China’s Moderately Prosperous Society in 2035

The aim is to become an equitable society between 2035 and 2049. Also called 大同社会. This is a gini coefficient of 27% (similar to Finland’s).

Moderately prosperous society: The development concept

The term “moderately prosperous,” first derived from “Poetry·Daya·Minlao“, expresses the yearning of working people for a better and more stable life. The original meaning of the term “moderately prosperous” was to a stable life.

On December 6, 1979, when Deng Xiaoping met with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Masahiro Ohira , he pointed out that what China’s modernization must achieve is a moderately prosperous state. He once said: “Quadrupling GDP per capita to US$800 is the basis for establishing a moderately prosperous society in China by the year 2000. In fact, China’s GDP per capita in 2000 was $9,700.

Some experts and scholars believe that a moderately prosperous society is a stage of life development that lies between poor and rich, but it should be regarded as a new concept that reflects comprehensive and coordinated development of the economy with society:

• people’s life goals,
• economic development goals,
• political development goals, and
• social development goals.

Therefore, a moderately prosperous society is economic development, political democracy, cultural prosperity, social harmony and beautiful environment, moderately prosperous life, people live and work and overall national strength powerful economic, political, cultural comprehensive and coordinated development of society, the Chinese nation toward great rejuvenation of society Development stage.

“A moderately prosperous society” is an economic concept, and the idea of ​​implementing a well-off society first is correct. A moderately prosperous society is completely integrated with the legalist’s governance method-“being in a real estate but knowing etiquette, and having enough food and clothing to recognize honor and disgrace.” This is the prerequisite and basis for the construction of a moderately prosperous society. China’s economic development has made the living standards of each subject relatively better and better; the freedom, rights, and human rights status of each subject will be more and more improved.

The fundamental values  of a moderately prosperous society” are consistent with legalism:

1. first realize economic and living prosperity;
2. abide by laws and disciplines, and “rule of the country by law”
3. respect individual values,
4. encourage individual independence;
5. actively join the WTO,
6. strive for progress, and
7. take responsibility for achieving national unity and prosperity
8. strive for strength.

In 1987, when Deng Xiaoping met with Spanish guests, he clearly proposed the “three-step” strategic concept:

1. The first step was doubled in the 1980s. Based on 1980, the per capita GDP was only 250. The U.S. dollar will double to 500 U.S. dollars to solve the food and clothing problem of the people;
2. the second step is to double again by the end of the 20th century, and the per capita will reach 1,000 U.S. dollars to enter a moderately prosperous society.
3. The third step is to spend another 30 to 50 years in the next century. Quadrupling the time, roughly reaching US$4,000 per capita, basically realizing modernization and reaching the level of a moderately developed country.” (Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Vol. 3, p. 226)

The 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of China  said the essential requirement of socialism is a stage of social development in which people’s living standards generally improve; a country’s overall national strength, especially its economic strength, has significantly increased, and it has gradually entered the forefront of social development in the world.

In this stage of social development, the domestic and foreign markets will continue to expand, and the country’s macro-control will continue to improve; the economic system and other systems will continue to be improved and finalized; investment in science and education will increase more, and the construction of spiritual civilization will undergo major changes. ; While the economy continues to develop in the coastal areas, the development problems in the inland will be resolved; major changes will occur in the countryside, and the employment problem will be gradually resolved; military equipment will be improved and updated, and national defense capabilities will be significantly enhanced; international status will be greatly improved , The national influence will be greatly expanded. ^[2]

Development Strategy for a moderately prosperous Society

The 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China put forward the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way by 2020, and made specific strategic deployments. Building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way is an inevitable development stage for my country to achieve the third-step strategic goal of modernization, and it is also a key stage for improving the socialist market economic system and expanding opening up. ^[4] In 2017, Comrade Xi Jinping proposed in the report of the 19th National Congress that the two goals of solving the problem of people’s food and clothing and achieving a moderately prosperous level in general have been achieved ahead of schedule, and now is the decisive period for building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way. ^[5]

The goal of a moderately prosperous society

In the report to the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Comrade Jiang Zemin deeply analyzed the characteristics of China’s current level of moderately prosperous society , expounded the long-term and arduous nature of consolidating and improving the level of moderately prosperous society, and then proposed the comprehensive construction in the first 20 years of this century. The goal of a moderately prosperous society.

Entering a moderately prosperous society is a development process that is divided into areas and regions. As we enter the new century, we have just stepped into the door to the historical stage of a moderately prosperous society, in the early stage of a moderately prosperous society. At this time, the moderately prosperous we have achieved is a low-level, incomplete, and unevenly developed moderately prosperous society. The so-called low level means that although my country’s economic aggregate has reached a certain scale, the per capita level is still relatively low. The so-called incompleteness means that in a moderately prosperous society, there is basically the satisfaction of subsistence consumption, but developmental consumption has not been effectively satisfied, social security is not yet complete, and the environmental quality needs to be improved. The so-called unbalanced development refers to the large gap in the level of development between regions and between urban and rural areas .

On the issue of a moderately prosperous society, there are two tendencies that should be paid attention to: if we fail to see that our country is about to enter a moderately prosperous society, the overall national strength has been greatly enhanced, and it may be necessary to concentrate our efforts on some major things that effectively promote modernization, which is wrong; It is even more wrong to forget our basic national conditions and think that the basic policies of the primary stage of socialism should not be implemented or can be quickly changed .

In his report to the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Comrade Jiang Zemin emphasized that the contradiction between the people’s growing material and cultural needs and the backward social production is still the main contradiction in our society. In the new century, we must continue to struggle to complete the party’s basic historical tasks in the primary stage of socialism. ^[6] Socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era. The main social contradiction in our country has been transformed into a contradiction between the people’s growing need for a better life and unbalanced and insufficient development. It must be recognized that the changes in the main contradictions of our society have not changed our judgment on the historical stage of socialism in our country. The basic national conditions that our country is still and will be in the primary stage of socialism have not changed. Our country is the largest developing country in the world. The international status has not changed. The whole party must firmly grasp the basic national conditions of the primary stage of socialism, firmly base on the greatest reality of the primary stage of socialism, firmly adhere to the party’s basic line, the lifeline of the party and the country, and the happiness line of the people, and lead and unite all ethnic groups in the country. The people, with economic construction as the center, adhere to the four basic principles, adhere to reform and opening up, self-reliance, and work hard to build China into a prosperous, democratic, civilized, harmonious and beautiful modern socialist country. ^[7]

The development process of a moderately prosperous society

How to achieve the goal of building a moderately prosperous society, our party has gone through many years of exploration. As early as June 1989, Comrade Deng Xiaoping suggested “organize a team to study development strategies and plans for the first 50 years of the next century.”

The Fifth Plenary Session of the 14th CPC Central Committee in 1995 planned the main goals for economic and social development by 2010 .

In 1997, the 15th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly put forward the development goal of 50 years by the mid-21st century. The report of the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China further pointed out that: in the first two decades of this century, we must concentrate our efforts to comprehensively build a higher-level moderately prosperous society that benefits more than one billion people, so that the economy will be more developed, democracy will be more sound, science and education will be more advanced, and culture will be more advanced. Prosperity, a more harmonious society, and a more substantial life for the people.

After this stage of construction, we will continue to struggle for several decades to achieve basic modernization by the middle of this century and build our country into a prosperous, democratic, civilized, harmonious and beautiful socialist country .

The report of the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China also put forward specific goals for building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way from four aspects: economy, politics, culture and sustainable development.

On December 6, 1979, when Deng Xiaoping met with Japanese Prime Minister Masahiro Ohira, according to the actual situation of China’s economic development, he first proposed the concept of “moderately prosperous” and the idea of ​​achieving a “moderately prosperous society” in China at the end of the 20th century. He said: “The four modernizations that we want to achieve are four Chinese-style modernizations. Our four modernization concepts are not modern concepts like yours, but a ” moderately prosperous home”. By the end of this century, China Even if the four modernizations of China reach a certain goal, our gross national product is still very low. To reach the level of a wealthier country in the third world , for example, the per capita GDP of one thousand US dollars, we still have to pay A lot of effort.” After that, he put forward this idea many times. The Twelfth National Congress of the Party officially cited this concept and regarded it as a strategic goal at the end of the 20th century. In a “moderately prosperous society”, people’s lives have reached a “moderately prosperous level”, which means that on the basis of food and clothing, the quality of life will be further improved to achieve adequate food and clothing. ^[8]

Rich connotations of a moderately prosperous society

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The 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China

A moderately prosperous society is a social productive forces development, per capita gross national product and living standards rising, the country’s comprehensive national strength especially economic strength will be significantly enhanced social development stage. Deng Xiaoping said that if our per capita GDP reached 1,000 US dollars when we entered a moderately prosperous society, and our population had reached 1.2 billion to 1.25 billion, then it would mean that the GDP reached 10,000 to 1.2 trillion US dollars. . In other words, in the development of a moderately prosperous society, as the per capita GDP grows from US$800 to US$1,000, the total economic volume will take the lead in the world step by step.

A moderately prosperous society is a stage of social development that adheres to the socialist road , continuously realizes the essence of socialism , and generally improves people’s living standards. Deng Xiaoping has an important thought, which is “If we do not adhere to socialism, a moderately prosperous society in China will not be formed.” What is the reason? He said: “Our socialist system is based on public ownership , which is common prosperity . At that time, we were called a moderately prosperous society, a moderately prosperous society in which people’s lives were generally improved.” He meant that in a moderately prosperous society, from per capita national income In terms of life is not rich, but because we are a socialist country, the distribution of national income is to benefit all people. There are no people who are too rich, and there are no people who are too poor.

moderately prosperous society

A moderately prosperous society is a process in which the domestic and foreign markets continue to expand and the state’s macro-control is also constantly improved. Deng Xiaoping said: “In the past we were poor management. Now we are different. It is the macro management towards a moderately prosperous society. We can no longer apply the methods of the difficult times in the past.”

A moderately prosperous society will continue to improve and finalize its economic system and other systems. The guidelines and policies formulated since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee have promoted our country to get rid of poverty, solve food and clothing, and move towards a moderately prosperous society. With the development of practice, what should be perfected should be perfected, and what should be repaired should be repaired, but in general, we must unswervingly persist. Deng Xiaoping envisioned, “I am afraid that it will take another 30 years before we will form a more mature and more stereotyped system in all aspects. The principles and policies under this system will also be more stereotyped.” There will be another thirty years”, that is, around 2020. At that time, we have entered a moderately prosperous society for 20 years. In other words, a moderately prosperous society will be a process of gradual improvement and finalization of various socialist systems with Chinese characteristics .

A moderately prosperous society is still a stage of development in which investment in science and education has increased significantly, and there have been major changes in the construction of spiritual civilization. It is also a stage in which development problems in the inland are highlighted and resolved while continuing to develop coastal areas.

According to the “Basic Standards of the National People’s moderately prosperous Living Standard”, by 1999, China had completed 94.6% of the food and clothing stage. In 2001, China’s per capita GDP exceeded US$900. It is estimated that by the end of this year, China’s per capita GDP The value will reach 1,000 US dollars, the GDP will exceed the 10 trillion yuan mark , and China will enter a new stage of building a moderately prosperous society.

It is understood that in the mid-1990s, the National Bureau of Statistics, in conjunction with the State Planning Commission and the Ministry of Agriculture, jointly formulated the “Basic Standards for the National People’s moderately prosperous Living Standard”, “The National Basic Standards for the moderately prosperous Living Standard in Rural Areas” and “The National Urban moderately prosperous Living Standard Basic Standards for Levels” Three sets of moderately prosperous standards . Since then, these standards have become the basic conditions for measuring people across the country into a moderately prosperous society . From the five aspects stipulated by the standard, my country’s current economic level and spiritual life have reached the standard of a moderately prosperous society. The material life, population quality, and living environment have achieved levels of 94.6%, 88.4%, and 91.5%, respectively. This is specifically reflected in the increasing income of urban and rural residents. In 2001, the annual per capita disposable income of urban residents in China was nearly 7,000 yuan, and the annual per capita net income of rural residents was also close to 2,500 yuan. In the first half of this year, farmers’ cash income from non-agricultural industries increased steadily, reaching 566 yuan per capita, an increase of 28 yuan over the same period last year .

“If you are a moderately prosperous society or not, the key depends on your housing.” More than a decade ago, it was not uncommon for a family of three generations to squeeze into a house. Today, the per capita housing area in urban areas exceeds 10 square meters, and in rural areas it reaches 25 square meters.

Since 1998, personal car purchases in my country have accounted for more than 50% of sales. Among urban residents, every 10,000 people own more than 100 cars; holiday tourism is also becoming a new consumption hotspot for Chinese people. In 2001, the number of domestic tourists in my country reached 780 million. In the early 1990s, the number of Chinese citizens leaving the country was only 3 million. By 2001, it had reached 12.13 million.

The communications industry is developing very rapidly. As of 2009, the number of fixed telephone users in my country has reached 364.44 million, and the number of mobile phone users has exceeded 680 million, ranking first in the world. The number of Internet users in my country exceeds 300 million, ranking first in the world.

The level of education is further improved. By the end of 1999, more than half of the counties and municipalities nationwide had reached the goal of basically universalizing nine-year compulsory education . The enrollment rate of school-age children nationwide reached 99.1%, and the enrollment rate of primary and junior high schools was 94.4% and 50% respectively. At the end of 1999, the adult literacy rate reached 87.6%, exceeding the moderately prosperous standard value of 85% . By the end of 2000, the proportion of people with higher education in our country was 4.7%.

Continuous development of cultural undertakings. In 1999, my country’s cultural undertakings made new developments, with 2,899 cultural centers, 2,769 public libraries, and 1,371 museums. In 1999, the radio comprehensive population coverage rate reached 90.4%, and the TV comprehensive population coverage rate reached 91.6%.

The health care conditions are gradually improving. In 1999, the number of hospital beds per 10,000 people nationwide was 25.49, and the number of health institutions per 10,000 people was 2.55. The average life expectancy of the people is close to the level of moderately developed countries. From the fourth national census in 1990 to the fifth national census in 2000, the average life expectancy of the Chinese population increased by 2.85 years in ten years, 5 years higher than the world average. 7 years old in developing countries and regions.

Environmental and ecological protection has improved. In 1999, the total number of nature reserves nationwide increased from 793 in 1995 to 1,146; the area of ​​nature reserves nationwide also increased from 71.72 million hectares in 1995 to 88.152 million hectares; the number of national ecological demonstration areas reached 151, the national ecological demonstration areas The area is 33.309 million hectares. Fortunately, China’s forest coverage rate was 16.55 percent in 1999, exceeding the 15% standard of moderately prosperous society for the first time .

The social security capabilities have been further consolidated and improved.

At the end of 2000, the number of employees participating in unemployment insurance nationwide was 104.08 million, and the monthly average number of people receiving unemployment insurance benefits was 1.37 million; 103.67 million employees and 31.73 million retirees participated in basic pension insurance ; 43.32 million employees participated in basic medical insurance . By the end of 2000, a total of 3.818 million urban residents across the country had received subsistence allowances; 15 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities had established a minimum subsistence allowance system for rural residents, and 3 million villagers had received subsistence allowances, with 730 million yuan in guarantee payments.

The report of the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, based on the reality of my country’s economic and social development and the new phased characteristics, and on the basis of the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way established by the In response to the new requirements of development problems and better compliance with the wishes of the people, to ensure that a moderately prosperous society fully built by 2020 is a moderately prosperous society in which the fruits of development and reform will truly benefit more than one billion people, and a comprehensive economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological civilization. A moderately prosperous society developed is a moderately prosperous society that has laid a solid foundation for realizing the grand goals of socialist modernization and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

According to the five-in-one overall layout of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the report has enriched and improved the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way from the following five aspects.

1. The first is sustained and healthy economic development. There are mainly six requirements: first, to make significant progress in transforming the economic development mode; second, to achieve two “doubles” on the basis of the obvious enhancement of development balance, coordination, and sustainability, namely, GDP and urban-rural The per capita income of residents has doubled from 2010; third, by enhancing innovation-driven development, the contribution rate of scientific and technological progress to economic growth will increase significantly, and it will enter the ranks of innovative countries; fourth, by building a new system for modern industrial development, Promote the simultaneous development of industrialization, informatization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization, so that industrialization is basically realized, the level of informatization has been greatly improved, the quality of urbanization has been significantly improved, and agricultural modernization and the construction of new socialist countryside have achieved remarkable results; fifth, by continuing to implement regional The overall development strategy is to give full play to the comparative advantages of various regions, and the regional coordinated development mechanism is basically formed. Sixth, through the cultivation of new advantages in open economic development, the level of opening up will be further improved and the international competitiveness will be significantly enhanced.
2. The second is the continuous expansion of people’s democracy. At present and for a period of time in the future, to promote political system reform and strengthen political construction, in general, under the leadership of the party, we must develop a broader, fuller, and more complete people’s democracy, so that the democratic system will be more complete, and the democratic forms will be enriched. Enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity will be further exerted; more attention will be paid to the important role of the rule of law in national and social governance, to maintain the unity, dignity and authority of the rule of law in the country, to realize the full implementation of the basic strategy of rule of law, the rule of law government is basically established, and judicial credibility is continuously improved , Human rights are truly respected and protected.
3. The third is that cultural soft power has been significantly enhanced. There are mainly four requirements: First, the socialist core value system is the soul of rejuvenating the country, which determines the development direction of socialism with Chinese characteristics and must be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people; second, comprehensively improving the moral quality of citizens is the basic task of socialist moral construction. We must adhere to the combination of governing the country by law and governing the country by virtue, so that the civilized quality of citizens and the level of social civilization will be significantly improved; third, letting the people enjoy a healthy and rich spiritual and cultural life is an important part of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way, and cultural products must be enriched , The public cultural service system has been basically completed, and the cultural industry has become a pillar industry of the national economy; fourth, culture has increasingly become an important element of international competitiveness. In order to continuously enhance the international influence of Chinese culture, it is necessary to make Chinese culture go global. Make greater strides.
4. Fourth, the people’s living standards have been comprehensively improved. To achieve: First, the overall realization of the equalization of basic public services, which is an important sign of the overall and universal improvement of the people’s living standards; Second, the education level of the whole people and the level of cultivation of innovative talents will be significantly improved, and the country will enter a country with a strong talent and a strong human resources The ranks, education modernization is basically realized, which is the basis for realizing the all-round development of people; third, more adequate employment, which is a concrete manifestation of the protection of the people’s livelihood; fourth, the income distribution gap is narrowing, middle-income groups continue to expand, and poverty alleviation The substantial reduction in the number of targets is an important manifestation of the benefits of the development and reforms for all people. Fifth, the social security is universal, everyone has access to basic medical and health services, and the housing security system has basically taken shape. This is the realization of the elderly and housing. , The inevitable requirement of medical treatment; sixth, social harmony and stability, which is a necessary prerequisite for people to live and work in peace and contentment.
5. Fifth, significant progress has been made in building a resource-saving and environment-friendly society. Obvious results must be achieved in the following aspects: First, optimize the pattern of national land development, so that the layout of the main functional areas is basically formed; second, comprehensively promote resource conservation, and initially establish a resource recycling system; Energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions have dropped significantly, and the total discharge of major pollutants has been significantly reduced. Fourth, major ecological restoration projects have been implemented to achieve increased forest coverage, enhanced ecosystem stability, and significant improvement in the human settlement environment.

While the report puts forward new requirements for the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, it also clarifies the goal of deepening reforms in various fields. (Excerpt from the book “New Thoughts, New Views, New Measures”, published by Learning Publishing House and Hongqi Publishing House in November 2012) moderately prosperous society

Academic Viewpoint of moderately prosperous Society

Some scholars believe that although China’s reforms have income inequality and large regional differences, in general, China’s reforms will benefit more than Russia. It is difficult to make a complete judgment about China. Many people have some truth in their observations from different angles. Hegel said that truth is the whole, and our observations are often partial. How to figure out clues from various one-sided but not unreasonable observations? This requires a new conceptual framework that takes the overall situation into consideration and rearranges specific local observations. The proposal of a ” moderately prosperous society” is an exploration and pursuit of this new conceptual framework. An interpretation of “moderately prosperous” or ” common prosperity ” can be ” universalization of the petty bourgeoisie .” ( Cui Zhiyuan : How to Understand China Today : An Interpretation of “A moderately prosperous Society”)

An overall moderately prosperous society is a low-standard moderately prosperous society, and a comprehensive moderately prosperous society is a relatively high-standard moderately prosperous society.