Name: Deng Xiaoping (Deng Xiansheng)
State: China
Field of activity: Policy
Greatest Achievement: Xiaoping's reforms helped China overcome its deepest crisis.
China gave the world (and itself first of all) famous people - patriots who sought to improve the country's position not only internally, but also on the international political arena. Knowing all the ins and outs of China's problems, these people tried to create a new China, moving away from previous postulates and traditions. Whether this was a success or not, history will tell. but there is one name that is still revered with awe in China. We are talking about Deng Xiaoping.
Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese communist leader, was the most powerful figure in the People's Republic of China from the late 1970s until his death in 1997. He abandoned many orthodox communist doctrines and attempted to incorporate elements of the free enterprise system and other reforms into the Chinese economy.
early years
The future reformer was born on August 22, 1904 in the family of a wealthy landowner. His real name was Deng Xiansheng (during his student years he received the nickname Xiaoping - this was the name of a bottle of vodka that was impossible to properly fit into a bag). In 1908, the mother dies, and four children are left in the care of their father. Soon he married a second time, and the future leader has an excellent relationship with his stepmother. At the age of 16, Dan, along with 80 students from the gymnasium, goes to France to look at Western life and get a better education. Then Dan started working as a waiter, fireman, miner. But the most important thing was something else - in France, Xiaoping became interested in the idea, which he brought to China.
Upon his return, Deng became the leading political and military organizer in Jiangxi, an autonomous communist enclave in southwest China that had been created in 1931. After the overthrow of the Communists by Nationalist-led forces in 1934, Deng took part in the Chinese Communists' arduous long march to a new base in northwest Shaanxi Province. From 1937 to 1945, he served as a communist division commissar, then was appointed secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCP). Deng also served as the chief commissar of the Communist Second Field Army during the Chinese Civil War. After the communist takeover of China in 1949, he became the party's regional leader for Southwest China. In 1952 he was summoned to Beijing and became deputy prime minister. Rising quickly through the ranks, he became general secretary of the CCP in 1954 and a member of the ruling political bureau in 1955.
Since the mid-1950s, Deng has been a major politician in both foreign and domestic affairs. However, his reign as General Secretary came at a very difficult time - Mao's Great Leap Forward, which killed more than 30 million people. Deng enthusiastically began to clean up what Zedong had messed up. The famine stopped, people began to love and respect Xiaoping more than Mao. The Chinese leader could not tolerate this. When the Cultural Revolution took place in China in 1966, Xiaoping was one of the first to fall under Mao's hot hand. He was deprived of high party and government positions around 1967-69, after which he disappeared from public view and spent several years under investigation, then worked at a factory.
However, in 1973, Deng was reinstated at the request of Prime Minister Zhou Enlai and became his deputy, and in 1975, chief of the General Staff. As the effective head of government in the months leading up to Zhou's death, he was considered Enlai's likely successor. However, after Zhou's death in January 1976, Deng was again removed from power by Mao's men. It was only after Zedong's death in September 1976 and the subsequent collapse of the Gang of Four that Deng was rehabilitated, this time with the consent of Hua Guofeng, Mao's chosen successor in China's leadership.
By July 1977, Deng had returned to his senior positions. He soon began fighting Hua for control of the party and government. Xiaoping's superior political skills and massive popular support soon led Hua to resign and give his post to Deng's protégé. Now Xiaoping had all the power in his hands.
Deng Xiaoping's reforms
From this point on, Deng began to implement his own policies for China's economic development. Acting on the basis of compromise and persuasion, Deng developed important reforms in virtually every aspect of China's political, economic, and social life. His most important social reform was the establishment of the world's strictest family planning program, the one-child policy, to control China's growing population. According to the new rules, a family could have only one child, the second one was subject to a large fine and even prison (now the country is reaping the fruits of this policy - in China there is a large number of men and a shortage of women - if a mother found out that she was having a girl, she went for an abortion.
The family welcomed the birth of an heir). He established decentralized economic management and rational and flexible long-term planning to achieve efficient and controlled economic growth. Chinese peasants were given individual control and responsibility for their production and profits, leading to a significant increase in agricultural production within a few years of its beginning in 1981. Deng emphasized individual responsibility in economic decision-making, material incentives to reward industry and initiative, and the formation of skilled, well-educated technicians and managers to lead China's development. He freed many industrial enterprises from the control and supervision of the central government and gave factory managers the authority to determine production levels and generate profits for their enterprises. In foreign affairs, Deng strengthened China's trade and cultural ties with the West and opened Chinese enterprises to foreign investment.
Deng faced a critical test of his leadership in April-June 1989. In 1987, Zhao Ziyang replaced the overly liberal Hua Guofeng as general secretary of the CCP (both of them were Deng's henchmen). Hua's death in April 1989 sparked a series of student demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square demanding greater political freedom and a more democratic government. After some hesitation, Deng supported those in the CCP leadership who advocated the use of force to suppress the protesters, and in June the army crushed the demonstrations in the square (there were many casualties). Zhao was removed from power. By this time, Deng had no official position in the communist leadership, but he still retained the highest authority in the party. Although his direct involvement in government declined in the 1990s, he maintained his influence until his death.
Deng Xiaoping restored China's internal stability and economic growth after the disastrous excesses of the Cultural Revolution. Under his leadership, China acquired a dynamic economy, living standards rose, personal and cultural freedoms expanded significantly, and ties with the world economy strengthened. Deng also left in place a mildly authoritarian government that remained committed to the CCP's one-party rule even as it relied on free-market mechanisms to transform China into a developed country.
China Deng Xiaoping
In the 1990s, Dan was sick a lot and developed Parkinson's disease. The former economic giant died on February 19, 1997 from a lung infection. He was no longer in power, but the people still loved and revered him - after all, he raised China from the very bottom to the surface.
Deng Xiaoping is one of the outstanding political figures of communist China. It was he who had to deal with the disastrous consequences of the policies of Mao Zedong and the “cultural revolution” carried out by the famous “gang of four” (these are his associates). Over the course of ten years (from 1966 to 1976), it became obvious that the country had not made the expected “great leap”, so pragmatists were replacing supporters of revolutionary methods. Deng Xiaoping considered himself one of them, whose policy was marked by consistency and desire to modernize China and preserve its ideological foundations and identity. In this article I would like to reveal the essence of the transformations carried out under the leadership of this person, as well as understand their meaning and significance.
Rise to power
Deng Xiaoping overcame a thorny career path before becoming the unofficial leader of the CCP. Already by 1956, he was appointed to the post of General Secretary of the Central Committee. However, he was removed from his post after ten years of service in connection with the beginning of the “cultural revolution,” which provided for a large-scale purge of both personnel and the population. After the death of Mao Zedong and the arrest of his associates, the pragmatists were rehabilitated, and already during the 3rd plenum of the party of the eleventh convocation, the reforms of Deng Xiaoping in China began to be developed and implemented.
Policy Features
It is important to understand that he in no way abandoned socialism, only the methods of its construction changed, and there was a desire to give the political system in the country uniqueness, Chinese specifics. By the way, Mao Zedong’s personal mistakes and atrocities were not advertised - the blame fell mainly on the aforementioned “gang of four”.
The famous Chinese reforms of Deng Xiaoping were based on the “policy of four modernizations”: in industry, army, agriculture and science. Its ultimate outcome was to be the restoration and improvement of the country's economy. A specific feature of this political leader’s course was his readiness to contact the world, as a result of which foreign investors and businessmen began to show interest in the Celestial Empire. What was attractive was that the country had a huge cheap labor force: the dominant rural population there was ready to work for a minimum, but with maximum productivity, in order to feed their families. China also had a rich raw material base, so there was an immediate demand for government resources.
Agricultural sector
First of all, Deng Xiaoping needed to carry out reforms because the support of the masses was vital for him to consolidate his figure in power. If under Mao Zedong the emphasis was on the development of heavy industry and the military-industrial complex, the new leader, on the contrary, announced a conversion and expansion of production in order to restore domestic demand in the country.
People's communes, in which people were equal, were also abolished and had no opportunity to improve their situation. They were replaced by teams and households - the so-called family contracts. The advantage of such forms of labor organization was that new peasant collectives were allowed to leave surplus production, that is, the excess harvest could be sold on the emerging market in China and profit from it. In addition, freedom was provided in setting prices for agricultural goods. As for the land that the peasants cultivated, it was leased to them, but over time it was declared their property.
Consequences of reforms in agriculture
These innovations contributed to a significant increase in the standard of living in the village. In addition, an impetus was given to the development of the market, and the authorities were convinced in practice that personal initiative and material incentives for work are much more productive than the plan. This was proven by the results of the reforms: over the course of several years, the amount of grain grown by peasants almost doubled; by 1990, China became the first in the procurement of meat and cotton;
End of international isolation
If we expand on the concept of “openness,” it is worth understanding that Deng Xiaoping was against a sharp transition to active foreign trade. It was planned to smoothly build economic ties with the world and gradually penetrate the market into the country’s unchanged command-administrative economy. Another feature was that all changes were first tested in a small region, and if they were successful, they were introduced at the national level.
So, for example, already in 1978-1979. In the coastal regions of Fujian and Guangdong, SEZs were opened - special economic zones, which represent certain markets for the sale of products by the local population, and business ties were established with investors from abroad. They began to be called "capitalist islands", and their number grew rather slowly, despite the favorable state budget. It was the gradual formation of such zones when building foreign trade that did not allow China to lose the lion's share of raw materials, which could be instantly sold at a very high price by Chinese standards. Domestic production, which risks being overwhelmed by imported and cheaper goods, has also not been affected. Beneficial connections with various countries led to the acquaintance and implementation of modern technologies, machines, and factory equipment in production. Many Chinese went to study abroad to gain experience from Western colleagues. A certain economic exchange between China and other countries has developed, satisfying the interests of both sides.
Changes in industrial management
As you know, before Deng Xiaoping was chosen as the unofficial leader of the CCP of China, whose economic reforms made China a powerful power, all enterprises were subject to a plan and strict control by the state. The new country recognized the ineffectiveness of such a system and expressed the need to update it. For this purpose, a gradual method was proposed. Over time, it was assumed that the planned approach would be abandoned and the possibility of creating a mixed type of economic management of the country with the predominant participation of the state would be created. As a result, in 1993 plans were reduced to a minimum, government control decreased, and market relations gained momentum. Thus, a “double-track” system of managing the country’s economy emerged, which continues to exist in China to this day.
Approval of diversity of ownership forms
While carrying out one reform after another to transform China, Deng Xiaoping was faced with the problem of ownership. The fact is that a change in the organization of farming in the Chinese village allowed newly created households to have income, and capital grew to start their own business. In addition, foreign businessmen also sought to open branches of their enterprises in China. These factors became the reason for the formation of collective, municipal, individual, foreign and other forms of ownership.
The interesting thing is that the authorities did not plan to introduce such diversity. The reason for its appearance lies in the personal initiative of the local population, who have their own savings, to open and expand independently created enterprises. People were not interested in privatizing state property; they wanted to initially run their own business. The reformers, seeing the potential in them, decided to officially secure for citizens the right to have private property and conduct individual entrepreneurship. Nevertheless, foreign capital received the greatest support “from above”: foreign investors were provided with a range of various benefits when starting their own business in the territory. As for state-owned enterprises, in order to prevent them from going bankrupt when such high competition appeared, the plan for them was maintained, but was reduced from for years, and they were also guaranteed various kinds of tax deductions, subsidies, and favorable loans.
Meaning
It is impossible to deny that Deng Xiaoping, together with like-minded people, did a great deal of work to bring the country out of a deep economic crisis. Thanks to their reforms, China has significant weight in the global economy and, as a result, in politics. The country has developed a unique “concept of two-track economic development” that competently combines command and administrative levers and market elements. The new communist leaders are steadily continuing the ideas of Deng Xiaoping. For example, the state has now put forward the goals of building a “moderately prosperous society” by 2050 and eliminating inequality.
Deng Xiaoping is a reformer of Chinese socialism. In a book recently published in Russian by the 2001 Nobel Prize laureate in economics, J. Stiglitz, under the expressive title “The Roaring Nineties. Seeds of Collapse" is a statement of what happened in these years to our country and other socialist states of Europe and how the People's Republic of China lived at that time: "The transition of former communist countries to a market economy, loudly proclaimed with promises of unprecedented prosperity, turned into unprecedented poverty . This transition turned out to be such a disaster that in the summer of 1999 the New York Times asked the question: who lost Russia? ...GDP fell by 40 percent and poverty increased 10-fold. And similar results have occurred in other economies that have made the transition following the recommendations of the US Treasury Department and the International Monetary Fund.
Meanwhile, China, following its own course, has shown that there is an alternative transition path, providing
a major success both in the area of growth, which promised a transition to a market economy, and at the same time in the area of significant reduction in poverty levels.”
The success of China's transition to market relations, restructuring in a country where more than 1.2 billion people live, i.e. a fifth of all humanity, while maintaining the course towards building socialism, the leading role of the Communist Party (in whose ranks at the end of 2003 there were no small 70 million people), while strengthening the integrity of the state, is rightly associated with the name of Deng Xiaoping, his activities, his ideas. It was he who, having proclaimed the policy of market reforms within the country and China’s openness to the outside world, put forward the strategy of “socialist modernization with Chinese characteristics.” How serious this strategy is is evidenced by the forecasts of American experts, according to which by 2050 China will come out on top in the world with $20 trillion in GNP, and the United States will be in second place with $13.5 trillion.
Touches to a political portrait. Deng Xiaoping(1904-1997) was born in a village in Sichuan province into a family that well understood the importance of education. He graduated from primary school here. In 1920, at his father’s suggestion, he went to France to “study and work.” There, having embraced Marxism, he joined the ranks of the Communist Party of China in 1924. At the beginning of 1926, he was already in the USSR, in Moscow, where he studied at Sun Yat-sen University, created specifically for students from China. As his daughter would write much later, Deng Xiaoping, having arrived in Moscow, immediately felt that he found himself in a different world: if in France Chinese workers constituted the lowest stratum of society and they, as members of an underground organization,
ations were pursued by the police, then in Soviet Russia they immediately became dear guests, students of a prestigious university.
At this university, located in the very center of Moscow, Chinese students, who numbered 500 in 1927, studied according to a special program. At first, the main attention was paid to studying the Russian language. In the first semester, classes were held six times a week for four hours. Compulsory subjects were: economics, history, modern ideological problems, theory and practice of the Russian revolution, national and colonial issues, problems of social development of China. Students were also given courses on the history of the revolutionary movement in China, the history of changes in social formations, philosophy (dialectical and historical materialism), political economy (on Marx’s “Capital”), and Leninism. We can say that this university provided education approximately at the level of the highest party school of those times. Military training was also an important subject for Chinese students.
And although the training at Sun Yat-sen University was designed for two years, less than a year had passed before Deng Xiaoping was recalled home to China for practical participation in the revolution. This was at the end of 1926. And a year later, at the end of 1927, during the first revolutionary civil war in China, when the Communist Party was forced to go underground, Deng Xiaoping became the manager of the affairs of the CPC Central Committee.
Deng Xiaoping's rise to the political Olympus and his stay there were many dramatic moments and events. Suffice it to say that he was removed from all leadership positions three times, and then reinstated, each time recognizing the removal as erroneous. Moreover, this happened both during the years of the national liberation revolution in China (in 1933) and after the formation of the PRC.
In 1966, during the “cultural revolution”, launched on the initiative of Mao Zedong, he was removed from the posts of General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Deputy Prime Minister of the State Council of the People's Republic of China and all other positions, declaring him the main one in the group of people “in power and following the capitalist path " For the purpose of “proletarian re-education,” Dan was sent under escort to a distant county with an order to work daily as a mechanic at a local tractor factory. And he worked there for several years, and devoted his free time to the study of ancient and contemporary
temporary Chinese literature, as well as the works of the founders of Marxism-Leninism.
In 1973, at the suggestion of Mao Zedong, he was reinstated as Deputy Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, and in 1975 he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the CPC Central Committee, Deputy Chairman of the Military Council of the CPC Central Committee and Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army of China. But a year later, while Mao was still alive, he was again removed from all posts. After the death of Mao Zedong (September 1976) and the defeat of the “Gang of Four,” as the leftist leaders of the “cultural revolution” began to be called, Deng Xiaoping was again restored to his previous positions. He himself said about this: “They removed me not for mistakes at all, but because my correct actions were incorrectly assessed.”
He had the opportunity to take two top posts - general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the People's Republic of China, but he refused. And as he himself said a little later, not for reasons of modesty, but for reasons of a higher and more fundamental order: when too much depends on one person, this “does not benefit either the state or the party, and someday it may turn out to be and very dangerous."
In 1980, Deng Xiaoping raised the question of the need to reform the leadership system of the party and state in the PRC, which would make it impossible for cadres to remain in leadership positions for life. And he himself set an example. In 1987, before the opening of the next XIII Congress of the CPC, he wrote a statement asking to be relieved of all his leadership positions and allowed to retire. Having agreed to his resignation from all party posts, the CPC Central Committee reserved for him only two senior posts in military affairs. And his retirement took place in 1989.
Just before Deng Xiaoping left the political arena, a very dramatic event took place in the life of China, in which he had to take part. The point is that in the spring and summer of 1989, student unrest began in China and began to quickly gain strength. The students called them a struggle for freedom, and the authorities called them a counter-revolutionary rebellion. These unrest reached their peak on June 4 in Beijing's central Tiananmen Square. To suppress student unrest, Deng Xiaoping was forced to order the use of military force. He motivated his decision by the fact that otherwise a civil war would have broken out in China and irreparable damage would have been caused to the stability of society as a necessary condition for progress along the path of socialist modernization.
These dramatic events, but, most importantly, the entire strategic course of Deng Xiaoping, based on the possibility of building market socialism in China, cause a lot of controversy. He has more than enough opponents both in China itself and outside it, in other countries where there are Chinese diasporas; and on the left, from the so-called orthodox Marxists, who believe that the reformation of Chinese socialism means its capitalization, bourgeois degeneration; and on the right, from those whom Deng Xiaoping called “bourgeois liberals.” The latter note, in particular, the inconsistency of Deng Xiaoping, the fact that at the very beginning of Chinese perestroika (in a speech on August 18, 1980) he declared the impossibility of successfully implementing economic reform without political reform, and then refused to carry it out.
It must be said that Deng Xiaoping himself was very critical in assessing his activities. He said: "I I will be pleased if everything that I have done, both positive and negative, is equated as five to five.”
Deng Xiaoping and Mao Zedong: different origins and different leadership. In the documents of the CPC Central Committee and the official propaganda of modern China, Deng Xiaoping is spoken of as the heir and continuer of the work and ideas of Mao Zedong. Deng Xiaoping himself did not deny his contribution to the “formation and development of Mao Zedong’s ideas.” “Otherwise I would not have been classified as a revolutionary,” he explained. At the same time, Deng Xiaoping quite clearly spoke about the mistakes of Mao Zedong both in theoretical calculations related to the interpretation of certain provisions of Marxism, and in practical solutions to a number of strategic issues of building socialism in China. True, at the same time, he usually emphasized that a “realistic approach” was needed in assessing Mao Zedong, and that in criticizing his mistakes one should “observe moderation” and that, in general, he had more merits than mistakes.
If we consider the activities of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping in the context of the political history of China, the influence on them of ancient traditions and the teachings of domestic rulers and sages, as well as major Western thinkers, and above all Marx, then very interesting images and comparisons can arise here. Thus, the famous Russian sinologist L.P. Delyusin, speaking about the differences in the leadership of the construction of socialism in China by these two leaders, writes: “Mao Zedong walked “his own way” in an embrace with Marx and Qin Shihuang. As a result, the entire Chinese soil was wet with tears and blood. Deng Xiaoping's own path proposes an alliance of Marx with Confucius and Western technology. And although he does not hesitate to use force to suppress discontent, Qin Shihuang’s method is not central or typical of his political behavior.”
Let us recall that Qin Shihuang is a Chinese emperor who became famous not only for uniting the Celestial Empire, putting an end to the period of “warring states”, introducing unified legislation, a unified written language, a unified military-bureaucratic apparatus, but also because, on the advice of his inner circle ordered the burning of the books of many philosophers, including Confucius, put an end to the pluralism of philosophical schools and the struggle of opinions, and subjected dissidents to severe repression. In the course of lectures on ancient philosophy by A.N. Chanyshev emphasizes that “this first “cultural revolution” in China (213 BC) did not bring any fruits other than those that despotism usually brings with it: fear, deception, denunciation, physical and mental degeneration of the people” . It must be said that Qin Shihuang was always close to the spirit of Mao Zedong, who sang him in his youthful poems. It is not surprising that in 1973, at the height of the Maoist “cultural revolution,” the main newspaper, People’s Daily, repeated Qin Shihuang’s slogan “Books into the fire, scholars into the pit!” And the next year, 1974, when Mao’s main henchman in the affairs of the “cultural revolution,” Minister of Defense Lin Biao, whom Mao intended to make his successor, was suddenly declared a “despicable traitor and counter-revolutionary,” criticism of Lin Biao demanded criticism of the ideological sources of his betrayal. And they were found in the teachings of Confucius. It must be assumed, because in this teaching, which absorbed a number of provisions of legalism (school of law) and erected in the 2nd century. BC. at the level of the state ideology and religion of China, contained something unacceptable for the “cultural revolution”, in particular that methods of coercion and punishment, on the one hand, and methods of persuasion, example, management based on laws, on the other hand, should be in state of harmony. But the “cultural revolutionaries” did not want to hear about any such harmony. Their slogan was: “Let us kindle the flames of hatred against the despicable traitors and counter-revolutionaries - Confucius and Lin Biao.” And the leading article in the People's Daily said: “The political struggle is expanding on all fronts of our party - massive and in-depth criticism of Lin Biao and Confucius, launched and personally led by the great leader Chairman Mao Zedong.”
Those who composed such slogans and guidelines clearly forgot Confucius’ answer to the question: is it possible to destroy a country with one statement? And the great sage then replied that, of course, it is impossible to destroy the country with one statement. “But if what is said is bad and no one objects, then won’t you come close to destroying the state with one statement?” .
About the emancipation of consciousness and new thinking. The failure of the “cultural revolution,” which aggravated the backwardness of China and the poverty of its people, put on the agenda not only the need to correct its mistakes, but also the development of a different strategic course for the country’s development along the path to socialism. Deng Xiaoping considered the most important condition for developing such a course and implementing it to be getting rid of “inertia of thought,” “emancipating people’s consciousness,” which allows them to “treat everything new, armed with new thinking.”
The fact is that Mao Zedong’s famous slogan, put forward in 1956, is “Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools compete!” - remained only a beautiful phrase (and this is at best; at worst, this slogan could serve as a kind of trap for all dissidents, a way to identify and suppress their dissent). In real life, in the public consciousness, especially among the party masses, everything was completely different. As Deng Xiaoping said at a closed meeting of the Central Committee in December 1978, during the “cultural revolution” its leaders - Lin Biao and the “group of four”, fighting for power, introduced “forbidden zones” everywhere, imposed various vetoes on the discussion of issues and thereby “pushing people’s consciousness into the narrow circle of their pseudo-Marxism, from which it was impossible to leave even one step.” If you left this circle, you were investigated and labeled. As a result, many people forgot how to think independently and relied on instructions from above for everything. And those who had not forgotten how to do so were simply afraid to say their word. This is what Deng Xiaoping called the “stiffness” or “ossification” of thought in China.
This phenomenon, characteristic of any authoritarian system of power, found its manifestation in the ideological, political and organizational work of the Communist Party of China. Thus, the need to strengthen the party leadership resulted in the party replacing administrative bodies and allowed bureaucrats to fetter the initiative of the masses with references to “party interests” and “party discipline.” Under the guise of a party leadership based on the principle of democratic centralism, the arbitrariness of one or two people flourished, and the rest had to act only on their orders. Thus, centralism was divorced from democracy; there was too little of the latter. “We need a single centralized leadership,” explained Deng Xiaoping, “however, correct centralism is possible only on the basis of democracy... The revolutionary party is afraid of not hearing the voice of the people, and dead silence is the worst thing for it.” Considering the problem of emancipation of consciousness as the most important political problem in China, he emphasized that its resolution should be dealt with not only by the Central Committee and party committees at various levels, but also by every factory, every institution, every educational institution, store, production team, in a word, every person can and should make your mind work.
Only a “working mind” is capable, according to Deng Xiaoping, of understanding the main problem: “what is socialism, how to establish and develop it.”
On building socialism with Chinese characteristics. Speaking about himself, about his ideological and political beliefs, Deng Xiaoping always emphasized that he was a Marxist. In his speeches and articles, he often refers to Marx and Lenin and directly quotes them. He gives different definitions of Marxism - both traditional (for example, he talks about Marxism as a science that should guide all true revolutionaries; that “Marxist truth is irrefutable”) and non-traditional ones, in which one can read the desire to bring Marxism as close as possible to solving pressing problems reforming China. Claiming that “the basic principle of Marxism is the development of productive forces,” Deng Xiaoping emphasizes that “socialism must first of all develop productive forces.” In Marxism, he is attracted mainly by historical materialism, according to which, on the basis of the development of productive forces, society transitions from slavery to feudalism, from it to capitalism and further to socialism and communism.
However, Deng Xiaoping is against “book worship,” the understanding of Marxism as a theory whose provisions are equally suitable for all countries. Speaking about the practice of socialist construction in different countries, he emphasized that the solution to any problem, “reform in any given socialist state is not the same as in another socialist state. With different backgrounds, different experiences and different conditions of countries, reform cannot be the same.” This is especially true of China, a huge country with centuries-old traditions, where 80 percent of the population are peasants. And these are not just percentages, but a billion people with a low standard of living. “We firmly believe in Marxism,” said Deng Xiaoping, “but it must be linked to Chinese reality. Only that Marxism that will be combined with the realities of China will be genuine for us. It is on this ideological foundation that we strive to achieve the goal of our development.”
Raising the question of the specifics of socialism in China, Deng Xiaoping draws attention to the fact that this specificity was evident from the very beginning of the construction of a new society in his country. For example, the liquidation of private property in China was carried out not by expropriating factories, factories and other objects of private property from the bourgeoisie, as was the case in the USSR, but by purchasing the means of production from the national bourgeoisie. One of the forms of redemption was the so-called fixed interest, which was calculated on the share of capital owned by the capitalist (usually in the amount of five percent per year after the sector-by-sector transformation of capitalist industrial and commercial enterprises into mixed public-private enterprises) and was paid by the state in a uniform manner, regardless of profitability enterprises. Payment of “flat interest” began in 1956 and stopped in September 1966. “Therefore, the liquidation of the bourgeois class and the implementation of socialist reforms proceeded quite smoothly in China,” noted Deng Xiaoping.
When in the late 70s. Deng Xiaoping proclaimed a course to modernize agriculture, industry, defense, science and technology, all of this was done taking into account Chinese specifics. He ridiculed the assertions of the Quartet (“leftists”) that “poor socialism is better than rich capitalism” and that “the day the modernization is completed will be the day of the restoration of capitalism” in China. “Did the Quartet really advocate socialism and oppose the restoration of capitalism? - Deng Xiaoping asked a question to the participants of the All-China Conference of Scientists on March 18, 1978 and he himself answered: - No, quite the opposite. It was precisely where its forces were most rampant that the cause of socialism was seriously undermined."
He criticized the then prevailing ideas about the scientific and technical intelligentsia as “white,” i.e., bourgeois, capitalist-minded specialists. “White” is a political concept, he explained. - “White” is only someone who is politically reactionary and opposes the party and socialism. How can one equate “whites” with those who devote all their strength to their work! Those who are lame in terms of ideology and style cannot be considered “white.”
Understanding well that in China, not only among the intelligentsia, but among all other strata of the people there are many people who are “limping” in the field of ideology, Deng Xiaoping paid great attention to clarifying the question of what capitalism is and what socialism in general and socialism with Chinese specificity in particular. Moreover, he did this, as always, without a “big theory,” very clearly, simply, using specific examples.
In a conversation with senior officials of the CPC Central Committee in December 1990, Deng Xiaoping explained that the difference between socialism and capitalism does not boil down to the problem of plan and market, because under socialism there can be a market economy, and under capitalism there can be planned regulation. “Do not think,” he emphasized, “that the introduction of a market economy is a capitalist path. Nothing like this. Both a plan and a market are needed. Without a market, you don’t even get access to international information and thereby doom yourself to fall behind.”
In another conversation - with the vice-president of the American publishing house Encyclopedia Britannica F. Gibney and the director of the Institute of East Asian Studies at the Canadian University Lin Daguang - the Chinese leader emphasized that the socialist market economy, while resembling the capitalist one in form, is fundamentally different from the latter. And this difference lies in the fact that the basis of a socialist market economy is public ownership. And although this economy is associated with both collective property and foreign private capital, it is initially socialist and has a socialist character. Therefore, the study and use of capitalist management and management methods does not at all mean the implantation of capitalism, because socialism uses these methods for the development of social productive forces.
In the early 80s. In China, “special economic regions” were created, in which economic activity began to be regulated mainly through the market, with some control from the state. In 1984, Deng Xiaoping made an inspection trip to these areas, calling them “windows” through which technical achievements, management methods, knowledge are borrowed, and the policy of foreign relations is implemented. “We must allow some areas to become rich before others. Leveling is no good,” he emphasized. Equalization is not socialism.
The theme of Chinese specificity is also heard by Deng Xiaoping when he touches on the main problems of the political life of his country. There are also many shortcomings here that need to be corrected. However, he does not see any serious grounds for a radical restructuring of the already established political system in China.
Thus, the leading role of the CPC is the most important guarantee of the successful construction of Chinese socialism; the system of democratic centralism operating in the party is also completely justified, because it unites the masses and allows the decisions taken to be quickly implemented. Deng Xiaoping advises future leaders of the party and state to eliminate elements of duplication in administrative structures and strengthen law and order. As for the party, he sees the main task as eliminating the phenomena of decay, especially in its highest echelons.
Speaking about the existing multi-party system, he emphasizes that all democratic parties (there are eight of them in China) recognize the leadership of the CCP. And all these parties, as well as the All-China Association of Industrialists and Traders, created in 1953, are political forces that serve socialism. Regarding issues of national politics and interethnic relations (there are several dozen national minorities in China and they make up six percent of the total population), he speaks in the spirit that the existing system of national regional autonomies is more productive and better suits the conditions of China than the federal republican system. And this circumstance allows us to resolve issues of accelerated development of national autonomies on the basis of national equality. At the same time, the number of representatives of national minorities in people's assemblies at all levels and in administrative authorities far exceeds the level of six percent.
Deng Xiaoping quite definitely says that Western democracy, built on the distribution of powers between the three branches of government, multi-party elections, a bicameral parliament and other similar realities of political life, is not suitable for China. “We are not at all against the fact that Western countries have chosen such a system,” he emphasized, “but we, in the mainland of China, do not hold multi-party elections, there is no separate system of three branches of government and a bicameral parliament. We have a one-party parliament - the National People's Congress, and this best meets the real conditions of China."
A real breakthrough in the generally accepted ideas, according to which there can only be one system in one state, is the concept of Deng Xiaoping, known as “one state, two systems.” According to this concept, the simultaneous existence of two social systems - socialism and capitalism - within the framework of one state is quite possible. Deng Xiaoping sees the main essence of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the approach to solving the problem of those Chinese territories that at different times and for various reasons “moved away” from China and, under the influence of the West, not only embarked on the capitalist path of development, but also reached its high stages. We are talking about Hong Kong (Hong Kong), Macau and Taiwan. “This is something completely new,” Deng Xiaoping pointed out. - This new approach was not put forward by the USA, not Japan, not Europe and not the USSR. It was put forward by China, and this is what we call Chinese characteristics.” The concept of “one state - two systems” has two starting points: on the one hand, within the framework of a socialist state, the existence of some special regions where capitalism develops is allowed; on the other hand, it is clearly defined that the basis of the state is socialism. It is important to note that such “co-development” (and not just “coexistence”) of socialism and capitalism within the framework of one state is not intended for a limited time, but for tens and hundreds of years.
Expressing his thoughts on the unification of mainland China and Taiwan, Deng Xiaoping emphasized that this would necessarily be a peaceful unification. Both the CPC and the Kuomintang think so. Peaceful reunification is not the absorption of Taiwan by the continent or the replacement of capitalism in Taiwan with socialism of the all-Chinese model. After unification with the Motherland, Deng explained, the Taiwan Special Administrative Region would retain its independence. He will be allowed to implement procedures different from those in the continental part of the country. Taiwan itself will manage its own administrative, judicial and party affairs. It will be able to have its own armed forces, provided that they do not pose a threat to the continent. Taiwan will have a certain number of seats in the Chinese central government.
As can be seen, according to this project, Taiwan indeed retains its independence in all major spheres of life. With the exception of one thing - the sphere of foreign policy, international affairs. In this area, only the People's Republic of China has the right to represent the country. And she, his country, as Deng Xiaoping has repeatedly emphasized, is fighting against hegemony in the international arena, for the preservation and strengthening of peace throughout the world.
Instead of a conclusion. In the book of the Italian political writer Fernando Mazzetti “From Mao to Deng. Transformation of China”, to which we have already referred, there are a number of overly categorical and straightforward judgments. Thus, according to the Italian author, Deng Xiaoping “never cared about the purity of Marxist doctrine” and was a communist “not ideologically, but organizationally and practically.”
The first chapter of the comparative analysis will be devoted to the formation of the political course of the second generation of PRC chairmen - the reign of Deng Xiaoping. The main task is to trace the stages of the theoretical and practical components of the policy of “openness”, which began in 1978, to identify the goals and real results of the reforms.
Deng Xiaoping, born in 1904 in Sichuan Province, is a representative of the second generation of Chinese leaders. Having begun his political career during the time of Mao Zedong, in 1957 he was appointed to the post of General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee. During the period of the “cultural revolution” of 1967–1977, Deng was removed from all posts, and he was sent to a tractor factory as a simple worker. The culmination of Deng Xiaoping's political career is the death of Mao and the arrest of the "gang of four" in 1977, after which Deng actually becomes the leader of the country, although the post of Premier of the State Council of the PRC is occupied by Hua Guofeng, and he himself has held the position of Chairman of the Central Military Council of the PRC since 1981.
The history of the development of Deng Xiaoping’s political concept should begin with a turning point for China, namely with the 3rd Plenum of the 11th CPC Central Committee at the end of 1978. However, the cornerstone in the foundation of economic reforms was the working meeting of the CPC Central Committee in December 1978, which completed the stage of preparation for the plenum. The agenda contained 3 questions: 1) how agriculture will develop; 2) discussion of the national economic development plan for 1979 and 1980; 3) study and discussion of Li Xiannian’s speech at a meeting of the State Council on ideological and political issues 3. During the meeting, Hua Guofeng (under the pressure of the political situation shaped by Deng’s activities) raised the issue of shifting the center of gravity of the entire party’s work to socialist construction and modernization from January 1979 4 . Initially, this problem was raised a year ago by Deng Xiaoping (and within a year was integrated into the ideology of the nominal leadership) and it was this problem that became central at the 3rd Plenum of the 11th Convocation. The CPC Central Committee decided to end the phase of criticizing the Four and complete the “mass class struggle”, and concentrate all efforts on modernizing the economy, reforming the overly centralized economic system, developing agriculture, developing socialist democracy and strengthening the rule of law.
Deng Xiaoping formulated the main provisions of the reform strategy. They were as follows: the main goal of socialist modernization was defined as bringing China to the level of moderately developed countries in terms of production per capita by the 21st century. The path of modernization is accelerated economic growth, qualitative renewal of the economy and increasing its efficiency based on the development of scientific and technical potential. Back in March 1978, the All-China Science Forum was held, at which Deng Xiaoping stated that the persecution of the intelligentsia in previous years and the undermining of science had a negative impact on the development of the national economy. The importance of the position that “science and technology are a productive force” 5 was also emphasized.
At the 1st session of the 5th National People's Congress, a new Constitution of the People's Republic of China was adopted, consisting of 30 articles. The text of the constitution consisted of the main provisions of the 1975 Constitution, incorporating the language of the 1954 Constitution. The document confirmed devotion to Maoism, and the main task of the state was to carry out the “four modernizations”, that is, the transformation of China into a powerful state by the end of the century with modern agriculture, industry, defense, science and technology. Article 13 spoke about the development of education and raising the cultural level of the people. In the next article, the thesis put forward by Mao Zedong again appears - let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools compete. Articles and freedom of scientific research, literary and artistic creativity and other cultural activities are restored, as well as the state’s encouragement of the creative work of citizens.
In 1979, 4 principles were put forward: 1. defend the socialist path of development, 2. defend the dictatorship of the proletariat, 3. defend the leadership of the Communist Party, 4. defend the ideas of Marxism-Leninism and the ideas of Mao Zedong. Socialism was recognized as the state basis, because it makes it possible to ensure the concentration of material and human resources to accelerate economic development. However, “socialism is being built taking into account the Chinese specifics, which consist in the economic backwardness of the country, the shortage of arable land and other resources necessary for the development of a country with a billion population” 6.
The economic basis of “Chinese socialism” is public ownership of the means of production, but the development of non-socialist sectors of the economy, including the private sector, is also encouraged.
“Reforms and open policies are means of modernization that are designed to attract foreign capital, including China in the processes of globalization of the economy, and ultimately increasing China’s global competitiveness” 7.
According to Deng Xiaoping, economic reform must necessarily be accompanied by changes in the political system. He characterizes the political-ideological superstructure as the dictatorship of the proletariat under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. Particular attention was paid to increasing the efficiency of the existing system of representative bodies of power (assemblies of people's representatives at all levels), simplifying and reducing the administrative apparatus, etc. Deng Xiaoping emphasized that the implementation of four modernizations (industry, agriculture, science and defense) is impossible without observing the four principles (loyalty to the socialist path, the dictatorship of the proletariat, the leading Communist Party and Marxism-Leninism and the ideas of Mao). He defined the ruling party as the guarantor of ensuring socio-political stability, therefore the focus of the CPC leaders is on party discipline and strengthening internal party control.
One of the most important pillars of Deng Xiaoping’s modernization was the party’s efforts to educate the “new man” as part of the creation of a socialist spiritual culture, which were formulated in 1983. The main component of this idea was the development of the ideals of communism among the masses and the education of a highly cultured and disciplined person.
However, taking into account the importance of various aspects of reform, the most important and integral part of the program was the completion of the process of unifying the country according to the formula “one state, two systems,” providing for the preservation of the capitalist system existing there in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, after their reunification with the PRC.” 8 . The issue of peaceful unification of Taiwan with mainland China was also discussed in 1983. It was assumed that the Kuomintang would maintain its independence in matters of internal policy, maintain an independent court, and maintain its own armed forces, but external representation would be carried out by the CCP. At the same time, the task of “market socialism” becomes the effective connection of public property with a market economy. The main features of a “socialist market economy” include: market allocation of resources under the macroeconomic direction of the state; “multi-structured economy with the primacy of public property; expanding the openness of the Chinese economy and increasing the attraction of foreign investment" 9 ; creation of an effective social security system; reform of state-owned enterprises and their transformation into full-fledged market entities; differentiation of income (socio-economic indicator characterizing the degree of uneven distribution of material and spiritual benefits between members of society).
“Socialism with Chinese characteristics” assumes the moderate development of individual, private and foreign sectors as necessary components of a market economy, and is an organic part of the economic system of the initial stage of socialism.
However, by analyzing the reform terminology, one can see that the CCP did not have a clear strategy for reforming the Chinese economy. In 1978, the CPC announced the creation of a “planned economy, supplemented by market regulation”; from 1984 to 1987, the goal of economic reforms was a “planned commodity economy”; in 1987–1989, the CPC began building an economy in which “the state regulates the market, and the market regulates enterprises,” and in 1993, the CCP began using the term “socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics.”
The works of Chen Enfu and Wu Jinglian received great practical significance in the development of Deng's reforms.
The famous Chinese economist Wu Jinglian in the early 1980s. prepared fundamental scientific justification and practical recommendations for reform of the economic system. The central theme of these recommendations is a gradual transition from the old model to the new, reducing the scope of the directive plan while weakening control and revitalizing the circulation of products and resources. He believed that at first it was necessary to take into account the indicators of the policy plan and market prices. To overcome departmental disunity, measures were proposed, on the one hand, to simplify administrative bodies and expand the rights of public authorities at various levels; on the other hand, to expand the economic independence of enterprises.
At the end of the 1990s. another Chinese scientist, professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, deputy chairman of the Shanghai Scientific and Economic Society, Chen Enfu, emphasized that the central links of Chinese reforms were plan, finance and monetary circulation. In parallel, a policy is being pursued to expand the powers of grassroots authorities, regions and industries while maintaining centralized leadership. One of the main conditions for the implementation of the idea of creating a regulated market economy was the provision of economic independence to enterprises, with the exception of defense and strategic ones. According to the Chinese scientist, commodity-money relations should play a decisive role here, and the second condition is the gradual elevation of “state-enterprise” relations to the rank of relations between, although not completely equal, but at least economically independent units. That is, in other words, this can be called the creation of a system of state management of commodity production with the help of government contracts with commodity producers for the production of specific volumes of specific products.
It is also necessary to create a “three-level mechanism for making economic decisions that ensures the protection of the interests of the state, all commodity producers from small to large, and the workers involved in them: (a) state level - issues of economic growth rates, the ratio of savings and consumption funds, distribution of capital investments, regulation maximum and minimum levels of bank interest on loans, fees for funds, changes in part of the consumer tax system, compliance with social guarantees; (b) enterprise level - issues of volume and structure of products produced, costs of production, finding sources of supply, sales market, etc.; (c) the level of individual economic activity, that is, issues of employment, individual consumption, determining the desired number of children” 10.
Deng Xiaoping began the practical application of his theory with enterprises that were given more economic independence and conditions were created for the deployment of the role of market regulation in the development of enterprises. This system was introduced gradually, and its introduction began with state-owned enterprises in Sichuan, Shanghai and Beijing (first created at the Beijing Shoudu Iron and Steel Works, called “guarantee, commitment, verification” 11. It was based on the principle of priority of contractual relations between the enterprise and a higher organization. The “verification” clause provided for a system of strict control over the implementation of contracts and a corresponding system of administrative and financial sanctions.)
In 1982, at the XII National Congress of the CPC, Deng Xiaoping set a goal: to increase the annual industrial production of agricultural products by 4 times in 20 years. Various forms of contracting system were introduced to develop the village. For example, there was a contract for production volume. It meant a form of management in which a “yard-contractor” (a family is the lowest “rank” of a producer) enters into an agreement with a production team (the main self-supporting unit, which also acts as an intermediary in mutual settlements between the state and an individual agricultural producer) to perform a specific production task. " 12 . When a contract for the volume of production is carried out in crop production, the main self-supporting unit - the production team - allocates to the “yard” the land it needs, draft animals, tools, seed fund, etc.; in cattle breeding, respectively - feed, pastures, pastures, production tools, product processing services. The above can serve as a means of payment after the completion of a production task corresponding to the contract or, conversely, it can be provided by the production team during the production process against future remuneration for fulfilling the contract.
Full house-to-house contracting was also introduced. In this form of production responsibility system in the Chinese village, the “participating yard” also acts as a contracting unit. Its difference from the previous form is that the system of remuneration for the results of the labor of a family contractor based on workdays, used in the first version of the government contracting system, does not in any way take into account products produced in excess of the contractual volume, which remains entirely at the disposal of the family.
In general, we can state the fact that the introduction of the mentioned systems was greeted by the peasants with great interest, due to the obvious material benefits, as well as significant prospects in the light of the increasing liberalization of Chinese socialist commodity production.
“Since the end of 1980, the family contract system began to spread throughout China, the number of teams with production or full-time peasant farming increased to 15–20%” 13. And although the state encouraged the spread of full contracting, in 1982 Beijing adopted a regulation according to which peasants could sell on the market only the amount of goods that they could carry on themselves or transport on a bicycle. The use of any motorized vehicles was prohibited.
Already in 1983, the system gave significant “positive dynamics: peasant incomes increased, and thanks to the consolidation of production tasks and responsibility for peasant households, production increased by 30–50%” 14, “production of industrial and agricultural products increased by 8%” 15 .
Thanks to the introduction of a “household” contracting system, for example, in Anhui province, the growth of grain production increased from 15 to 43% 16 .
Following the course of liberalization, the Party Committee of Anhui Province and then Sichuan Province adopted a resolution that allowed peasants to develop subsidiary farming, trade surpluses, and implement a system of “responsibility” for the quality of products and the completion of tasks.
To expand connections with the outside world and attract investment into the Chinese economy from abroad, special economic zones were created to increase exports and foreign exchange earnings, primarily for Hong Kong and Macao.
For this purpose, in 1979, a decision was made “On some issues of the comprehensive development of foreign trade to increase foreign currency earnings.” And a little later, “the Central Committee of the CPC and the State Council in relation to the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian, which are located in close proximity to Hong Kong and Macao and are distinguished by the presence of strong ties with compatriots living abroad (with emigrants- huaqiao), decided to pursue a policy of special measures aimed at promoting their foreign economic relations” 17. As an experiment, it was planned to create special zones in the cities of Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shantou (Guangdong Province) and Xiamen (Fujian Province), which would carry out a variety of economic activities, including processing raw materials from foreign customers and assembling products from their parts, creating enterprises in based on mixed or foreign capital.
Officially, the decision to create special economic zones (SEZs) was made in 1980 at the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the 5th convocation. “And in October 1980 such a zone was created in Fujian. In 1985, SEZs were created on the Yangtze and Pearl rivers" 18.
In 1988, SEZs began to be created in 14 large coastal cities of China, which were called technical and economic development zones (TEZs). Thousands of joint ventures (joint ventures) have been created in ZTER using tens of millions of dollars of foreign investment. In the same 1988, Hainan Island received the status of a province, and the creation of the largest SEZ in China began on its territory. At subsequent stages, the SEZs of Hainan, Shenzhen, Shantou, Zhuhai and Xiamen expanded their areas of operation and were transformed into special economic regions (SER).
In 1990, the main SEZ was created, including the city of Shanghai, the Pudong region, and several cities located along the Yangtze River. In the zone, thanks to foreign investment, financial companies are being created, supermarkets are being built, and stock exchanges are beginning to function. Shanghai is emerging as a center for international finance, business and trade. In addition, 13 duty-free zones are being created.
In 1992, SEZs for cross-border cooperation were created in 13 border cities of China, using the experience of coastal SEZs. These zones contribute to the development of cross-border trade, incl. with Russia, with which China has the longest border.
Administrations of a number of SEZs were given the authority to independently conclude contracts with non-residents, on the basis of which they received licenses, certificates and made investments. All tax payments remained at the disposal of the SEZ administration. The size of wages in the SEZ was regulated by the SEZ administration, which was obliged to set a minimum wage higher than outside the SEZ. “During the years of the creation of the SEZ, wages for workers, including contributions to compulsory insurance funds, amounted to up to 75 US dollars per month” 19. Such cheap labor was attractive to foreign investors.
Investment stimulation was achieved not only by simplifying administrative procedures, but also by significant tax benefits. “Income tax in the SEZ was reduced by 40% and amounted to 15%, and for contracts lasting more than 10 years, no tax was levied in the first 2 years of profit, in the 3rd year it was reduced by 50%, in subsequent years it was reduced by 10% at condition of exporting more than 70% of manufactured products" 20 . When using innovative technologies, income tax was reduced by 50% in the first 3 years. Part of the income tax, by decision of local authorities, could be returned to a non-resident when investing the profits in the development of the SEZ.
No import duty was levied on production and office equipment, vehicles, consumer goods and electrical appliances for personnel from foreign countries imported into the SEZ. When selling products intended for export within the SEZ, no tax was levied. The profit received by a foreign investor in foreign currency could be transferred abroad without paying tax.
Foreign investments were protected from risks by Chinese legal acts, the terms of contracts with the SEZ administration, and insurance against political risks. Thus, comprehensive support for attracting foreign investment has led to the high performance of the SEZ and their further development.
The results of the successful functioning of the SEZ were obvious. For example, in 1980–1984. GDP in the Shenzhen SEZ increased 6 times, exceeding 4 times the GDP growth rate in China. Such rates of development have been observed to this day; by 2012, Shenzhen had become one of the largest metropolises in the country with a population of 14 million people. Thanks to the well-thought-out policy of creating SEZs, China has surpassed all countries in the world in terms of annual GDP growth, which averages 9%, and in 2011 exceeded 10% of exports on the world market, increasing it 14 times over the years of reforms.
Agricultural reform, stimulated by the state, also had a significant effect: in the summer of 1979, purchase prices for 18 types of agricultural products, which included wheat and cotton, were raised. “And since 1983, peasants were allowed to purchase agricultural machinery, create various forms of enterprise associations, build warehouses, roads, small power plants on shares, and even limited hiring of labor was allowed” 21.
The progress of economic reforms is actively supported by political messages, for example, in 1979, a decree was issued to stop labeling “landowner” and “rich”. And Deng Xiaoping himself declares “that becoming wealthy is not a crime.” 22 According to economists, the period from 1978 to 1984 This is the period of the fastest pace of development in China.
But, as you know, every coin has two sides. The introduction of radical economic reforms at such a high pace brings a whole bunch of problems. Already since the mid-1980s, the weakening of the state’s ability to effectively manage the macroeconomic situation has become obvious, which has led to an imbalance in the spheres of production and circulation. The general situation was characterized in the traditional manner by the formula “four too many, one disorder” - “too much public demand, too fast industrial growth, too much credit and money creation, too much price growth and disorder in the economy” 23 . According to experts, this situation has developed due to the transitional state of the economy, determined by the replacement of the planning-directive, administrative mechanism of management with a market one. And it was precisely the parallel coexistence of these mechanisms that did not allow stabilizing the economy. But the main problem was inflation - the total demand (investment and consumer) was higher than supply. “By 1987, the money supply had increased 1.7 times compared to the level of 1983, at the same time prices were rising, and the country’s gold and foreign exchange reserves had decreased from $12.2 billion in 1984 to $2.2 billion. . in 1986." 24.
By 1986, agriculture began to lag behind industry. The grain production industry has become a weak link in the economy, its exports have been replaced by imports. The imbalance was also expressed in the increase in the incomes of peasants and workers faster than the growth of labor productivity.
All conditions have been created for price reform to eliminate the imbalance. In 1989, a resolution was issued at the August meeting, where the Politburo announced that the state would control a small part of prices and a small number of goods and services, all other prices would be regulated by the market. But at the same time, it was necessary to regulate wages in order to prevent a decline in the standard of living of workers and employees.
This decision caused even greater chaos: “in cities and villages, all goods were bought up, regardless of quality and price. Therefore, just a week later, the Standing Committee of the State Council of the People's Republic of China announced that the transition to market regulation of almost all prices was planned for 5 or more years, and that next year movement in this direction would be limited” 25 . Along with the deepening of reforms in the economy, the liberalization of the socio-political climate continued. In March 1985, the CPC Central Committee adopted the “Resolution on the Reform of the Science and Technology Management System,” according to which technological achievements should be commoditized and introduced into production to meet the country's development needs.
A reform of the higher education system was carried out, changes were made to the methods of teaching socio-political disciplines in universities. Students were given the right to express their own point of view, the independence of educational institutions was expanded, and the content and methods of education were reformed.
The political sphere has not actually undergone any significant changes. Again and again, in addition to the thesis about the “four modernizations,” the idea of the need to strengthen the party was repeated. In October 1983, at the 2nd Plenum of the 12th CPC Central Committee, Deng Xiaoping stated that it was necessary to identify people of “three categories,” namely those who supported Lin Biao and Jiang Qing during the Cultural Revolution. It was also reported about the need to transform the party into “a combat-ready, Marxist party, into a strong core leading the people in the process of building a socialist material and spiritual culture” 26 .
At the initiative of Deng Xiaoping, a stage of serious economic reforms began, the essence of which was to combine planned management with market methods of regulating economic processes(for more information about the new reform, see the book of selected works of Deng Xiaoping “Fundamental Issues of Modern China” (http://www.twirpx.com/file/666865/), in his article “Market economy is not synonymous with capitalism” (http: //www.futura.ru/index.php 3? idat=85), in the book by I. Malevich “Attention, China” (Minsk, Moscow. Harvest. AST. 2011), in the book by V. Chabanov “Economy of the 21st century, or the third way of development." (St. Petersburg. "BHV-Petersburg". 2007), as well as in numerous articles published in the Economic Forum, etc. By the way, in this essay, in order to comprehensively assess the progress of reforms, I cite numerous excerpts from report of the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Li Keqiang on the work of the government of the People's Republic of China.
In the newspaper "People's Daily" in October 1979 it was noted that the advantage of socialism is the abolition of private property and exploitation, the elimination of the chaos that prevailed under capitalism. However, this does not mean that the entire country should become a single enterprise. "This is a utopian point of view<…>Our current system operates according to this utopian scheme. The means of production belong to the entire people. Therefore, some people think that all enterprises are state enterprises and everything should be decided by the state. With this approach, the entire economy is like a huge enterprise owned by the cabinet of ministers and operating according to a plan developed by government agencies.” But the economy, according to the newspaper, “is not a building made of bricks. It is a living organism, consisting of living cells, of many independent organizations under a common centralized leadership.” It took the People's Republic of China three decades to come to the conclusion that the monopoly of state ownership was inappropriate, the need to create a diverse economy and reform the functioning of state-owned enterprises.
The New Economic Policy (“building socialism with Chinese characteristics”) was based on the following principles:
Both in the countryside and in the city, allowing some people and areas to become prosperous before others; those. it is quite legal to achieve prosperity through honest work;
Allow certain components of capitalism to function as complements to the development of socialist productive forces;
At the same time, prevent polarization of the population by level of wealth and income, and resolutely oppose liberalism.
The reform of 1979 provided all possible support for the emergence of contract yards in rural areas and the creation of volost and village enterprises. Industrial enterprises were given the right to self-determination. 3,600 industrial facilities were transformed or partially and completely closed due to their unprofitability or high cost. The system of distribution relations between the state and enterprises has been changed. If previously the state confiscated all profits from enterprises, covering losses in case of unprofitability, then as a result of the reform a transition was made to a system of tax relations. Leading enterprises were now required to bear responsibility for their profits and losses. A number of enterprises were given the right to retain part of their profits for the purchase of new equipment, as well as for social security and bonuses for workers. Thus, in the coal industry, where profits are insignificant, enterprises received the right to keep up to 20% of profits for their needs, and in the chemical industry, which received high profits, this share amounted to 2 - 3%. By 1985, taxes already accounted for approximately half of businesses' net profits; the second half remained at the complete disposal of the enterprises. Some enterprises (approximately 1.5 thousand) received permission to sell their products not only to the state, but also directly on the market. Some enterprises were allowed to organize joint economic activities with foreign companies. The planning system has also changed. Essential products such as steel, copper, and cement were still distributed by the state, although some of these goods had already begun to be sent to the market. In the future, it was planned to completely abandon the centralized distribution of resources, with the exception of supplies to the military industry.
The state, while remaining the owner of a significant part of the means of production, of the three constituent elements of property rights - possession, use, disposal - transferred two of them (use and disposal) into the hands of enterprises and their collectives on the basis of a contract or lease. The reforms also allowed private activities, for example, in trade and catering, medical practice, tailoring, repairing bicycles, cars and other equipment. In trade, by the way, all forms of ownership were represented: large state-owned stores, labor collectives that owned trading enterprises on a share basis, cooperatives, family firms, private stores, individual traders. The state began to lease small shops, canteens and teahouses to collectives and private traders. Thus, in Guangdong province in 1984-1985. 126 trading units were transferred to collective use in shares, and 238 to individual use. Trade through the market increased significantly, which was generally prohibited until 1978. In 1984, there were already 6,300 markets in this province, and their trade volume accounted for about 20% of the total trade volume of the province.
The number of special economic zones (SEZs) and high and new technology zones (HNTZs) grew like mushrooms. This is the experience of forming a multi-structured economy in China, which has brought it high rates of economic growth.
China's GDP grew from 362.41 billion yuan in 1978 to 7 trillion 477.24 billion yuan in 1997, i.e. more than 20 times, and in constant prices - five times. The average annual growth rate for this period was 9.8%, which is 6.5 percentage points higher than the world average and 7.3 percentage points more than in developed capitalist countries. And for the period 2002-2007. China's GDP increased by 65.5% with an average annual growth rate of 10.6%. The pace of development of the PRC economy exceeded the growth rate of such Asian “tigers” as Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and Malaysia. According to Standard & Poor's forecasts, in 2015 the total volume of China's GDP will increase by 6.9%, and in 2016 - by 6.6%.
It should be noted the colossal growth in the volume of foreign economic relations of the PRC. For example, in the field of attracting foreign investment, in 1998 alone, the Chinese government approved 20 thousand projects with the participation of foreign capital and signed contracts worth $52.2 billion, and in 2005 all foreign investments amounted to $120 billion. The positive trade balance in 2005 amounted to $101.9 billion.
A. Anisimov gives very interesting calculations in his article about China (http://worldcrisis.ru/crisis/192044). He exposes myths about this country. Myth #1: Chinese prosperity is driven by capital imports. A. Anisimov, based on the purchasing power of the yuan, provides the following comparative data for 2005: investment in the Chinese economy amounted to 5 trillion. dollars, and straight foreign investment was only 60 billion dollars. A. Anisimov confirms the conclusion about the insignificant influence of foreign capital on the pace of development of China with such data. In 2000, China consumed 400 million tons of rolled steel and 1050 million tons of cement, while the developed countries of the world combined consumed 350 million tons of rolled steel and 400 million tons of cement in 2005. Myth No. 2: China's economy is export-oriented. Although China's foreign trade turnover is huge and it shares 1-2 place in the world with the United States (in 2005 - $762 billion in exports and $660 billion in imports), the PRC economy is characterized by a high level of development of all industries and the country's self-sufficiency in food and consumer goods. Myth No. 3: China’s economy depends on imports of oil and petroleum products. A. Anisimov claims that China produces about 500 million tons of oil while importing 17 million tons of oil and oil products (in 2004). In addition, coal production is at least 1.6 billion tons.
At the beginning of 2006, China overtook Japan in terms of government savings and took first place in the world in terms of this indicator (foreign exchange reserves reached $853.7 billion). Currently, China is the largest creditor of the United States, holding hundreds of billions in its financial assets.
Jiang Zemin, who, at the suggestion of Deng Xiaoping in 1993, became the Chairman of the People's Republic of China, led the fight for world markets, managing to bring China to seventh place in the world, and has repeatedly emphasized that the most important principle of the CPC policy is to preserve and improve the economic system for the development of various sectors, including the leading place should be occupied by the public property sector, the socialist market economy system, the variety of forms of distribution, among which the leading role is played by distribution by labor, as well as openness to the outside world.
I will give an assessment of the achievements of the People's Republic of China in 2014, given in the Report of the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Li Keqiang on the work of the government of the People's Republic of China (EFG No. 9 for 2015): “All last year, the development of the country took place in difficult and harsh conditions of the domestic and international situation. The revival of the global economy was not easy and uneven, with divergence in the development trends of leading economies. The pressure continued to grow due to the slowdown in the growth rate of the national economy, with the interweaving of various difficulties and challenges. And yet, under the firm leadership of the Party Central Committee, headed by General Secretary Comrade Xi Jinping, the people of the entire country, unanimously and courageously overcoming the difficulties faced at that time, fulfilled all the main annual tasks of socio-economic development, confidently walked along the path of fully building a moderately prosperous society, put a good start to comprehensively deepen reforms, launched a new campaign to fully ensure the rule of law in government administration, and made progress in fully implementing strict internal Party governance.
Throughout the past year, our socio-economic development has generally been smooth, moving forward while maintaining stability. The main indicator of its smooth progress is that the functioning of the economy remained within reasonable limits. GDP at a steady growth rate reached 63.6 trillion. yuan, up 7.4 percent year-on-year, placing it among the world's major economies. Employment remained strong, with the number of people employed in cities and towns increasing by 13.22 million, which was higher than the previous year. Prices remained stable, while consumer prices grew by 2 percent. The main sign of progress was increased harmony and sustainability of development. The structure of the economy continued to optimize. As a result, grain production reached 605 million tons, the contribution of consumption to economic growth increased by 3 percentage points and reached 51.2 percent, and the share of added value of services in GDP increased from 46.9 percent to 48.2 percent. New industries, new forms of economic activity and new business models began to appear continuously. In terms of economic growth rates, the central and western regions have surpassed the eastern. The quality of development has risen to a new level, while ordinary public budget revenues have increased by 8.6 percent, and the share of R&D expenditures in GDP has exceeded 2 percent. Energy intensity fell by 4.8 percent, the most significant in recent years. There have been noticeable positive changes in the lives of citizens. The country's average per capita disposable income actually increased by 8 percent, which was faster than the rate of economic growth. Moreover, the actual growth in per capita disposable income of the rural population reached 9.2 percent, i.e. they grew faster than those of the townspeople. The poor population in rural areas decreased by 12.32 million people. Over 66 million more rural population were provided with safe drinking water. Outbound tourism exceeded 100 million person-times. A new breakthrough has been made in the field of reforms and openness, in particular, the implementation of a set of priority tasks to comprehensively deepen reforms has been launched, and the current government has ahead of schedule reduced the administrative visa register by a third. The list of such successes was indeed not easy; it cost all the peoples of the country hard efforts and at the same time strengthened our confidence and determination to boldly move forward.”
So, China remains committed to the existence and development of a multi-structure economy. It cannot be otherwise at the initial stage of the development of socialism. The article by A. Anisimov (http://worldcrisis.ru/crisis/192044) notes that the following system of structures operates in China: 1) Hong Kong, 2) 14 “Mao Tsetung open” coastal cities and free economic zones, 3) multi-structure a system of coastal provinces with a significant degree of liberalization and an increased share of foreign capital in the economy, 4) a multi-structured system of inland provinces with a reduced degree of liberalization of the economy. Thus, China split into “capitalist”, “semi-capitalist” and “semi-socialist” provinces and their equivalent administrative-territorial entities.
In China, leaders are well aware that Poverty resulting from the underdevelopment of the productive forces is incompatible with the principles of socialism. Here it is again appropriate to turn to the main ideologist of Chinese modernization, Deng Xiaoping, who in 1984 said: “What is socialism? We didn't have a very clear idea about this before. Marxism attaches the greatest importance to the development of productive forces<…>The advantages of the socialist system are expressed precisely in the fact that the productive forces under it develop at a faster pace, higher than under capitalism.” (Deng Xiaoping “Fundamental Issues of Modern China.” - http://www.twirpx.com/file/666865/). Along with the need for the full development of productive forces, as the basis for the growth of the material well-being of the people, he drew attention to the importance of carrying out educational work, overcoming the “compared to hard cash”, emphasizing the inextricable connection between freedom and discipline, the importance of working to educate people with great ideals and high standards morality, developing in them the beauty of the soul, the beauty of the language, the beauty of behavior. In short, socialism is an organic combination of a high level of material, spiritual and moral culture of people.
That is why China is doing everything necessary to achieve high economic growth rates.
A generation of new “little Chinese emperors” is rising to its feet and gaining strength. In a word, it goes (and this is in the order of things) the struggle of two opposing forces and tendencies - capitalist and communist . Theoretically, it is possible that, as in the USSR, the ideas of a transition to the so-called may eventually prevail among the leaders and population of China. "market" economy and there will be a turn towards capitalism. However, as a preliminary analysis of the results of the last, XVIII Congress of the CPC shows, the general line for the victory of socialism still seems to be prevailing. At the XVIII Congress, for the first time, the provision was written into its Charter that in China “a socialist system with Chinese characteristics has been established.” A. Anisimov, in the already mentioned article, believes that the admission of capitalists to the party is explained by the decision to put them under control, “to nationalize not factories, and capitalists.”
There can be no simple solutions when looking for ways to develop. Rather, on the contrary, we can definitely talk about complicating the organization of social life, both on the scale of individual states and of all humanity. This tendency is manifested in all spheres: economic, political, ideological, moral. The improvement process is always based on the need to resolve certain contradictions.
In the economic sphere in the twentieth century, the tendency to complicate the forms of organization of social life was expressed in the search for a way out of crises (the First World War and the catastrophic decline in production in the early 1930s). In one case, history gave birth to the October Revolution, in another - Keynesianism, and in the third - Italian and German fascism. In all cases we see increasing role of the state in economic processes. On the one hand, state socialism appeared, and on the other, state-monopoly capitalism. “Since the war and especially the experiences of the fascist economy, the name of state capitalism has most often been understood as a system of state intervention and regulation. The French use a much more appropriate term in this case - “statism”<…>Statism - no matter where: in Mussolini’s Italy, in Hitler’s Germany, in Roosevelt’s America or in Leon Blum’s France - means state intervention on the basis of private property in order to save it” (L. Trotsky. The Betrayed Revolution. What is the USSR and where is it going? 1936. http://www.magister.msk.ru).
Nationalization of the economy in one form or another means, in essence, that humanity, trying to resolve key contradictions in the economy (between labor and capital, between the growth of people's needs and the production of means of satisfying them, between nature and material production), is increasingly convinced V the need for conscious regulation of economic processes , as well as the need to search for new forms of resolving global contradictions.
It should be noted that the increased intervention of the state in the processes occurring in the capitalist economy, as well as the formation of public property in the form of state ownership, gave rise to forecasting and planning at the macro level. In the twentieth century, consumer rights protection organizations began to gain strength in many countries. Forms of private and cooperative property were democratized. In short, there was a process of gradual maturation and accumulation of fundamental prerequisites a fundamentally new social structure, designed for the first time in history to serve directly people, i.e. contribute to the maximum satisfaction of people's needs.
In the USSR, the state form of ownership prevailed, although consumer cooperation and collective farms survived until Gorbachev's perestroika, having survived even the anti-cooperative “reforms” of N. Khrushchev. The monopoly position of the state form of ownership in most sectors of the national economy allowed the party-state apparatus to freely exercise its dictatorship. During Gorbachev's perestroika The cooperative movement began to revive, but it rather contributed to the restoration of capitalist forms of economic management than to the development of socialism.
The communists in the PRC acted completely differently. They managed to overcome the theoretically erroneous interpretation of cooperative property as an imperfect, immature form of socialist property, and did not oppose cooperatives to the state form of ownership. Currently, cooperative property in China is considered as a natural component of social property and is actively used to accelerate the development of productive forces, combat unemployment and improve the well-being of the population.
In the PRC, a network of credit and insurance cooperatives is widely developed, and cooperative trade, operating along with supply and marketing cooperation, is growing. Transport cooperation and construction cooperatives play a major role in the economy.
An important element of the economic system of the People's Republic of China is city and village collective property (GPCC). It is represented by cooperative enterprises under the jurisdiction of city and district authorities, street and neighborhood committees in cities and towns. Within the framework of the GPKS, there are small and medium-sized industrial enterprises, construction, transport, trade and other organizations, which are often associated with the corresponding state enterprises and organizations into a single cooperative unit. In the 80s, GPCS occupied a large share in the Chinese economy, covering 75% of industrial enterprises, more than 30% of all employees in industry, 28% of gross industrial output, more than 36% of retail trade turnover and volume of services, 14% of total foreign exchange earnings<…>Collective enterprises in cities and towns of the People's Republic of China are formed at the expense of the state, local authorities, public organizations, as well as through the share contributions of workers and employees employed in them. A prerequisite for the existence of the GPCS must be that the means of production and the produced product belong to the entire team, and adherence to the principles of independent economic accounting, including self-financing. Collective enterprises, as a rule, are not under the influence of directive planning, centralized material and technical supply at stable prices and are guided by market conditions.
In rural areas, along with various forms of cooperatives specializing in the production, processing and marketing of agricultural products, rural settlement enterprises (VSEs) are dynamically developing. They are, as a rule, multidisciplinary and cover many types of activities: production and processing of agricultural products, forestry, fish farming, mineral extraction, transport services for the population and enterprises, construction, trade, supply and sales.
Today in China there are about 21 million runway enterprises employing over 147 million people. They pay the state 800-900 million yuan ($1 billion) in taxes. In 1995, the state lifted many restrictions on foreign economic activity from WFP. The very next year, more than $72 billion worth of goods were supplied to the world market. In the early 2000s, more than 150 thousand runways worked for export alone. They relieve to a large extent the problem of excess labor in rural areas, and also serve as the main source of investment funds for the needs of the village.
To summarize, it should be noted that Deng Xiaoping’s outstanding political achievement was that at the very beginning of economic reforms, he decisively strengthened the state and military-political regime of governing the country. All reforms were and are still being carried out in China under the firm control of the state, army and CCP. It was Deng Xiaoping's order in June 1989 to exterminate the mass protesters in Tiananmen Square that prevented chaos and disintegration in China. As I. Malevich wrote, “even during Deng Xiaoping’s lifetime, the West started talking about Deng Xiaoping’s “Confucian capitalism.” However, the essence of Deng Xiaoping’s reforms under severe state pressure would be more correctly called “Confucian socialism” (cit. ed. p.92). I completely agree with I. Malevich that “ The main “mega-myths” of China are: sovereign socialism, military sufficiency and increased welfare of the entire people "(cit. ed. p. 141).
Deng Xiaoping's reforms allowed the PRC to create markets for food and other consumer goods, make a transition to a market for technological goods, and create market infrastructure technologies, including a unique financial and banking system that blocked superinflation at the expense of basic state-owned sectors of the national economy. The build-up of economic and military power has strengthened the centralization and security of the authorities carrying out economic reforms in China.
Of course, the current global socio-economic crisis is having a negative impact on the implementation of reforms. The above-mentioned report of the Chinese government for 2014 (EFG No. 9) states that “in the past year there were more difficulties and challenges than expected. Having bravely faced difficulties, we concentrated our efforts mainly on the following areas of work.
Firstly, targeted regulation through the establishment of reasonable limits ensured sustainable economic growth. In the face of increasing pressure from the slowdown in economic growth, we maintained strategic determination and sustained macroeconomic policies. Instead of implementing strong short-term stimulus measures, they continued to update approaches to macro-regulation and its methods and carried out targeted regulation, and thereby intensified vitality, plugged gaps and expanded the real sector of the economy. Weighing the reasonable limits of the functioning of the economy, we, through the implementation of targeted measures, focused attention and precisely concentrated our efforts on resolving acute contradictions and structural problems on the path of development. By deepening reforms, we provided the driving forces for development, promoted it through structural restructuring of the economy, and increased its potential by improving the well-being of the population. In short, we focused not only on expanding market demand, but also on increasing effective supply, and in general we tried to optimize the structure of the economy without losing the speed of its development.
An active financial and prudent monetary policy was effectively implemented. A targeted reduction in taxes and a total reduction in monetary fees was carried out, the scope of the preferential tax policy in relation to small and micro enterprises was expanded, as well as an experiment with the collection of VAT instead of turnover tax. By accelerating the pace of execution of financial payments, the use of accumulated funds was intensified. The levers of monetary policy were used flexibly. In particular, through a targeted reduction in the percentage of contributions to the reserve fund on deposits, targeted on-lending and asymmetric reduction in interest rates and other measures, support for weak areas of socio-economic development was strengthened, resulting in the growth rate of lending to small and micro enterprises, the peasantry, rural areas, and agriculture were respectively 4.2 and 0.7 percentage points higher than the average increase in loans. At the same time, improving financial control made it possible to maintain our main position - to avoid regional and systemic financial risks.
Secondly, through deepening reform and opening up, the vital energy of socio-economic development was awakened. Due to systemic and institutional obstacles constraining development, we have comprehensively deepened reforms to unleash the vital forces of the market and neutralize the pressure caused by the downward trend of economic growth. “Many hard nuts were gnawed”; systemic reforms in the economic, political, cultural and social spheres, as well as in the field of ecological civilization, were in full swing.
The most important reforms were progressing reliably. In particular, a general project to deepen the reform of the financial and tax system was developed and put into effect, and significant changes took place in the reform of the budget management and tax system. As a result, targeted transfer payments decreased by more than a third compared to the previous year, while the share of regular transfers increased and the management of local government debt obligations increased. The floating range of interest rates on deposits and the exchange rate has increased, a new step has been taken in the implementation of pilot projects for the development of non-state banks, an experiment has begun with the creation of a “mechanism for interaction between the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges,” and the scope of use of foreign exchange reserves and insurance funds has expanded. Pricing reform in the fields of energy resources, transport, ecology, telecommunications, etc. has accelerated. A whole package of reforms has been launched in such areas as the procedure for managing scientific and technical grants; the procedure for entrance exams and enrollment of students, the procedure for registration, the procedure for old-age insurance in institutions and organizations of the non-productive sector, etc.
The simplification of the apparatus and the reduction of powers with a combination of liberalization and management continued to be seen as important moves in the reform. During the year, 246 administrative approval objects were abolished or transferred to lower authorities in the departments of the State Council, 29 competitions and events related to the fulfillment of established indicators and corresponding awards were cancelled, 149 articles on the recognition and certification of professional qualifications were canceled, the list of investment objects was again revised and much narrowed activities subject to authorization. Our focus on reforming the business system has created a new business boom. The number of newly registered market entities reached 12.93 million, while the number of new enterprises increased by 45.9 percent. And although the rate of economic growth slowed down, the number of new jobs not only did not decrease, but, on the contrary, increased, and this demonstrated the enormous power of reforms and the limitless potential of the market.
Through opening up, reform and development were stimulated. In particular, we expanded the pilot free trade zone in Shanghai and created new similar zones in Guangdong Province, Tianjin City and Fujian Province. Exports stabilized while imports grew; as a result, the share of Chinese exports in the world market continued to increase. We actually used foreign direct investment in the amount of 119.6 billion US dollars, coming out on top in the world in this indicator. Our direct investments abroad reached US$102.9 billion, matching our use of foreign capital. Free trade zones with Iceland and Switzerland have begun to operate, and significant negotiations have been completed on the creation of free trade zones with South Korea and. Very important results were obtained in cooperation with foreign countries in the field of railways, electric power, oil and natural gas, communications, etc. Chinese equipment is rapidly spreading throughout the world.
Third, structural regulation was strengthened to increase development potential. In connection with acute structural contradictions, we acted actively and took encouraging or restrictive measures, focusing more on areas of work that were extremely relevant at the moment, but even more useful for the future, so that we could lay a solid foundation for socio-economic development.” .
Speaking about plans for the coming period, Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Li Keqiang formulated the following most important areas of work in the field of deepening reforms:
“Reform and opening up are the magic bullet for winning the process of promoting development. Therefore, it is necessary to comprehensively deepen reforms, giving a central place to the transformation of the economic system. By pursuing unified and comprehensive planning and working in a business-like manner, we strive to achieve new breakthroughs in reforms related to development as a whole, thereby giving it new impetus.
It is important to carry out reform more intensively through the reduction of the government apparatus and the reduction of powers with a reasonable balance of governance and liberalization. This year it is necessary to cancel or lower another group of administrative approval articles, completely cancel non-administrative approval articles, and develop a management procedure regulating administrative approval. We will deepen the reform of the commercial affairs system, and continue to simplify the procedure for registering authorized capital, completely unifying patents for the right to operate commercial and industrial enterprises, certificates of codes of organizations and institutions, and tax registration certificates. Streamline and regulate intermediary services. It is important to draw up a “negative list” regulating the access of commercial entities to the market, to publish lists of powers of the competent authorities of provincial governments and their responsibilities, obliging them to refrain from doing what the law does not give the right to, and to strictly fulfill what it obliges. Those competencies that local governments are supposed to transfer to the market and society must be fully transferred without delay, and the endorsed objects handed down from above must be kept in their hands and dealt with properly. It is necessary to strengthen control and management both during the approval itself and after the fact, to improve the network of services to enterprises and society. By accelerating the formation of a system of social trust, create a unified system of credit history codes for citizens throughout the country, as well as a platform for sharing information about the credit reliability of citizens and exchanging such information, and legally guarantee the information security of enterprises and individuals. Extreme clarity and simplicity is the manifestation of the highest wisdom. Those in power are not allowed to show self-will. Governments at all levels, creating an effective mechanism for reducing the apparatus, partially removing their powers and transforming current functions, should give enterprises more freedom to operate, provide more convenience and a healthy competitive environment for entrepreneurs. It is necessary to simplify the procedure for administrative approval when setting deadlines for the completion of any procedures. In a word, it is necessary to “read” part of the powers of government bodies in order to “multiply” the vital forces of the market.
Reform the investment and financing system in every possible way. Here it is necessary to significantly reduce the scope of investment projects approved by the government and reduce the powers of approval. Significantly reduce the preliminary approval of investment projects, and at the same time process their approval via the Internet. Significantly facilitate access to the market for public financial resources, encourage the creation of joint-stock investment funds using non-state capital. Governments will have to focus public capital on investments in priority projects through investment subsidies, capital injections, the creation of certain funds, etc. Based on the rational use of the Railway Development Fund, deepen the reform of their investment and financing. Actively introduce a public-private partnership model in the field of infrastructure and utilities.
Without missing a beat, speed up reforms of the pricing system. The direction of this reform is to fully identify the decisive role of the market in the allocation of resources. We must significantly reduce the types of goods and objects for which prices are set by the state, and, in principle, liberalize prices for all types of goods and services that can be supplied under competitive conditions. Government pricing for the vast majority of drugs will be eliminated, and tariff-setting rights will be removed for a range of essential public services. The pilot reform of the pricing system in the field of transmission and distribution of electricity will expand, and the reform of prices for water consumed by agriculture will advance. The pricing policy is being optimized, aimed at energy saving and environmental protection. The pricing mechanism for resource products will be improved, and a system of stepped tariffs for the population will be comprehensively implemented. At the same time, strengthen price controls and streamline the market to guarantee the basic living conditions of low-income people.
To achieve new progress in promoting the reform of the financial and tax system. With the transition to a fully regulatory, open and transparent system of budget management, all central and local departments, with the exception of those whose work is considered a state secret in accordance with the law, will have to publish their estimates and reports and place all their activities under public control. Increase the share of transfers of funds from the state capital management budget to the regular public budget. Introduce medium-term financial planning as a management tool. Develop effective measures to use accumulated financial resources. Strive to fully complete the transition to collecting VAT instead of turnover tax, adjust the scope of collection of excise taxes, improve the policy regarding excise tax rates, and expand the scope of ad valorem taxation in relation to resources. Submit the Law on Taxation and Tax Administration for consideration. By reforming the system of transfer payments, it is necessary to harmonize the powers and expenditure obligations of the Center and the regions, and it is reasonable to adjust the distribution of income between them.
In light of serving the real economy, promote financial reform. Here it is necessary to encourage private capital that meets established criteria to create medium and small banks, as well as other financial institutions, according to the law. Moreover, if all necessary criteria are met, the creation of such enterprises will be approved without a quantitative limit. With further deepening of the reform, the status of rural credit cooperatives as county legal entities will be stabilized. Fully explore the role of development finance institutions and policy finance in delivering more public goods. A deposit insurance system will be introduced. The reform of market-regulated interest rates will advance, and the framework for their regulation by the People's Bank of China (CBC) will be improved. The exchange rate of the Chinese yuan will be maintained at a reasonably balanced level, and the elasticity of its fluctuations in both directions will increase. The convertibility of the Chinese national currency for capital transactions will be gradually realized, the use of the Chinese yuan in international payments will increase, the creation of its transnational payment system will be accelerated, and the global system of its clearing services will be improved. Pilot projects for private investment abroad will be launched, and an experiment with the integration of the Shenzhen and Hong Kong stock exchanges will begin in a timely manner. At the same time, the creation of a system of multi-level capital markets will be intensified, reform will begin with the introduction of registration of the issue of shares, and the development of regional shareholder markets serving medium and small enterprises will be ensured. An experiment with equity crowdfunding will unfold. The securitization of credit assets will advance, the scale of issuing corporate bonds will expand, and the development of the derivatives market will be ensured. Insurance for severe natural disasters and commercial old-age insurance with deferred payment of personal income taxes are to be introduced. Through innovation in financial control and management, prevent and eliminate financial risks. Actively create financial mechanisms accessible to all groups of the population in order to cover all market entities with the system of financial services.
Deepen the reform of state-owned enterprises and state-owned assets. Here, based on a precise delineation of the functions of different types of state-owned enterprises, it is necessary to promote their reform in a differentiated manner. Accelerate the implementation of pilot projects to create investment and management companies operating with state capital. Create a platform for market-type operations and thereby increase the efficiency of managing state capital. Systematically carry out reform with the development of a mixed form of ownership in state-owned enterprises, encourage and normalize the participation of non-state capital in their investment projects. Accelerate institutional reform of the electricity, oil and gas and other industries. In a variety of ways, free enterprises from burdensome social service functions and solve problems inherited from the past, protect the legitimate rights and interests of workers and employees. Improve the system of modern enterprises, reform and improve the mechanism of incentives and restrictions in relation to their managers. It is necessary to strengthen control over state property and its management, prevent its leakage, and significantly increase the management efficiency of state-owned enterprises.
The non-public sector of the economy is an important component of our national economy. It is necessary to encourage, support and guide its development without the slightest hesitation, while paying special attention to identifying the opportunities of entrepreneurs, comprehensively implementing policies and measures to promote the development of this sector of the economy and increasing the viability of the economy of all forms of ownership, protecting by law the property rights of various types of enterprises as legal entities persons
Reform must be continued in the fields of science and technology, education, culture, medical care, pharmaceuticals and health care, old-age insurance, non-production organizations, public housing construction funds, etc. Development needs the new driving forces that reforms provide; people are waiting for the real results of reforms. And we need to try to pass this “exam” on reforms so that we can add strength to development and benefit the people.
Openness to the outside world is also a reform. Therefore, it is necessary to enter a new round of expanding high-level openness, accelerate the creation of a new open economy system, and gain initiative in development and international competition through openness.
Stimulate the transformation and renewal of foreign trade. Here it is necessary to improve the mechanism for delimiting tax refund obligations for exports, according to which, since 2015, the increased part of it will be fully borne by the central budget in order to give places and enterprises “calming drops.” It is important to streamline and normalize fees in import-export procedures, enter and publish a list of their articles. Carry out policies and measures to enable our foreign trade to cultivate new competitive advantages, stimulate the transformation of the toll trade model, ensure the development of the comprehensive foreign trade service platform and procurement market, expand comprehensive pilot projects for the development of cross-border e-commerce, increase the number of demonstration cities engaged in service outsourcing, increase share of trade in services. It is important to pursue a more active import policy, increase the import of advanced technologies, key equipment, important parts and spare parts, etc.
Use foreign investments more actively and effectively. The Indicative List of Industries for Attracting Foreign Investment should be amended, focusing on increasing openness to the outside world in services and general manufacturing, and halving the list of activities restricted to foreign investors. Completely and completely switch to a general registration procedure, in which only a part of the objects are authorized, while simultaneously transferring to lower authorities most of the powers to approve the promoted objects, actively develop a management model that combines the national regime at the pre-investment stage with a list of restrictions for investors. Review relevant laws regarding investment by foreign traders, while improving the control and management system, and creating a stable, fair, transparent and predictable business environment.
Accelerate the implementation of the strategy to expand abroad. Here it is necessary to encourage the participation of our enterprises in the construction of foreign infrastructure facilities and cooperation with foreign countries in the field of production capacities, to promote Chinese equipment on the world market, including railway, electric power, telecommunications and civil engineering, as well as cars, aircraft, electronics, etc. , encourage enterprises in the metallurgical industry, construction materials and other industries to invest in foreign projects. Implement forms of management of foreign investment activities mainly with the introduction of a registration procedure. Expand the scope of export credit insurance, provide full credit insurance when financing the export of large, complete equipment. It is necessary to expand the channels for using foreign exchange reserves, improve financial, information and legal services, as well as services in the field of consular protection. By paying special attention to risk prevention, enhance the ability to ensure the rights and interests of Chinese citizens and legal entities abroad. Let our Chinese enterprises enter the international market confidently, let them be tempered in the course of international competition, grow and become stronger!
Create a new scheme of all-encompassing openness to the outside world. Here it is necessary to promote cooperation in creating an economic strip along the land Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road of the 21st century. Accelerate the pace of connecting infrastructure and direct communications, creating highly efficient customs and international logistics routes. Build economic corridors China-Pakistan and Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar. To expand the openness of the internal and border regions of the country, to stimulate the innovative development of technical and economic development zones, to increase the level of development of border and cross-border economic cooperation zones. Actively promote the establishment of pilot free trade zones in Shanghai, Guangdong, Tianjin and Fujian, disseminate their mature experience throughout the country, thereby creating unique leading zones in implementing reform and opening up.
Stabilization of economic growth rates and its structural regulation are interdependent. We need to guarantee in every possible way the functioning of the economy within reasonable limits, and at the same time actively promote its renewal and modernization, and ensure its sustainable and long-term development.
It is important to cultivate new points of growth in population consumption. When stimulating consumption among the general public, “service expenses in all three categories” should be limited. To promote consumption in the field of gerontoservice, home care and medical and health services, expand information consumption, qualitatively improve tourism and recreation, stimulate green consumption, stabilize housing consumption and expand consumption in the field of education, culture, physical education and sports. It is necessary to fully promote the implementation of the triune network of telecommunications, the Internet and broadcasting, accelerate the construction of fiber optic networks, significantly increase the speed of data transmission via broadband Internet, ensure the development of logistics and express delivery services, encourage new types of consumption, the carrier of which is the Internet, in interaction modes through Internet and beyond. It is necessary to create and improve a system for managing and monitoring the quality and safety of consumer goods, including the procedure for tracking them at all stages of production and sales, as well as the recall procedure, promptly identifying cases of manufacturing and selling counterfeit and low-quality products and strictly punishing those involved, and thereby protecting the legal rights and interests of consumers. Just as small streams merge into a wide river, the enormous consumer potential of a billion-strong population must turn into a tremendous driving force of economic growth.
Increase the volume of effective investment in the production of public goods. In order to implement the priority projects provided for by the 12th Five-Year Plan program, it is necessary to begin implementing a new group of the most important programs, including the reconstruction of dilapidated housing stock, improvement of urban underground communications in order to improve the living conditions of the population; laying railways and highways in the central and western regions of the country, as well as improving river fairways, and constructing other important transport facilities; construction of hydro-reclamation facilities, creation of high-standard arable lands and other agricultural facilities; creation of key facilities for information, electricity, oil and gas and other networks; guaranteed supply of environmentally friendly types of energy, as well as oil, natural gas and other minerals; technical re-equipment of traditional industries; energy-saving, environmental and ecological construction. This year, investment from the central budget will increase to 477.6 billion yuan, but the government will not remain the “sole soloist.” It will be necessary, fully awakening the viability of non-state investment, to direct social capital into ever wider areas. Investments in railway infrastructure will have to be kept at more than 800 billion yuan in order to commission new railways with a total length of over 8,000 km. It is necessary to introduce a basically unified electronic payment system for the entire country for unimpeded travel on expressways so that transport truly becomes the “vanguard” of development. Accelerate the implementation of 57 large hydraulic projects that have already begun and begin construction of 27 new projects this year. Funds in excess of 800 billion yuan will be allocated for large hydraulic facilities under construction. At the same time, promote investment in projects for the reconstruction of dilapidated residential areas, railway and hydraulic engineering construction, with priority given to projects in the central and western regions. All this will help to expand our huge domestic demand to a greater extent.
We need, while fully promoting government on the basis of the law, to accelerate the construction of a legal, innovative and incorruptibly honest service-type government, strengthen its executive capacity, increase public confidence in it, and generally stimulate the modernization of the public administration system and the management capabilities themselves.
Constantly observing the Constitution and other laws when performing administrative functions, transfer all government work into the legal mainstream. The Constitution embodies the fundamental norms of our activities, and therefore governments at all levels and all their personnel are required to strictly abide by it. You need to respect the law, study it, observe and apply it, and perform your duties in accordance with it. All administrative actions must be legally justified. No government agency is permitted to exercise power outside the bounds of the law. It is necessary to deepen the reform of the administrative law enforcement system, adhere to strict, standardized, fair and civilized implementation of laws, accelerate the promotion of comprehensive law enforcement, and fully implement the procedure for responsibility for administrative law enforcement. Any violation of laws and regulations must involve prosecution, and all unfair and illiterate manifestations in law enforcement must be suppressed.
Update forms of governance, strengthen services, and focus on improving government efficiency. In the provision of essential public services, it is necessary, to the extent possible, to use forms of government procurement of services, transferring to the market or the public those routine administrative management services that can be provided by a third party. To practically develop consultations between government structures and the public, to effectively increase the scientific and democratic nature of decision-making, and to attach serious importance to the role of think tanks. Move to openness of administrative affairs everywhere, spread the introduction of electronic administration and online office work. Governments at all levels are obliged to consciously place their activities under the control of the People's Congress of their level and their standing committees, under the democratic control of the PPCC at the corresponding level, and to listen carefully to the opinions of the deputies of the People's Congress, members of the PPCC, democratic parties, associations of industrialists and traders, non-party leaders and people's organizations. All our work must be placed under the control of the people and fully express their aspirations.
Our country is a single multinational state, the strengthening and development of socialist national relations on the basis of equality, solidarity, mutual assistance and harmony express the fundamental interests of all nationalities of the country and are their common duty. It is necessary to preserve and improve the institution of national regional autonomy, increase the scale of support for underdeveloped national areas, support the development of small nationalities, continue the program of action to stimulate the rise of outlying areas for the benefit of the local population, protect and develop the excellent traditional culture of national minorities, original national villages and towns, stimulate communication, exchanges and merging of different nationalities with each other. It is important to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Tibet Autonomous Region and the 60th anniversary of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region with dignity. Peace and harmony among the nationalities of the country, their common efforts and harmonious development will make our great family of the Chinese nation even more prosperous and powerful, happy and prosperous!
The modern era gives China historic chances for development and prosperity. Let us unite tightly around the CPC Central Committee led by Comrade Xi Jinping, raise high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, spiritually focus and gather strength, open the way for innovation, and do everything to achieve the planned socio-economic development goals for the current year to bring a new and a more significant contribution in the interests of fulfilling the planned tasks for the “two approaching centenary anniversaries”, the tasks of building a rich and powerful, democratic and civilized, harmonious and modernized socialist state and realizing our dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation!”
Chief Researcher of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor J. Berger, at a meeting at the Presidium of the Russian Philosophical Society, discussing the specifics of reforms in China in the era of globalization, said the following: “What is the model of Chinese globalization today? I would note three main features of it.
The first is the refusal of shock therapy. Chinese globalization is taking place gradually. Initially, 4 territorial economic zones were formed in the south of China, near Hong Kong. Then sectoral gradualism began, that is, some sectors were opened to foreign capital. Only 5 years after joining the WTO, China opened its entire territory and all sectors to foreign capital. The latest transformations took place in the financial sector in 2007. The forms of implementation of the globalization program were also gradual. At first, enterprises mixed with foreign capital were created. Then enterprises were formed only with foreign investment. Currently, mergers and acquisitions of industrial and financial capital are permitted. Foreign companies may even “take over” key sectors of the economy.
The second feature is that China does not open up until internal reforms have been carried out. In other words, the organic relationship between external openness and internal reforms is clearly observed.
Finally, China's globalization model attempts to optimize the pros and minimize the cons of reform and opening up. Due to this third feature, China, when joining globalization, carefully protects its sovereignty. The features of Chinese globalization are widely discussed in the West. Recently, J. Ramo's book “The Beijing Consensus” was published in London, as opposed to the concept of the “Washington Consensus” that appeared in the early 90s. XX century The Washington Consensus sets out 10 neoliberal rules for transforming Latin American economies. These included: 1) removal of tariff barriers; 2) an economy unregulated by the state, etc. The application of the rules of the “Washington Consensus” led to the collapse of the economies of Argentina, Indonesia, Russia and other countries. In the “Beijing Consensus” the rules are opposite: 1) the desire for innovation in the economic, political, social sphere, but taking into account Chinese specifics; 2) the social sphere should develop in parallel with the economy; 3) asymmetry in development is necessary, that is, the Chinese model can unfold without being drawn into an arms race. However, China could paralyze the United States. Gold reserves were initially needed to protect against economic collapse, as happened in a number of countries in 1997-1998. Then it became necessary to guarantee the supply of raw materials (primarily oil) and energy so that industry could grow uninterrupted. Currently, this reserve serves the purpose of protecting China's sovereignty. Gold reserves can contribute to the financial destruction of the enemy if he tries, for example, to start a nuclear war” (Century of Globalization. Issue No. 1/2009).
The PRIME publication analyzed the latest IMF report on the volume of national economic output, which states that in real terms for 2014, China reached the level of $17.6 trillion, the United States - $17.4 trillion.
The share of China in the world economy in PPP terms was 16.5%, the USA - 16.3%. One of the reasons was the introduction of international standards by China when calculating GDP, which allowed it to include previously not taken into account activities in this indicator. Thus, for the first time in many decades, the United States lost its status as the largest
Paulman V.F.