How does the Chinese Communist Party govern the country?

Chapter 40

From the first day of the founding of New China, the Communist Party of China has placed high hopes on socialist state-owned enterprises.It is believed that state-owned enterprises play an important role in industrialization construction, and have the advantage of being owned by the whole people compared with private economy.Therefore, state-owned enterprises are highly valued.

However, the government has too much control over state-owned enterprises, and enterprises lack operational autonomy.The profits and depreciation of state-owned enterprises belong to the government.If an enterprise wants to engage in construction, it must first apply from the bottom up and be included in the plan, and the government will set the control figures from the top down and allocate investment according to the plan.The pricing power belongs to the planning department, and the enterprise has no pricing power. In 1974, two-thirds of the country's coal mines lost money, not because the coal mines were not running well, but because the coal price uniformly stipulated by the state was lower than the cost.

At that time, the cost of raw coal was 15.9 yuan per ton, and the planned purchase price was set at 15 yuan.The planning department issues many indicators to enterprises year by year, some as many as dozens, and the indicators are often divorced from reality, pursuing output value, regardless of market and quality.The result of the assessment of steelmaking by tonnage is that it is not what is urgently needed to be smelted, but what is high tonnage.Large state-owned enterprises have to apply for approval even to build a toilet. The so-called "soy sauce money can't buy vinegar".Some state-owned enterprise executives said, "It's not that we don't have the ability to compete, but that our hands and feet are tied, and the state must first loosen our ties." A reporter from Xinhua News Agency investigated Chongqing Iron and Steel Company, and there was a set of equipment there from the Westernization Movement period ( 1861-1894), the energy consumption is extremely high. If the power is changed, the energy saving of two years can recover the investment.But the report has been typed for many years, but it still has not been approved.Such a management system violates the laws of economic development and the requirements of modern large-scale production, and seriously hinders the development of production. Reform has become an inevitable requirement for the development of productive forces.Decentralization and deregulation have also become the common aspiration of most state-owned enterprises.

The reforms deployed at the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee in 1978 were primarily to expand the autonomy of state-owned enterprises.It was based on the local reform experiment in Sichuan in October 1978, which put the decision-making power originally controlled by the state economic agencies at the enterprise level. In May 10, relevant departments selected eight enterprises in Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin to carry out pilot projects, and gave some powers to the pilot enterprises in terms of profit distribution, production planning, and product sales. In July, the State Council, on the basis of summarizing the pilot experience, issued five documents with the core of expanding the operating autonomy of state-owned enterprises, requiring all localities and departments to select a small number of enterprises for pilot projects, so as to expand the pilot projects to the whole country.However, this kind of power expansion does not solve the responsibility problem, and it is easy to lead to the phenomenon of not being responsible for the loss and excessive bonuses.

Drawing on the successful experience of contracting in the rural reform, in 1981, the State Council proposed to establish and implement the economic responsibility system.This is the deepening of the expansion of power, which requires that responsibility be put in the first place, and that power be determined by responsibility and profit be determined by responsibility, so as to guide enterprises to strengthen management, improve economic efficiency, and accelerate technological progress.From the perspective of distribution, the economic responsibility system includes profit retention, profit and loss lump sum, and tax in lieu of profit.After the implementation of contracting, the enthusiasm of enterprises has been greatly improved, and the economic benefits have been significantly improved.From 1979 to 1981, the Shijiazhuang Paper Mill in Hebei Province did not pay a penny and received state subsidies. In 1981, Shijiazhuang implemented the contracting system. The Municipal Bureau of Light Industry set a contracting profit target of 17 yuan for the paper mill. After the target was completed, all the profits were reserved for the company's own use, but the factory manager was unwilling to accept the bargain.Ma Shengli, the head of the sales department in the factory, stood up and recommended himself to contract for a profit of 70 yuan, and handed over 34 yuan.He overfulfilled the task that year.However, the contracting system has not touched the issue of the status of enterprises as market players, and the division of responsibilities and benefits is not clear.In order to standardize the distribution between the state and enterprises, a period of profit reform was implemented, but it was not implemented.

In 1984, the Third Plenary Session of the Twelfth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China adopted a decision on economic system reform, which clearly stated: "Enhancing the vitality of enterprises, especially the vitality of large and medium-sized enterprises owned by the whole people, is based on the reform of the entire economic system that focuses on cities. The central link." Although the contracting system and the shareholding system have been reformed, the management system of state-owned enterprises has not been adjusted. By the early 20s, the problems of separation of government and enterprises, unclear responsibilities, and irrational industrial structure were still unresolved. , The phenomenon of overstaffing, serious losses, and serious triangular debts is very prominent, which is in stark contrast to the vigorous development of the non-public economy.The problem of lagging state-owned enterprise reform cannot be resolved. After the 90th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 1992, the reform of state-owned enterprises was intensified. A modern enterprise with clear responsibilities, separation of government and enterprise, and scientific management. In 1996, the measures of grasping the large and letting go of the small were adopted. In 1997, it was proposed that the form of public ownership could be diversified. In 1998, the State Council proposed the three-year goal for state-owned large and medium-sized enterprises to get rid of difficulties. In 1999, it was proposed that state-owned enterprises advance and retreat.By the end of 2000, state-owned enterprises had basically achieved the goal of getting out of trouble in three years.

In order to promote the reform of state-owned enterprises, the "Enterprise Bankruptcy Law (Trial Implementation)" was passed in December 1986 to make those uncompetitive enterprises go bankrupt.That has put a strain on state-owned enterprises that once provided workers with services from cradle to grave.In this year, the first bankrupt enterprise appeared in the history of New China - Shenyang Explosion-proof Equipment Factory.After the factory went bankrupt, the manager of the factory was so depressed and miserable that he hid at home for a long time, ashamed of his employees, crying every day, and his wife lost sight in one eye due to anxiety.Later, the factory manager learned from the painful experience, started a business again, and invited the employees from his original factory back to work.

On the land of China, laid-off workers have become a unique group.American Kuhn pointed out: "China's reform is full of pains, harsh and ruthless, but at the same time, this process can also inspire people and make people mature. Although many individuals failed during this period, the country as a whole has made great achievements. benefits. The Chinese government must be responsible for those unemployed or laid-off workers.” The Chinese government has noticed this, and Jiang Zemin has repeatedly emphasized in his speeches that we must do everything possible to re-employ the laid-off workers.At the same time, the Chinese government has gradually established a social security system and unemployment allowance system, and these systems are being perfected.

Since 2001, the pace of restructuring of state-owned enterprises has been accelerated. In 2002, the Sixteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed to further explore various effective forms of public ownership, especially state-owned ownership. Except for a very small number of enterprises that must be solely owned by the state, state-owned large and medium-sized enterprises should implement standardized management in accordance with the requirements of the modern enterprise system. The reform of the company system and the active implementation of the joint-stock system. In 2003, it was clearly proposed to vigorously develop a mixed-ownership economy in which state-owned capital, collective capital, and non-public capital participate in shares, so that the joint-stock system will become the main form of public ownership, and establish modern property rights with clear ownership, clear rights and responsibilities, strict protection, and smooth circulation. system.For state-owned enterprises in difficulties due to economic transformation or poor management, the channel for bankruptcy and exit has been dredged, and the mechanism of survival of the fittest in the market economy has begun to play a role. From 1998 to 2003, about 5000 large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises in difficulty went bankrupt, involving more than 900 million employees. In April 2003, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council was established, marking the start of operation of the management agency that manages nearly 4 trillion state-owned assets of 196 central enterprises. Since 7, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and the Organization Department of the Central Committee have successively offered 2003 executive positions in central enterprises (enterprises supervised and managed by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission) to open recruitment around the world.The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission has actively promoted the deepening of the reform of the personnel system of the central enterprises, and increased the intensity of competitive selection. Since 141, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission has stepped up efforts to merge and reorganize central enterprises.By the end of 2004, the number of central enterprises had decreased from 33 in 2011 to 59.5.Some advantageous enterprises have joined forces to form a large enterprise group with strong comprehensive competitiveness. In October 2006, the Law of the People's Republic of China on State-owned Assets of Enterprises was passed and came into effect on May 2011, 2003. The leading role of the economy in the national economy and promote the development of the socialist market economy.

经过改革，国有企业经济社会效益取得显着提高。据国家发改委网站公布的数据：2005-2010年，中央企业资产总额由10.5万亿元增长到24.3万亿元，年均增长18.2%；营业收入由6.79万亿元增加到16.7万亿元，年均增长19.7%；实现净利润由4642.7亿元增加到8489.8亿元，年均增长12.8%；上缴税金由5779.9亿元增加到1.3万亿元，年均增长17.6%。

As an important pillar of China's economic and social development, state-owned enterprises assume the role of "vanguards" of independent innovation. State-owned enterprises are all involved in the 11 key points that China needs to break through determined in the "National Medium and Long-Term Science and Technology Development Plan Outline". Among the 16 major national science and technology projects, state-owned enterprises participated in 15; in the 863 plan, the participation rate of state-owned enterprises reached 29.5%. A number of innovative achievements with independent intellectual property rights and international advanced level have been achieved in fields such as bullet trains and major engineering projects.The average annual growth rate of major patent indicators of state-owned enterprises is above 4%.State-owned enterprises are the "pillars" of major national projects. The Three Gorges Project, Qinghai-Tibet Railway, West-to-East Gas Transmission, West-to-East Electricity Transmission, South-to-North Water Diversion, Olympic venues... During the construction of various major national landmark projects during the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" period, State-owned enterprises have made outstanding contributions. The "Power Sky Road" Qinghai-Tibet AC-DC network transmission project was completed in 350, which fundamentally solved the problem of power shortage in Tibet.Shenhua Group's world's first one-million-ton coal direct liquefaction demonstration project was successfully completed and put into operation, marking a breakthrough in China's implementation of energy substitution strategies. The development and construction of the C35 large aircraft and high-speed railways are progressing steadily.State-owned enterprises are also the "backbone" for fulfilling social responsibilities.

State-owned enterprises play a leading role in implementing national macro-control policies, ensuring market supply, and maintaining market economic order. "SARS" raids, ice and snow disasters, Wenchuan rescue... When the country and society encountered major natural disasters and crises, state-owned enterprises stepped forward.In major events such as the Beijing Olympic Games and the Shanghai World Expo, state-owned enterprises have undertaken the main guarantee tasks.

Many state-owned enterprises undertook the task of aiding Xinjiang and Tibet and designated assistance to old, young, frontier and poor areas, helping local areas to strengthen infrastructure construction, and making positive contributions to changing the appearance of poverty and backwardness.

The pace of state-owned enterprises' "going out" has been accelerating, the overseas economic strength has been continuously enhanced, and the ability to guarantee resources has been greatly improved. A number of large-scale engineering projects with world-leading technology have been built around the world.China Railway Engineering Corporation used Chinese technical standards to build the northern plain railway with a speed of 220 kilometers per hour in Venezuela, which won local praise.State-owned enterprises have grown rapidly in the process of international operation, and have made significant progress in global resource allocation and international competitiveness.

In 1994, the total annual sales revenue of the 500 largest state-owned enterprises in China was not as high as that of General Motors of the United States.Among the world's top 2011 companies announced in 500, 38 central enterprises have been listed. In 1998, state-owned enterprises were still a burden to the national economy and a hidden danger to social stability.Now, state-owned enterprises are a positive and stable factor in the country's economic and social development.This historic change took place in just a dozen years, and the key lies in reform.As a worldwide problem, China's state-owned enterprise reform has been carried out to such a depth and achieved such great achievements, it can be said that it has not come easily.

(End of this chapter)