The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China typically holds seven plenums in its five-year term. The third plenum is often devoted to economic and other reforms, making it an event that draws particular attention. This is true for the third plenum of the 20th CPC Central Committee, held on July 15-18 in Beijing. It is essentially the top strategic planning workshop of the CPC, attended by all members of the Party’s Central Committee, including the most senior political, military, and business leaders, to map out a long-term strategy for China.
The end product of this year’s plenum is the adoption of a resolution on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization. Like any successful strategic planning workshop, the session conducted an analysis of the present situation and the tasks the Party faces, with an honest identification of problems that need to be resolved. It acknowledged that the country’s economy, consumption, and property sector need to be improved.
In addressing these challenges, the resolution highlighted the development of high-tech, new quality productive forces, complete integration between the real and digital economies, and modernizing infrastructure. There is a firm commitment to achieving the annual economic goals. The Party will strive to expand domestic demand and defuse property market risks and local government debt risks.
The resolution also commits to better leveraging the role of the market, where restrictions will be lifted while effective regulation will be ensured to maintain order in the market and remedy market failures. Various measures will be implemented to prevent and defuse risks in real estate, local government debt, small and midsize financial institutions, and other key areas.
To support all-around innovation, the Party will deepen comprehensive reform in education, structural scientific and technological reform, and institutional reforms for talent development. To ensure and enhance the people’s well-being, the Party will improve the income distribution system, the employment-first policy, and the social security system, further reform the medical and healthcare systems, and improve the systems for facilitating population development and providing related services.
Particularly noteworthy is that the resolution also called for optimizing the discipline inspection and supervision system to further improve the leadership system and strengthen efforts to improve Party conduct, uphold integrity, combat corruption, and exercise full and rigorous Party self-governance.
The plenum set a deadline of 2029 to complete the reform tasks laid out in its resolution, which coincides with the 80th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
One of the strong messages from the plenum was that China will remain a top destination for global investment.
It is a wise arrangement for the resolution and the explanation made by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, at the plenum, to be published with a complete English translation. Thus, it can be seen by the Western world that the resolution is a comprehensive strategy document, spanning 15 chapters, 60 sections, and over 300 specific reform proposals. Its detailed action plan covering all aspects of the nation’s economy, people’s livelihoods, and foreign relationships will certainly impress foreign governments, academics and multinational enterprises, and bolster their confidence in establishing closer and friendlier relationships with China to “build a community with a shared future for mankind”.
The resolution mentions Hong Kong in Section 27, “Optimizing the layout for regional opening up.” It states: “Harnessing the institutional strengths of the ‘one country, two systems’ policy, we will work to consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s status as an international financial, shipping, and trade center, support Hong Kong and Macao in building themselves into international hubs for high-caliber talent, and improve relevant mechanisms to see the two regions playing a greater role in China’s opening to the outside world. We will encourage cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao in the Greater Bay Area by promoting closer alignment of rules and mechanisms.”
Additionally, Sections 8 and 13 of the resolution are indirectly relevant to Hong Kong. Section 8 outlines areas for revolutionary breakthroughs in high technology, such as the development of next-generation information technology, artificial intelligence, aviation and aerospace, new energy, biomedicine, quantum technology, and the development of angel investments, venture capital, and private equity investments, and better leveraging the role of government investment funds to promote the development of patient capital. Hong Kong should consider partnering with Chinese mainland institutions to pursue some of these areas for research and development, and provide the necessary investment funds. Section 13, “Deepening Comprehensive Reform in Education”, suggests that Hong Kong universities can partner with mainland universities to develop more world-class universities with Chinese features and encourage first-rate foreign universities of science and engineering to develop partner schools and programs in Hong Kong.
As Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has said, the plenum is of great significance to Hong Kong. He has called on all sectors in Hong Kong to take on their share of responsibilities, seize this opportunity, and make contributions to the country’s modernization endeavors. These should form the key framework of the chief executive’s forthcoming Policy Address. The special administrative region government should think deeply about how to leverage the advantages of the “one country, two systems” policy to assist in implementing the resolution. I propose that each policy bureau set up a working group to study the plenum’s guiding principles, grasp the essentials, and determine how best each policy bureau can coordinate to implement the 300-plus initiatives contained in the resolution; all their best ideas should be incorporated into the chief executive’s Policy Address.
The author is an honorary fellow of HKU Space and Hong Kong Metropolitan University, and a member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
