What signals does the latest CPC plenum send?

Editor's note: Reform and opening-up policies hold the key to the destiny of contemporary China and is a crucial move that determines the success of Chinese modernization. CGTN rolls out a series of special reports to show how China is comprehensively deepening reform and opening wider to the world.

China on Thursday concluded its third plenary session of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) 20th Central Committee in Beijing with the adoption of a resolution on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization. 

Experts say the meeting is a new milestone and is comparable to the third plenary session of the 11th CPC Central Committee in 1978, which made a historic decision to shift the focus of Party and state work to economic construction and carry out reform and opening-up policies.

A new milestone

"The third plenary session of the 11th CPC Central Committee is a decisive turning point. After the meeting, China began to reform and open to the outside world, learning from the West. But today's comprehensive deepening reform is very different. We have no reference, and we can only rely on ourselves to create a new form of human civilization," Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at the Renmin University of China and a senior fellow of the Center for China and Globalization, told CGTN.

According to the meeting's communique, by 2035, China will have finished building a high-standard socialist market economy in all respects, further improved the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, generally modernized the system and capacity for governance, and basically realized socialist modernization. 

The communique also stated that in 2029, the country will complete the reform tasks laid out in the resolution by the time the People's Republic of China celebrates its 80th founding anniversary.

Wang analyzed that, given the current competition between China and the U.S., the year 2029 is very urgent. In the next five to 10 years, if China can't integrate the establishment of new quality productive forces and new systems and mechanisms with national security planning before 2029, the country's future development will be constrained, and the national goals for 2035 and 2049 will also be difficult to achieve.

China aims to basically achieve socialist modernization by 2035 and to build China into a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious by the centenary of the People's Republic of China in 2049.

Building a high-standard socialist market economy

The communique stressed that to further deepen reform comprehensively, China must further unleash and develop the productive forces and tap into and boost the vitality of society. Wang said these words mainly point to private economies, and to boost the vitality of society, reforms such as pension reform, fiscal and tax reform, fostering a good competitive environment for private enterprises, and handling population issues are very necessary.

Wu Gangliang, a researcher at China Enterprise Reform and Development Society, agreed with Wang on boosting the vitality of society. He told CGTN that to achieve that, it's important to guarantee all forms of ownership in the economy can compete fairly and lawfully on an equal footing.

The communique called for better leveraging the role of the market, fostering a fairer and more dynamic market environment, and ensuring economic entities under all forms of ownership can compete in the market equally.

Wu said the statement means both state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private enterprises should adhere to the principle of competitive neutrality. "Regardless of whether they are state-owned enterprises, central enterprises, private enterprises, or foreign enterprises, all should be equal market players," said Wu.

He added that the communique not only stressed the role of the market but also highlighted the need to remedy market failures, which means China will further deepen its SOE reform, enhancing their core functions in areas such as national security, public welfare, and public services. Through further reform, China's SOEs and private enterprises can complement each other's strengths, which is significant for building a high-standard socialist market economy, Wu stated.

Ensuring both development and national security

Over the years, China has also been expanding its opening up to boost its development and advance Chinese modernization. For example, China has implemented a unilateral visa-free policy for many countries. China also applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement and upgraded free trade agreements with multiple countries.

Wang said that China's opening up has upgraded from being element-based to being institution-based, with the aim of participating in international competition and the formulation of trade rules and standards. However, with China's further opening up, it will face more complex risks and challenges given the current tense geopolitics and the rise of global protectionism, so it's important for the country to properly manage the relationship between security and development.

He also mentioned intensifying economic and sci-tech pressures from the West, especially from the U.S., saying opportunities and risks coexist in China's opening up and that "China must balance opening up with self-reliance as well as security with development."

Thursday's communique stressed that national security provides a pivotal foundation for ensuring steady and continued progress in Chinese modernization. China must improve the institutions and mechanisms for safeguarding national security and ensure that high-quality development and greater security reinforce each other.

"High-level opening up in China will lead to high-quality development while simultaneously driving comprehensive domestic reforms," Wang said.