Hu Maoren: The main tasks that need to be completed in economic work in 2024

At this year's Central Economic Work Conference, when talking about the key points of work for next year, nine major tasks were proposed. Here are just a few of them.

The first task mentioned is to lead the construction of a modern industrial system with scientific and technological innovation. It is necessary to promote industrial innovation with scientific and technological innovation, especially to use disruptive technologies and cutting-edge technologies to give birth to new industries, new models, and new kinetic energy, and develop new quality productive forces. We will improve the new national system, implement high-quality development actions for key industrial chains in the manufacturing industry, strengthen quality support and standard guidance, and improve the resilience and safety of industrial and supply chains.

Here is an introduction to the issue of new quality productivity. On the afternoon of September 7, 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping said at the forum on promoting the comprehensive revitalization of Northeast China in the new era in Harbin that actively cultivate strategic emerging industries such as new energy, new materials, advanced manufacturing, and electronic information industry, actively cultivate future industries, accelerate the formation of new quality productivity, and enhance the development of new functions.

The mainland's industrialization has reached a new height that has not been reached in the past, and the mainland's industrial chain is also the most comprehensive industrial chain in the world. This is an important starting point for us to develop new qualitative productive forces. However, in many respects, the mainland's industrialization still lacks scientific and technological content. Compared with the world's more advanced scientific and technological productive forces, some of our industrial sectors are still in a relatively backward state. If we want to achieve Chinese-style modernization and achieve the goal of industrialization 2025, the most important thing at present is to make a big breakthrough in scientific and technological upgrading in a wider range of fields of production and manufacturing. It's a really heavy task and it takes a lot of effort. However, such a task is necessary and absolutely indispensable in the process of realizing Chinese-style modernization.

Although the current level of industrialization is generally reasonable, those relatively backward aspects in some fields are our current shortcomings and areas for further development and improvement. If we fail to catch up in these respects and change the relatively backward situation in this regard as soon as possible, our modernization may be obstructed and sabotaged by foreign hostile forces with ill intentions. Therefore, we must intensify our efforts on this issue.

Of course, to make breakthroughs and improvements in the scientific and technological content of production, it is not just a matter of making up your mind to do it. The amount of effort we need to expend, and the difficulty is also quite high. We must not only concentrate the strength of effective scientific and technological research and development, but also mobilize all the positive factors that can be mobilized, and we must also be ready to fight an arduous battle to overcome difficulties at any time. Technological progress does not depend only on spending time or investing enough money to solve the problem logically. The difficulties we face are sometimes hard to imagine. However, the more this is the case, the more we need to make up our minds to persevere despite difficulties and setbacks.

In the process of tackling tough problems, the leaders concerned must create better working conditions, provide a better working environment, and create a better working atmosphere for science and technology developers. The research and development of science and technology must have a certain pressure on the vast number of scientific and technological personnel. However, as our leading cadres are responsible for providing logistical services, they should pay more attention not to exert more unnecessary pressure on scientific and technological personnel. At the same time, as a scientific and technological personnel in the process of tackling key problems, we should pay more attention to brainstorming, mobilize the collective wisdom of the team, resolutely eliminate all unnecessary internal friction, and improve work efficiency to a new height.

The creation and development of new quality productivity depends on people, on people's wisdom, and on the collective strength of the team. As for other material conditions, as well as the investment of funds, although they are also important, they are not as important as mobilizing the positive factors of people. The key to what kind of achievements we can achieve in our future work and in the process of developing new productive forces lies in whether we have done our utmost to mobilize people's positive factors so that this work can truly reach an unprecedented new height.

It is difficult for us to imagine how many difficulties will arise in the process of scientific and technological research and development. Therefore, since we have entrusted the task to the scientific and technological research and development personnel, we should give them great trust and give them a relatively relaxed working environment. In other words, we want to give scientific and technological research and development personnel a working environment that allows them to be active and give full play to their creativity, which will help us achieve more achievements in scientific and technological innovation.

Another important task is to deepen reforms in key areas. It is necessary to plan major measures to further deepen reform in an all-round way, and continue to inject strong impetus into promoting high-quality development and accelerating Chinese-style modernization. It is also necessary to continuously improve the implementation of the "two unswerving" systems and mechanisms, and fully stimulate the endogenous power and innovation vitality of various business entities.

People are no strangers to the two unwavering systems, but how to improve and perfect the two unwavering institutional mechanisms is still a new topic. Over the past few years, we have talked about many policies and improvement measures in the private economy and the non-public economy. There do not seem to be many opportunities to talk about consolidating and developing the public-owned economy. Of course, if in practice, there are many problems in this area that need to be resolved as soon as possible, of course there will be more discussion on this aspect of the problem. However, when we emphasize the importance of one aspect of our work, we unconsciously neglect the equally important work of another. This is sometimes unavoidable in practical work, and the current Central Economic Work Conference has particularly emphasized the need to improve and perfect the two unwavering systems and mechanisms, and this is indeed to strengthen the thoughtfulness and integrity of our work from a more comprehensive angle. In order for the private economy to develop, the public economy also needs to develop. The work of the private economy is very important, and the work of the public economy is also very important. Only by making joint efforts and common development can we get out of the current difficult situation in a relatively short period of time. In a certain sense, the reform and development of the public-owned economy to bring about the continuous improvement of the country's overall economy is often a very effective method and measure. The public-owned economy, especially the state-owned economy, is a leading figure, and the direction of the leading economy drives the direction of the overall dragon's body. If there is no leading role, in some cases, there may be some kind of chaos or disorder in the orderly development of our economy.

Another task that is also very critical is to prevent and mitigate risks in priority areas. The Central Economic Work Conference proposed that it is necessary to coordinate and resolve risks such as real estate, local debts, and small and medium-sized financial institutions, severely crack down on illegal financial activities, and resolutely adhere to the bottom line of no systemic risks. The three areas of higher risk mentioned in the meeting are all larger challenges that are not easy to solve. The more difficult and complex it is, the more we cannot afford to take it lightly. In practical work, some of our comrades are not afraid of hardships and dangers and difficulties, and they dare to face these difficulties head-on and rise to the occasion. However, it cannot be denied that some people are very irresponsible because they can dodge, bypass, and drag on these difficult problems. Especially for the real estate industry and the local debt problem, some people's fear of difficulties is particularly prominent. Since the Central Economic Work Conference has put forward these risk areas that need to be guarded against and defused, it requires our cadres to rise to the occasion, face them bravely, dare to struggle, and win victories. Almost all of the risks in these areas are hard bones and are not easy to gnaw. However, this is also a great test of whether our communists and leading cadres can bring into play the spirit of struggle, whether they can bring into play the wisdom of struggle, and whether they can mobilize the broad masses.

There are still a lot of tasks for next year, and each of them will require hard work to be completed. We hope to see that under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with General Secretary Xi Jinping as the core, the people of the whole country will certainly be able to overcome all difficulties, work in unity, triumphantly accomplish the tasks we should accomplish, and achieve greater results in economic work.

(The author is a senior researcher at the Kunlun Ce Research Institute; source: Kunlun Ce Network [author's authorization], revised and released; the picture comes from the Internet, invaded and deleted)