中文
By Anthony Moretti
Lead: The Communist Party of China announced a comprehensive reform plan at the third plenary session of its 20th Central Committee in mid-July, focusing on high-quality growth and innovation. The agenda sets ambitious goals that will have positive effects both domestically and internationally.
The third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which concluded on July18, has set the country on a course for success in the near term and beyond.
After the four-day meeting, President Xi Jinping emphasized to both Chinese and global audiences the high expectations he and other Chinese leaders have for the reforms outlined during the plenary session.
China aims to build a high-standard socialist market economy by 2035. President Xi emphasized that to remain on course, multiple reform measures must be implemented over the next decade.
The first is perhaps obvious, solely because of the numerous times it has been discussed over the past few weeks. Specifically, economic reforms must walk in lockstep with the push for high-quality development. China aims to transform "Made in China" into a hallmark of quality as the country moves away from mass-producing low-cost goods for global markets. Instead, China will be devoted more to creating higher-value products.
Innovation will also be a central component of China's next 10 years. The country plans to strengthen its educational system, nurture scientific and technological talent, and support research institutions. These measures will provide a solid foundation for China to become an even more innovative country.
Chinese officials are also promoting reforms to enhance whole-process people's democracy, a powerful indicator that they intend to follow through on one of the more integral parts of the reform process: improving the lives of all Chinese citizens.
The communique released at the end of the third plenary session stated clearly that China must "purposefully give more prominence to reform and further deepen reform comprehensively with a view to advancing Chinese modernization in order to better deal with the complex developments both at home and abroad, adapt to the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, and live up to the new expectations of our people."
Looking ahead, China will adopt a comprehensive approach to reform, targeting various facets of society. As previously mentioned, education will be a key focus area. In addition, the government is expected to introduce family-friendly policies that acknowledge the significant challenges faced by both men and women in caring for their children and older parents. Finally, critical initiatives are planned to improve China's ecological conditions.
Certain countries may attempt to throw cold water on some of these efforts. U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has already indicated an intention to set tariffs on all Chinese products at 60%. Should he follow through on this reckless idea, American consumers will bear the brunt of the consequences, as they will be forced to pay higher prices for products manufactured and exported by China.
U.S. President Joe Biden, who announced on July 21 that he was abandoning his re-election campaign, is equally eager to use tariffs as a strategy to contain China. About two months ago, he announced 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. This move is a stunning and dangerous attempt to mask the U.S. government's failure to implement progressive policies that would have encouraged domestic automakers to shift away from producing gasoline-powered cars. We should remember that China has emerged as the global leader in EVs due to its unwavering dedication to making EVs a core component of its automotive industry.
The U.S. could have done the same. Whether due to stubbornness, fears of job losses from mass EV production, lack of political will, or other factors, America has lagged behind China in EV innovation. The same criticism applies to other industries as well.
The European Union has also jumped on the tariff train. Earlier this month, it imposed tariffs of up to 37.6% on Chinese EVs, a move that runs afoul of free trade principles and can only be described as protectionist. Here, too, Europe's wobbly commitment to EVs is why it is now resorting to tariffs – a politically expedient measure that disguises its lack of ambition.
As China begins the important work of enacting the reforms outlined at the third plenary session, the country's economy continues to perform strongly. The 5% growth forecast made earlier this year remains a reasonable estimate. In contrast, Deloitte Global Economics Research Center has pegged U.S. growth at 2.4% this year before sliding to perhaps 1.1% in 2025. No matter who becomes U.S. president in January 2025, he or she will struggle to boost economic growth throughout his or her term.
Thus, the contrast between China's ambitious initiatives and the U.S.' lagging technological progress is stark. China has set three main goals for the future. First, by 2029, it aims to complete the reforms outlined in the recent plenary session. Second, by 2035, China wants to basically realize socialist modernization. Finally, by 2049, the centenary of the People's Republic of China, it plans to build a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious.
Recently, China brought the 14 Palestinian factions together in the country, which signed on July 23 the Beijing Declaration on Ending Division and Strengthening Palestinian National Unity. In early September, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in Beijing to further boost the Asian country's all-round collaboration with African nations. As it continues on its trajectory of development, China will likely achieve its above goals in the years to come. As widely expected, with its continued growth and greater global influence that would come with the new reforms, China will be in a position to contribute much more to peace and development of the world. It would, therefore, be so much wiser of the U.S. and some other Western countries to change course and dedicate themselves to mutually beneficial cooperation with China.
Anthony Moretti is an associate professor at the Department of Communication and Organizational Leadership of Robert Morris University.
