The specific goals proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) at the meeting of the Central Committee on Finance and Economy of the Communist Party of China in August when he generalized the principle of ‘common wealth’ were published in the Theory of the Party. The goal is to gradually narrow the income and consumption level gap by 2025 and make practical progress toward realizing common wealth by 2035. He also announced that he would reform tax bases such as income tax and real estate tax to reduce inequality.
The Chinese Communist Party’s Theory Journal, Qius No. 20, published on the 16th, contained part of President Xi’s speech on common wealth at the 10th meeting of the Communist Party’s Central Finance and Economy Committee on August 17th. The speech contained the specific ideas and goals of President Xi on common wealth, which were not made public at the time.
In his speech, President Xi said at the time, “We have created an all-encompassing xiaokang society and created favorable conditions for promoting common wealth.” he emphasized. He continued, “The problem of income inequality is rising around the world, and in some countries, social division, political extremism, and populism are overflowing due to the disparity between the rich and the poor and the collapse of the middle class. do,” he added.
In his speech, Xi also listed issues that need to be addressed in order to promote common wealth, such as corporate monopoly, education, real estate, and regional disparities. First, it will accelerate reform of the monopoly industry and reduce the tax burden on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the self-employed. He also emphasized the need to improve the educational environment so that the low-income class can join the middle-income class and raise the wages of skilled workers. At the same time, he urged that the social security gap between urban and rural areas be narrowed and the housing problem of the common people should be focused on solving the problem.
He also suggested various tax reforms. In order to rationally control excessively high income, it will reform the personal income tax and real estate tax, and consider expanding the scope of consumption tax collection. It also said that it would supplement tax benefits to encourage return to society by high-income groups and companies, and strengthen crackdowns on illegal income through stock price manipulation, financial manipulation, and tax evasion. He also emphasized the need to strengthen anti-monopoly management to prevent chaotic expansion of capital. “It is necessary to prevent polarization and resolve the unfairness of distribution while protecting legal income according to the law,” Xi said.
Through these measures, President Xi also set a timeline for realizing common wealth. He said, “By the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), we will take a firm step towards common wealth and gradually narrow the gap between the income and consumption levels of residents. We will make sure that equalization of basic public services is realized.” “In the middle of the 21st century, we will basically realize common wealth for all the people and reduce the gap between residents’ income and actual consumption level within a reasonable range,” he said. The year 2035 marks the time when China announced that it would double its gross domestic product (GDP) compared to 2019, and the middle of the 21st century coincides with the 100th anniversary of the establishment of a new country (2049) with the goal of ‘the great revival of the Chinese nation’. there is a point in time
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