Introduction: The CITIC Reform and Development Research Foundation, the Russian Society for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the Chinese Society of Political Science and the Institute for Advanced Study of Sino-Russian Relations at the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences co-hosted the Sino-Russian Expert Video Seminar on "A Century of the Founding of the Communist Party of China: A Brilliant Course and Historical Contribution" on June 24. At the meeting, Sergei Graziev, Minister of Integration and Macroeconomics of the Eurasian Economic Commission, delivered a speech, the following is the full text of the speech, which has been authorized by the Observer Network.
Sergei Graziev:
I would like to begin by congratulating the Chinese comrades and the delegates at this meeting, whose tremendous achievements have delighted the whole world. Since the beginning of the new century, China's economic growth has achieved the goals set forth, and the CPC has faithfully practiced the ideal concept of communism.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the corresponding ideology was gone, but China retained the socialist ideology, adhered to the communist spirit, adopted a pragmatic attitude towards economic reform, and achieved great achievements, in fact, which opened a new chapter in the history of the world economy.
In the past 30 years, China has continuously made breakthroughs to become the world's second largest economy, completed the grand task of poverty alleviation, and further developed a socialist society with Chinese characteristics. China not only promotes socialist ideology and puts it into practice, but also embodies it in corresponding economic policies.
China has rethought the original unshakable Marxist theoretical views and Western economic theories, and created theories and ideas that are more suitable for China's actual situation and have The characteristics of Chinese experience.
The leaders of the CPSU did not break away from dogmatism, but carried out economic reforms in accordance with this dogma, including cooperatives, partial public-private partnerships, and the allowing for individual production and operation, etc., with the result that we lost the means of production and the exploitation of people.
Within the framework of the CPSU's reforms, coupled with the influence of redistribution, it was impossible to activate the market mechanism. The leaders of the state-owned enterprises of the USSR established cooperative enterprises and cooperatives, which they hoped would be able to sell their products at free market prices, but in fact these enterprises were doing opportunistic, resale and resale, and it was those who controlled production who benefited.
In addition, this dogma is embodied in an anarchist principle, in which companies hope to have more autonomy by reducing administrative interference, allowing them to choose their own factory directors, resulting in the best interests of enterprises aligning with short-term interests.
Under the dogmatic Marxist framework, the leadership of the CPSU was unable to carry out more thorough and drastic reforms. Gorbachev and the pogro commissars were so afraid of market inflation that they refused to liberalize market prices and loosen the prescriptive price mechanisms.
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Image source: Visual China
All the experiments left the Soviet economy with imbalances and shortages, with a price formation mechanism of two or even three tracks, and the end result was tragic, as we all know. The economy became more and more chaotic, the CPSU decided to take the road of democratization, and the most important political forces in the country chose democratic elections as the model of the supreme authority.
Of course, there is also controversy in the academic circles, the Russian Academy of Sciences has always been opposed to "shock therapy", against radical reform of the economy, we have a theory of symbiosis, but it is considered revisionism and has not been approved by the party.
Until the end, the CPSU adhered to the dogmatization of Marxism, and the Chinese Communist Party overcame these dogmatisms, including Deng Xiaoping's "white cat and black cat theory," allowing China to view the potential of the socialist economy in a whole new way.
We have seen the establishment of welfare societies and states in Western Europe, which is considered a variant of capitalism and is not applicable to socialist countries, while the path taken by the Chinese Communist Party is to release market vitality.
The Chinese Communist Party has successfully established an effective socialist market economy, demonstrating the flexibility of the socialist system and demonstrating the feasibility of socialist market means to raise people's living standards.
China has made shocking achievements. China has established a modern urban civilization, established the most effective economic system, and China's market mechanism has always served socialism, which I thought was impossible before, but it seems obvious today. Heads of private enterprises are willing to cooperate with the State, willing to submit to the Long-term goals and strategies of the State, and the Government supports the operation and development of private enterprises. If a business wants to make a profit or succeed, it has to move in the direction that the state allows. In this way, the interests of the State, society and private enterprise are harmonized. China has established a new model for managing social and economic development, with the state acting as a "harmonist" and different social groups setting up unified standards to improve the quality of life of the whole society and the people.
I visited a Chinese enterprise, which surprised me very much, they insisted on the socialist standard of price formation, that is, the price of commodities does not exceed 5% of the cost, this 5% is roughly equivalent to the price standard of the Soviet period, these enterprises may not be able to maximize profits, but also have a normal and reasonable level of profits.
Unlike capitalism in the United States and the West, China's state regulation encourages the development of a private economy and private enterprise, and the business activities of enterprises should serve the well-being of the people, and enterprises will not be supported if they speculate or engage in activities that undermine the market economy. The operation of enterprises should bring useful experience to society, conform to socialist economic goals, and improve the people's living standards.
In my book, I put forward the concept of "the paradigm of world economic integration", which should be conducive to improving people's living standards. Although Chinese comrades humbly say that this is socialism with Chinese characteristics, I would like to say that this feature is already global and cosmopolitan, and China has set a good example for Vietnam, including countries along the "Belt and Road", who learn from China's experience according to their own abilities and actual conditions.
China has become a role model. The world pattern established by China is to respect the national sovereignty, identity and cultural habits of all countries, and East Asia, Latin America, and the Eurasian Economic Union all need to learn from China's experience.
I would like to once again congratulate the Chinese comrades and the CPC on its centenary, and I wish you all more energetic and courageous to learn from China's experience to update their economic theories. China proves that for economics to become a science, it needs to be based on practice and facts.
Shanghai: The site of the "Great Congress of the Communist Party of China" welcomes tourists from all over the world. Image source: Visual China
In the 1990s, China and the Soviet Union chose different development paths, China achieved economic progress, while the Soviet Union and post-Soviet countries suffered economic disasters, which shows that the way China manages the economy is not only a combination of practice and theory, but also creativity and innovation.
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