中国式现代化问与答（三）——中国式现代化与经济发展

中国式现代化与人口规模

1. 人口规模巨大是中国式现代化的重要特征。目前，中国多地老龄化程度加深。那么如何面对人口发展新常态？少子老龄化如何影响中国式现代化？

人口问题始终是中国面临的全局性、长期性、战略性问题。党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央立足我国经济社会发展阶段和人口发展变化趋势，不断调整完善生育政策，相继实施单独两孩、全面两孩、三孩生育政策及配套支持措施，作出促进人口长期均衡发展的重大决策。中国式现代化是人口规模巨大的现代化，实现我国十四亿多人口整体迈进现代化社会，其规模超过现有发达国家人口的总和，因此中国式现代化的艰巨性和复杂性前所未有，发展途径和推进方式也必然具有独特性。

随着经济社会的发展，人们的生活方式和生育观念出现了明显的转变，我国人口增长率放缓，生育水平持续低迷，人口老龄化程度加深，“少子老龄化”将成为常态。我们必须全面认识、正确看待人口发展新形势，主动适应人口发展新常态，激发十四亿中国人民的共同力量，以人口高质量发展支撑中国式现代化。

第一，要实施积极应对人口老龄化的国家战略。稳妥实施渐进式延迟法定退休年龄政策，深化医药卫生体制改革，完善多层次、多支柱养老保障体系。在深入了解老年人实际需求的基础上，有针对性的发展老龄事业和养老产业，大力发展银发经济，推动各领域各行业适老化转型升级。积极探索社区嵌入式养老、个性化智慧化居家养老、医养康养相结合等新模式和新业态，满足老年人多样化、多层次的养老服务需求，努力实现老有所养、老有所为、老有所乐。

第二，要建立健全生育支持相关政策体系。提高优生优育服务水平，完善生育保险和产假、陪产假制度，大力发展普惠托育服务体系，减轻家庭生育、养育、教育负担，推动建设生育友好型社会，破解“不愿生”“生不起”“养不起”等难题，努力保持适度生育水平和人口规模。

第三，要着力提高整体人口素质。坚持以人民为中心发展教育，加大教育强国建设力度。推动义务教育优质均衡发展，对标世界一流水平发展高等教育，加强劳动者职业技能培训，塑造素质优良、总量充裕、结构优化、分布合理的现代化人力资源，变“人口红利”为“人才红利”，推动我国从人力资源大国向人力资源强国迈进。

中国式现代化与共同富裕

2. 有外媒称，共同富裕有重大政治意义：在国内可加强共产党执政合法性，在国外可促进中国在话语、道德、物质和制度上相对于西方自由资本主义的优势，在世界范围内传播“中国模式”。请问对此有何回应？

让人民过上好日子、实现共同富裕，是中国共产党矢志不渝的奋斗目标。党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央坚持不懈推动区域协调发展，保障和改善民生，打赢脱贫攻坚战，全面建成小康社会，为促进共同富裕创造了良好条件。党的二十大报告明确，“中国式现代化是全体人民共同富裕的现代化”，充分表明了我们党追求的发展是造福人民的发展、追求的富裕是全体人民共同富裕。

习近平主席强调：“实现共同富裕不仅是经济问题，而且是关系党的执政基础的重大政治问题”。民心是最大的政治，人民是我们党执政的最深厚基础和最大底气。历史和实践充分证明，中国共产党能够长期执政、不断巩固执政地位的原因在于，党自成立以来就坚持全心全意为人民服务，始终代表最广大人民的根本利益，赢得了人民群众的信任和支撑。实现共同富裕是人民群众的共同期盼，是全体人民根本利益的集中体现，自然成为了我们党矢志不渝的奋斗目标。我们要让全体人民都过上好日子，都有机会凭自己的能力参与现代化进程，凭自身贡献分享现代化成果。

实现全体人民共同富裕是中国式现代化不同于西方现代化的重要标志。长期以来，世界各国都以富裕为现代化的主要目标，但一些发达国家搞了几百年工业化和现代化，不仅没有实现共同富裕，却导致了两极分化、社会撕裂、政治极化、民粹主义泛滥，根本原因在于西方现代化是以资本为中心的现代化。以共同富裕实现中国式现代化，实现了以人民为中心对以资本为中心的超越，实现了以全体人民共同富裕对社会两极分化的超越，实现了精神富足对物质至上的超越。同样的，一些发展中国家在现代化过程中曾接近发达国家的门槛，却掉进了“中等收入陷阱”，其重要原因就是没有解决好两极分化、阶层固化等问题。以全体人民共同富裕推进中国式现代化为人类实现现代化提供了新的选择，也为正在探索本国发展道路的发展中国家提供了有益参考和借鉴。

3. 二十大报告提出促进共同富裕的基础是分配制度。有外媒称，中国政府近期以促进“共同富裕”之名，出台多项监管政策整顿打击民营企业。外媒由此评论称中国要走“劫富济贫”的道路。请问对此有何回应？

实现全体人民共同富裕是一个长期的历史过程，首先要通过全国人民共同奋斗把“蛋糕”做大做好，然后通过合理的制度安排正确处理增长和分配关系，把“蛋糕”切好分好。这就要求我们既要不断解放和发展社会生产力，不断创造和积累社会财富，也要处理好效率与公平的关系，让现代化建设成果更多更公平地惠及全体人民。

一方面，实现共同富裕离不开民营经济。民营经济是推进中国式现代化的生力军，是高质量发展的重要基础，是推动我国全面建成社会主义现代化强国、实现第二个百年奋斗目标的重要力量。中国共产党始终把民营企业和民营企业家当作自己人，不断优化民营企业发展环境，破除制约民营企业公平参与市场竞争的制度障碍，为民营企业和民营企业家排忧解难。共同富裕绝不是“劫富济贫”，近期社会上有的人发表了一些否定、怀疑民营经济的言论，比如“以共同富裕之名打击民营企业”等，这些说法是完全错误的，不符合党的大政方针。实现共同富裕首先要做大发展的“蛋糕”，这就更需要民营经济健康、高质量发展，因而我国民营经济只能壮大、不能弱化，不仅不能“离场”，而且要走向更加广阔的舞台。

另一方面，分配制度是实现共同富裕的基础性制度安排。我们要实现的共同富裕是14亿人的富裕，不是少数人的富裕，要让人民群众共享发展成果，必须构建公平合理的分配制度。具体来说，就是要坚持“按劳分配为主体、多种分配方式并存，构建初次分配、再分配、第三次分配协调配套的制度体系”，提高居民收入在国民收入分配中的比重，增加低收入者收入，扩大中等收入群体。同时，共同富裕强调第三次分配，鼓励民营企业家增强先富带后富、促进共同富裕的责任感和使命感，支持有意愿、有能力的企业和社会群体在自愿基础上积极参与公益慈善事业。实现共同富裕不存在道德绑架式的“逼捐”，“劫富济贫”也就无从谈起了。

4. 有外媒称，中国只有通过直接或以社会福利等间接方式把收入从政府转向家庭，才可能刺激家庭消费，使其在下一阶段经济增长中发挥作用。但中国表示“不搞福利主义”，因此中国不可能实现共同富裕。请问对此有何评价？

当前，消费已经成为我国经济增长的主要拉动力。2023年前三季度，最终消费支出对经济增长的贡献率达83.2%。有观点称，中国的共同富裕必然要借鉴西方的理论和旧的模式，例如政府可直接向民众发放现金以促进消费、扩大内需。此类方式只是一项临时性措施，短期内直接提高了居民收入、促进了消费，但长期看将导致严重通货膨胀、财政赤字等，将国家拖入“福利主义陷阱”，无异于饮鸩止渴。习近平主席指出，“促进共同富裕，不能搞‘福利主义’那一套。”把共同富裕理解为平均主义、福利主义，是一种误解。曾经的福利主义典范国家一度被视为“均富社会的理想模式”，但部分国家在经历了短暂繁荣后纷纷出现中产阶层塌陷、贫富分化、社会撕裂、民粹主义泛滥等问题，充分证明了西方“福利主义”是不可持续的。

实现全体人民共同富裕是对西方式现代化和福利社会的超越。首先，共同富裕不是整齐划一的平均主义，不是同时、同步富裕。实现共同富裕是一个长期且艰巨的过程，在时间上有先有后，不同地区富裕程度也存在一定差异，如西方社会寄希望于某一届政府在短期内实现同步富裕、同等富裕是不现实的。其次，实现共同富裕不能“等靠要”。部分西方国家的高福利政策导致公民过度依赖社会保障而变得懒惰、懈怠，我们要坚决防止落入“福利主义”养懒汉的陷阱。幸福生活都是奋斗出来的，共同富裕要靠勤劳智慧来创造，只有人人参与、人人尽力，才能做大高质量发展的“蛋糕”，真正实现人人享有。最后，要结合具体国情完善社会保障体系。我国仍处于社会主义初级阶段的现实没有发生改变，要坚持量力而行、尽力而为，我们出台的各项社会保障政策都建立在经济发展和财力可持续的基础之上，重点加强养老、医疗、住房、最低生活保障等方面的民生保障建设，对社会困难群体开展有针对性的扶助，而非替代其劳动，更不是替代其为幸福生活的努力和奋斗。

5. 有外媒报道称，中国式现代化通过迫使私营部门承担中国收入分配再平衡的主要调整成本来实现共同富裕，这种倡导共同富裕的方式有可能破坏中国经济活力。请问对此有何回应？

分配制度是促进共同富裕的基础性制度安排，实现共同富裕是让全体人民有机会、有能力均等地参与经济社会高质量发展，共享经济社会发展成果。以民营经济为代表的私营部门是共同富裕的重要一环，民营企业发展与分配制度改革和共同富裕相辅相成，并不是对立关系。

一方面，我国现行的收入分配制度是符合国情的。构建初次分配、再分配、第三次分配协调配套制度体系的目的在于统筹好效率与公平，防范分配不公加剧贫富差距，这既符合人民群众根本利益，也符合共同富裕价值要求。其中，初次分配的目标是发挥市场作用以提高各类生产要素配置效率，保障居民基本收入，即做大“蛋糕”；再分配则是要借助政府力量扩大社会公平，即分好“蛋糕”；第三次分配是一种补充性社会财富调节机制，是企业、社会组织和个人在自愿的前提下，通过慈善公益等方式对个人财富的分配，即做优“蛋糕”。单纯依靠某一种分配方式都无法实现共同富裕的目标，三次分配相互协调、功能互补、缺一不可，不会产生收入分配的调节成本。

另一方面，私营部门参与收入再分配有其合理性。在美国、瑞典、德国等西方发达国家已有私营部门参与收入再分配的典型案例。民营经济作为我国经济制度的内在要素，其收入分配也应符合我国分配制度的本质要求，具体体现在初次分配中实现企业成员利益共享，通过税收、转移支付等方式对其进行再分配调节，同时引导和鼓励民营经济在力所能及的范围内承担社会责任。我国分配制度从根本上改善了劳资关系，调动了各类生产要素的积极性，激发了民营经济高质量发展的动力。当前，我国登记在册的市场主体已经达到1.7亿户，新能源、光伏、科创等领域的民营企业已发展成为创新创业主体，我国经济韧性强、潜力大、活力足的基本面不会改变，这从事实上驳斥了分配制度改革将限制民营经济发展、破坏中国经济活力的错误观点。

Chinese Modernization and the Population Size

1. Question: The huge population is an important feature of Chinese modernization. Currently, the aging population is deepening in many parts of China. So how should we see the new normal of population development? How does the low birth rate and aging population affect Chinese modernization?

Answer: The population issue has always been a comprehensive, long-term, and strategic one faced by China. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, under the leadership of the Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, China has continuously adjusted and improved its birth policies based on the stages of economic and social development and trends in population changes. Policies such as the two-child policy for couples where either parent is an only child, the universal two-child policy, and the three-child policy, along with supporting measures, have been implemented to promote long-term balanced population development. Chinese modernization is a modernization of a huge population. When China achieves modernization, over 1.4 billion people in the country will enjoy modernization, with the size of the population surpassing that of all existing developed countries. Therefore, the arduousness and complexity of Chinese modernization are unprecedented, and the path and methods for advancing it must be unique.

With the development of the economy and society, people’s lifestyles and fertility concepts have undergone significant changes. The growth rate of our population has slowed down, fertility levels remain low, and the degree of population aging has deepened. Low birth rates and an aging population will become the norm. We must fully understand and correctly view the new situation of population development, proactively adapt to the new normal of population development, and stimulate the collective strength of 1.4 billion Chinese people to support Chinese modernization with high-quality population development.

First, we will implement a national strategy to actively respond to population aging. We will steadily implement a policy of gradually delaying the statutory retirement age, deepen the reform of the medical and health care system, and improve the multi-level and multi-pillar pension security system. Based on a thorough understanding of the actual needs of the elderly, we will develop the elderly care industry and the aging industry in a targeted manner, vigorously develop the silver economy, and promote the transformation and upgrading of various fields and industries to adapt to aging. We will also actively explore new models and new formats such as community-embedded elderly care, personalized and intelligent home-based elderly care, and the integration of medical care and elderly care, to meet the diverse and multi-level elderly care service needs. With that, we will strive to ensure that elderly people have a sense of security, a sense of purpose, and a sense of happiness.

Second, we will establish and improve the policy system related to fertility support. We will improve the level of prenatal and postnatal care services, the maternity insurance as well as the maternity leave and paternity leave system, and vigorously develop the inclusive childcare service system. We will reduce the burden of childbirth, upbringing, and education on families, promote the construction of a fertility-friendly society, and solve the problems of “unwilling to give birth”, “unable to afford child birth”, and “unable to afford child rearing”, striving to maintain an appropriate fertility level and population size.

Third, we will make efforts to improve the overall quality of the population. We will adhere to the people-centered development of education and increase the efforts to build a strong nation through education. We will promote high-quality and balanced development of compulsory education, benchmark against world-class standards in higher education, and strengthen vocational skills training for workers. In doing so, we will build a modern human resource pool that is of high quality, sufficient in quantity, optimized in structure, and reasonably distributed. By transforming the “demographic dividend” into a “talent dividend”, we will advance our country from a nation with abundant human resources to one with strong human resources.

Chinese Modernization and Common Prosperity

2. Question: Some foreign media claim that common prosperity carries significant political implications: domestically, it can strengthen the legitimacy of the Communist Party’s governance; globally, it can promote China’s advantages over the Western liberal capitalism in terms of discourse, morality, materials and systems and spread the “China model” around the world. What is your response to this?

Answer: Enabling people to live a good life and achieving common prosperity are the unwavering goals of the Communist Party of China. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has persistently promoted regional coordinated development, ensured and improved people’s life, and won the battle against poverty. With that, it has finished building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, thereby creating favorable conditions for promoting common prosperity. The report of the 20th CPC National Congress clearly states that “Chinese modernization is the modernization of common prosperity for all”, which fully demonstrates that the development pursued by the CPC is one that benefits the people, and the prosperity pursued is common prosperity for all.

President Xi Jinping emphasized: “Achieving common prosperity is not only an economic issue but also a major political issue related to the Party’s ruling foundation”. The support of the people is the greatest politics, and the people are the deepest foundation and greatest strength of our Party’s governance. History and practice have fully proven that the reason why Communist Party of China can govern for a long time and continuously consolidate its ruling position is that since its founding, the Party has adhered to serving the people wholeheartedly, always representing the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people, and has won the trust and support of the people. Achieving common prosperity is the common aspiration of the people and the concentrated embodiment of the fundamental interests of all the people, which has naturally remained the unwavering goal of our Party. We want all people to live a good life, to have the opportunity to participate in the modernization process with their own abilities, and to share the fruits of modernization based on their own contributions.

Achieving common prosperity for all is an important hallmark that distinguishes Chinese modernization from Western modernization. For a long time, countries around the world have regarded wealth as the main goal of modernization. However, some developed countries have engaged in industrialization and modernization for hundreds of years without achieving common prosperity. Instead, they have seen polarization, social fragmentation, political polarization, and rampant populism. The fundamental reason lies in the fact that Western modernization is centered on capital. Achieving Chinese modernization through common prosperity means replacing the capital-centered approach with a people-centered approach, replacing social polarization with common prosperity for all, and replacing materialism with cultural-ethical enrichment. Relatedly, some developing countries approached the threshold of developed countries during their modernization process but fell into the “middle-income trap”. A significant reason for this is the failure to address issues such as polarization and class solidification. Advancing Chinese modernization through common prosperity for all provides a new option for humanity to achieve modernization, and offers useful references and lessons for developing countries to explore their own development paths.

3. Question: The report of the 20th CPC National Congress proposed that the foundation for promoting common prosperity is the distribution system. Some foreign media claim that the Chinese government has recently introduced a number of regulatory policies to rectify and crack down on private enterprises in the name of promoting “common prosperity”. They allege that China is going to tread the path of “robbing the rich to help the poor”. What is your comment on this?

Answer: Achieving common prosperity for all is a long-term historical process. First, we need to work together as a nation to make the cake bigger and better, and then, through reasonable institutional arrangements, correctly handle the relationship between growth and distribution to cut and divide the cake properly. This requires us to continuously liberate and develop social productive forces, constantly create and accumulate social wealth, and in the meantime handle well the relationship between efficiency and fairness, so that the achievements of modernization can benefit all people more equitably.

On one hand, achieving common prosperity is inseparable from the private economy. Private enterprises are a vital force in promoting Chinese modernization, an important foundation for high-quality development, and a significant force in realizing the Second Centenary Goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects. The Communist Party of China has always regarded private entrepreneurs as being in its ranks. It has been continuously optimizing the development environment for private enterprises, removing institutional barriers that restrict them from participating fairly in market competition, and solving problems for private enterprises and private entrepreneurs. Common prosperity is by no means “robbing the rich to help the poor”. Recently, a few people in China have made some negative and skeptical remarks about the private economy, such as attacking private enterprises in the name of common prosperity. These statements are completely wrong and do not conform to the Party’s major policies. To achieve common prosperity, we must first make a bigger cake of development, which requires the healthy and high-quality development of the private economy. Therefore, our private economy can only grow stronger and cannot be weakened. By no means can it “exit”. Instead, it must move towards a broader stage.

On the other hand, the distribution system is a fundamental institutional arrangement for achieving common prosperity. The common prosperity we aim to achieve is the prosperity of 1.4 billion people, not the prosperity of a few. To ensure that the people share the fruits of development, we must establish a fair and reasonable distribution system. Specifically, we will keep distribution according to work as the mainstay with multiple forms of distribution existing alongside it, and we will build an institutional framework under which primary, secondary, and tertiary distribution are well coordinated and mutually complementary. This will increase the proportion of household income in the national income distribution, raise the income of low-income earners, and expand the middle-income group. At the same time, common prosperity emphasizes tertiary distribution, encouraging private entrepreneurs to enhance their sense of responsibility and mission to help the less wealthy and to promote common prosperity. It supports enterprises and social groups with willingness and capabilities to actively participate in public welfare and charitable activities on a voluntary basis. Achieving common prosperity does not involve moral coercion such as “forced donations”, and thus the notion of “robbing the rich to help the poor” is out of the question.

4. Question: Some foreign media claim that China can only stimulate household consumption by directly or indirectly transferring income from the government to the households through social welfare, thereby enabling household consumption to play a role in the next stage of economic growth. However, China has said that it does not engage in welfarism. So it is impossible for China to achieve common prosperity. What is your comment on this?

Answer: Currently, consumption has become the main driving force of China’s economic growth. In the first three quarters of 2023, the contribution rate of final consumption expenditure to economic growth reached 83.2%. Some argue that China’s common prosperity must draw on Western theories and old models, such as the government directly distributing cash to the public to promote consumption and increase domestic demand. Such methods can only be temporary measures. Even though these measures can directly increase household income and promote consumption in the short term, they will lead to severe inflation and fiscal deficits and drag the country into the “welfarism trap” in the long run, akin to drinking poison to quench thirst. President Xi Jinping pointed out, “In order to promote common prosperity, we cannot follow the path of welfarism.” To regard common prosperity as egalitarianism or welfarism is a misconception. Once seen as the “ideal model of an egalitarian society”, former exemplary welfare states experienced issues such as the collapse of the middle class, wealth disparity, social fragmentation, and the spread of populism after a brief period of prosperity. Such phenomena fully prove that Western welfarism is unsustainable.

Achieving common prosperity for all transcends the Western-style modernization and welfare society. First, common prosperity is not uniform egalitarianism, nor is it simultaneous and synchronous prosperity. Achieving common prosperity is a long-term and arduous process, with some regions becoming prosperous earlier than others. It is unrealistic to expect, as Western societies do, that only one administration can achieve simultaneous and equal prosperity in the short term. Second, achieving common prosperity cannot rely on “waiting, depending, and demanding”. The high welfare policies of some Western countries have led to citizens becoming overly dependent on social security, resulting in laziness and slackness. We must resolutely prevent falling into the trap of “welfarism” that breeds idleness. A happy life is achieved through hard work, and common prosperity relies on diligence and wisdom. Only through everyone’s participation and effort can we enlarge the cake of high-quality development and truly realize universal enjoyment. Finally, we must improve the social security system in accordance with specific national conditions. The reality that our country is still in the primary stage of socialism has not changed. We must adhere to the principle of acting within our means and doing our best. All social security policies we introduce are based on sustainable economic development and financial capacity, with a focus on strengthening the construction of social security in areas such as pensions, health care, housing, and minimum living standards. For socially disadvantaged groups we provide targeted assistance, but it is not a substitute for their work, much less for their efforts and struggles for a happy life.

5. Question: Some foreign media claim that Chinese modernization achieves common prosperity by forcing the private sector to bear the main adjustment costs for re-balancing China’s income distribution. This approach to advocating common prosperity could potentially undermine China’s economic vitality. What is your comment on this?

Answer: The distribution system is a fundamental institutional arrangement for promoting common prosperity. Achieving common prosperity means providing all people with the opportunity and ability to equally participate in high-quality economic and social development and share the fruits of economic and social progress. The private sector, represented by private enterprises, is an important part of common prosperity. The development of private enterprises and the reform of the distribution system and common prosperity complement rather than contradict each other.

On the one hand, the current income distribution system in China is in line with its national conditions. The purpose of constructing a coordinated and complementary system of primary, secondary, and tertiary distribution is to balance efficiency and fairness, and to prevent the exacerbation of income inequality, which aligns with the fundamental interests of the people and the requirements of common prosperity. Among the three, the goal of primary distribution is to leverage the market to improve the efficiency of various factors of production allocation and ensure basic income for residents, that is, to make the “cake” bigger. Secondary distribution, on the other hand, aims to use government power to expand social fairness, that is, to divide the “cake” well. Tertiary distribution is a supplementary social wealth adjustment mechanism, where enterprises, social organizations, and individuals voluntarily distribute personal wealth through charitable and public welfare means, essentially optimizing the “cake”. Relying solely on one method of distribution cannot achieve the goal of common prosperity. The three ways of distribution must coordinate with each other, complement each other’s functions, and they are all integral. They will not incur any cost of income distribution adjustment.

On the other hand, the participation of the private sector in income redistribution is reasonable. There are typical cases of private sector participation in income redistribution in Western developed countries such as the United States, Sweden, and Germany. As an intrinsic element of China’s economic system, the income distribution of the private sector should also align with the essential requirements of China's distribution system. This is specifically reflected in primary distribution where enterprise members share the interests of the enterprises. Adjustments in secondary distribution are made through taxation and transfer payments. On the basis of that, private enterprises are guided and encouraged to undertake social responsibilities within their capacity. China’s distribution system has fundamentally improved labor relations, mobilized the enthusiasm of various factors of production, and stimulated the driving force for the high-quality development of the private economy. Currently, the number of registered market entities in China has reached 170 million. Private enterprises in new energy, including photovoltaics, and technological innovation have become the main forces of innovation and entrepreneurship. The fundamental aspects of China’s economy, characterized by strong resilience, great potential, and ample vitality, will remain. This factually refutes the erroneous view that the distribution reforms will restrict the development of the private sector and undermine the vitality of the Chinese economy.