Accurately grasp the theory of "supporting Chinese-style modernization with high-quality population development"

Text/Deng Zhiping, Zhang Guijin

The population issue has always been an overall, long-term and strategic issue facing the mainland. On May 5, 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed at the first meeting of the 20th Central Finance and Economic Commission that population development is a major event related to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and efforts must be made to improve the overall quality of the population and support Chinese-style modernization with high-quality population development. Profoundly understanding and accurately grasping the great significance, rich connotation and practical requirements of this important exposition has a very important guiding value for the construction of a strong country and national rejuvenation.

Accurately grasp the relationship between high-quality population development and Chinese-style modernization

The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that Chinese-style modernization is modernization with a huge population. In the process of entering a modern society, the population of more than 1.4 billion is undoubtedly the main force in the construction of a modern socialist power, and at the same time, the achievements of Chinese-style modernization will also benefit all the people. In this sense, high-quality population development is both a means and the purpose of Chinese-style modernization.

High-quality population development is a key factor support for China's modernization. Economic development and modernization are inseparable from the support of abundant production factors. Among many factors of production such as land, capital, labor, technology, and data, population factors have a basic position, are the most dynamic, creative and dynamic factors, and should always be considered as the most core variable in development. The huge population size provides abundant labor resources for Chinese-style modernization. Over the past 40 years of reform and opening up, the mainland's economy has sustained rapid growth, which is inseparable from the promotion and support of the demographic dividend. At the same time, the consumption of more than 1.4 billion people is conducive to the formation of ultra-large-scale domestic market advantages, providing effective support for accelerating the construction of a new development pattern with domestic circulation as the main body and domestic and international dual circulation promoting each other. In the new era and new journey, with the improvement of the education level and skill level of the working-age population, the mainland is accelerating its transformation from a populous country to a human resources power, and the superposition of human resource advantages and ultra-large-scale market advantages provides a strong power engine for Chinese-style modernization.

High-quality population development is the value support of China's modernization. As a new form of human civilization, Chinese-style modernization has its own distinct value pursuit. Unlike Western-style modernization, which is capital-centered, Chinese-style modernization has always adhered to the people-centered approach and taken satisfying the people's yearning for a better life as its goal. The Communist Party of China combines the values and propositions of scientific socialism with the people-oriented thinking in China's excellent traditional culture, puts forward that "rivers and mountains are the people, and the people are the rivers and mountains", practicing development for the people, development relying on the people, and sharing the fruits of development by the people, fully embodying the ruling philosophy and value proposition of the Communist Party of China that is rooted in the people, bloodline in the people, and strength in the people.

Accurately grasp the rich connotation of high-quality population development

High-quality development is the primary task of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way, and high-quality population development is an important part of high-quality development. High-quality population development has rich connotations, and it is generally believed that high-quality population development refers to population development with sufficient total population, continuous improvement of overall population quality, optimization of population structure, and adaptation to resources and environment.

The population size has grown moderately. For a long time, the mainland was the world's most populous country. The huge population size not only provides abundant labor resources on the supply side, but also forms a super-large-scale market advantage on the demand side, providing greater room for maneuver in response to the impact of various uncertain factors. In 2022, the change of Chinese population will enter a watershed, and in the future, promoting the realization of moderate fertility level and appropriate population size is an important part of promoting high-quality population development.

The demographic structure continues to improve. Population structure is closely related to balanced population development, and has an increasingly direct impact on economic and social development and modernization. At present, the population development of the mainland presents the trend characteristics of declining birthrate, aging and regional population growth and decrease, and it is necessary to comprehensively understand and correctly view the new situation of mainland population development, continuously improve the age structure, gender structure and spatial structure of the population through optimizing the population development strategy, and promote the long-term balanced development of the population, in order to firmly grasp the strategic initiative of economic and social development.

The quality of the population has improved significantly. Improving the overall quality of the population is the primary task of the current high-quality population development. The law of demographic transition shows that with the acceleration of modernization, the demographic dividend will inevitably change from a quantitative dividend to a quality dividend. This quality is to be achieved by improving the physical, ideological, moral, scientific and cultural qualities of the population, and transforming the population from an ordinary labor force into a high-quality talent. Since the founding of New China, the healthy life expectancy of the mainland population has been continuously improved, the education level has continued to improve, human capital has been continuously accumulated, and the quality of the population has improved significantly. Improving the quality of the population is a systematic project, which needs to be promoted as a whole through the high-quality development of the whole life cycle of the population, especially to deepen the reform and innovation of education and health, and to promote the construction of an educational power as a strategic project for the high-quality development of the population.

The external environment of the population is constantly optimized. Sustainable development of population, resources and environment is an important challenge faced by countries with ultra-large populations. While large-scale population consumption drives economic growth, it also means that people's demand for natural resources and environment continues to increase, which will increase the pressure on the sustainability of resources, energy and environmental systems, and issues such as food security and energy security must be considered in an integrated manner with population issues. High-quality population development means high-level dynamic balance and benign interaction between population development and security, population and economic society, population and resources and environment.

Accurately grasp the practical requirements of high-quality population development

At present, the high-quality development of the mainland population is facing great challenges brought about by the transformation of the population structure, and it is necessary to plan and improve the population development strategy in the new era with a systematic concept, and form a high-quality development pattern of the population with sufficient total, optimized structure and excellent quality, so as to provide strong support for Chinese-style modernization.

The first is to improve the population policy system, maintain a moderate fertility level and population size, and improve the population structure. At present, the fertility level of the mainland is lower than the replacement level, and there is still some room for public policy to play a role in raising the fertility rate below the replacement level. In terms of optimizing population fertility, the Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Optimizing Fertility Policies to Promote Long-term Balanced Population Development was issued in 2021, which clearly proposed to optimize fertility policies and promote long-term population balance; Subsequently, the "Guiding Opinions on Further Improving and Implementing Active Fertility Support Measures" was issued, and the fertility support policy system was more sound. Further improve the basic public service supply system covering the whole life cycle of the whole people, and build a childbirth-friendly society, so as to relieve the worries of childbirth and release the fertility potential. For example, improve the level of eugenics and childcare services through measures such as ensuring maternal and child health, vigorously develop an inclusive childcare service system, and promote educational equity and the supply of high-quality educational resources. Improve the social policy system conducive to family development, promote housing policy, holiday policy and other fields to be more inclined to the family as a whole, and improve the reproduction capacity of the family population. Implement the national strategy of actively coping with the aging of the population, such as weaving a social security and bottom-up old-age service network, expanding the coverage of inclusive old-age services, strengthening the capacity of home-based community old-age services, improving the elderly health support system and developing the silver economy.

Second, efforts should be made to improve the overall quality of the population. The most important way to improve the quality of the population is education, and the implementation of the strategy of strengthening the country through education is the primary project of high-quality population development and the key to promoting the transformation of the "demographic dividend" into the "talent dividend". This requires us to plan education development based on individual life cycles, and improve the full-chain education service system covering inclusive childcare services, preschool education, compulsory education, higher education, vocational education and lifelong education. For example, promote the balanced allocation of educational resources, strengthen the supply level of high-quality educational resources, focus on improving the quality of inclusive preschool education, expand the coverage of high-quality compulsory education, and comprehensively improve the education level of high school education. Deepen the reform of higher education, innovate education methods, school-running models, management systems, guarantee mechanisms, etc., cultivate more innovative, creative and top-notch talents, and provide talent support for Chinese-style modernization. In addition, it is necessary to improve the high-quality and efficient medical and health service system to improve the health quality of the population; Continue to improve the quality of national civilization and enhance national soft power.

The third is to strengthen the development and utilization of human resources. In the face of the new development situation, it is urgent to take high-quality full employment as the main way to develop and utilize human resources, stabilize the labor participation rate, improve the efficiency of human resources utilization, and promote Chinese-style modernization with high-quality development of human resources. For example, improving the vocational skills of workers to enhance the ability of ordinary workers to enter the middle-income group through their own efforts; Strengthen the development and utilization of elderly labor resources, develop positions more suitable for older workers, and promote better participation of older workers in social construction; The large scale, high quality and rich experience of the young and healthy elderly population in mainland China are valuable social wealth, and the enthusiasm for re-employment and social participation is the "new dividend" in China's modernization construction, which can encourage young and healthy elderly people to participate in social and economic development through various ways, and smooth their mechanism for social and economic development.

About the author

Deng Zhiping, Ph.D., Director, Researcher, Institute of Reform, Opening-up and Modernization, Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences

Zhang Guijin is an associate researcher and Ph.D., Institute of Sociology and Demography, Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences

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Source | Yangcheng Evening News • Yangcheng Pie

Responsible Editor | Fu Mingtu Wang Junjie