by no means robbing the rich to help the poor as misinterpreted by some Western observers.
Chinese authorities have stressed that dependence on welfare makes people lazy and unwilling to work, which takes a toll on their initiative and creativity. Large-scale and continuous welfare spending increases the tax burden on enterprises and individuals.
鈥淲e should avoid falling into the trap of welfarism, and we will not encourage those trying to get something for nothing or provide for lazybones,鈥 said Han Wenxiu, a senior official with the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs.
To realize common prosperity, the nation should first 鈥渕ake a bigger and better cake鈥 through joint efforts of the people, and then divide and distribute the cake properly through rational institutional arrangements, read a statement released after the annual Central Economic Work Conference earlier this month.
Over the past few years, the Chinese government has pursued the common prosperity agenda with a series of reforms.
Important gateways to common prosperity include the adjustment of overly high incomes through channels such as taxes, more help for low-income groups through the provision of stronger public benefits and the expansion of the middle-income group.
China has also intensified efforts to crack down on monopolies, curbed the disorderly expansion of capital, reined in the red-hot housing market, and stepped up supervision of the entertainment and education sectors.
All such moves aim to promote the healthier and more sustainable development of the industries, Han said.
Meanwhile, China has adopted measures to reduce development gaps between wealthier and poorer areas, as well as between urban and rural regions, through economic upgrading and more investment in local businesses.
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