观察家 | 鉴往知来论“共同富裕”

I'm Robert Lawrence Kuhn and here's what I'm watching: President Xi Jinping's commitment to pursue and achieve "Common Prosperity" in Chinese society. What is common prosperity? Let's start with what common prosperity is not. It is not robbing the rich to give to the poor. It is not egalitarianism, where everyone is forcibly equal. It is not a welfare state. Common prosperity envisions a China that is more equal, where disparities in standards of living, wealth and opportunities - especially between urban and rural areas - are reduced substantially. 

我是罗伯特·劳伦斯·库恩，以下是我正在关注的：习近平主席决心在中国实现“共同富裕”。什么是共同富裕呢？我们先来看看什么不是共同富裕。它不是劫富济贫，不是搞平均主义，强制性地均贫富，不是要建立福利国家。共同富裕是致力于在中国构建一个更加平等的社会，显著缩小生活水平，财富和机遇上的差距，特别是城乡地区之间的差距。

To appreciate common prosperity is to examine its roots in Marxism. Common prosperity is said to distinguish socialism from capitalism, and even reflects "the superiority of socialism with Chinese characteristics." Common prosperity should be viewed in light of the "principle contradiction" in Chinese society, a Marxist way of thinking that Xi Jinping pronounced in 2017. What we now face, Xi said, is the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people's ever-growing needs for a better life. Common prosperity focuses on rebalancing, stressing rural vitalization, China's multi-decade commitment to raising standards of living in rural areas roughly to that in urban areas. 

要理解共同富裕，就要理解其所根植的马克思主义。共同富裕是社会主义区别于资本主义的重要标志，还体现了“中国特色社会主义的优越性”。共同富裕应该被置于中国社会“主要矛盾”的框架下来看待，这是习主席在2017年提出的一种马克思主义思维方式，习主席表示我们现在面临的矛盾是人民日益增长的美好生活需要和不平衡不充分的发展之间的矛盾。共同富裕的重点在于再平衡。强调乡村振兴几十年来，中国一直致力于提高农村地区的生活水平，使其向城市地区看齐。

Common prosperity has also come to mean greater regulation of certain kinds of huge wealth - the so-called "disorderly expansion of capital," especially in tech platform companies.

共同富裕也意味着对于特定种类巨额财富的更严格的监管，也就是那些所谓的“资本无序扩张”。这点尤其是针对科技平台公司。

There is a sense, however, that given downward pressures on China’s economy, amplified by pandemic lockdowns, Russia’s war against Ukraine, and international tensions, common prosperity has been rolled back and de-emphasized. While common prosperity may be less prioritized in the short-term to stabilize the economy - especially given the 20th CPC National Congress later in the year - it would be a mistake to underestimate its policy-making power and persistence under President Xi, especially after the Congress.

然而，有种看法认为伴随着中国经济的下行压力，叠加疫情防控的影响，俄乌战争和国际紧张局势的干扰，没人再强调共同富裕了。虽然共同富裕的重要性可能在短期内被排在稳定经济之后，尤其是考虑到今年晚些时候要召开中国共产党第二十次全国代表大会。但是绝不应该低估习主席领导下的决策力和韧性，特别是在二十大召开之后。

Look to Zhejiang Province, where President Xi served as Party secretary and which continues full-on as the national pilot of common prosperity. Consider the following targets: 

以浙江省为例，习主席曾任浙江省委书记。浙江省正在全面推进共同富裕示范区建设。具体目标如下：

A full-scale health service system for the entire populace, featuring free health check-ups for urban and rural residents of the same quality and standards. 

构建全民全程健康服务体系，实行同质同标的城乡居民免费健康体检制度。

A parenting-friendly society, with supporting policies for childbearing and childcare services.

构建育儿友好型社会，完善支持生育养育配套政策。

An elderly-friendly society, ensuring that every elderly person can enjoy a long life with security, quality and vitality.

建设老年友好型社会，努力让每位老年人都能享受有保障、有质量、有活力的长寿生活。

By 2025, the proportion of households in Zhejiang with an annual disposable income between 100,000 and 500,000 yuan will reach 80%, and between 200,000 and 600,000 yuan, 45%.

到2025年，浙江家庭年可支配收入10至50万元群体比例要达到80%，20至60万元群体比例要达到45%。

Zhejiang has 23 million migrant workers; they have built Zhejiang and must enjoy the same services and policies as local workers.

浙江有2300万省外务工人员，他们参与了浙江的建设，应当与本地户籍的劳动者享受同等的就业创业服务和政策。

While some overseas analysts question common prosperity's "mixed messages," Xi's message is coherent: encouraging the dynamism and innovation of private business to create incremental wealth, while, at the same time, utilizing appropriate powers of government to bring about fair and equitable allocations of that incremental wealth. One can agree or disagree on the merits, but Xi's message is coherent.

虽然一些海外分析人士质疑共同富裕包含的“信息复杂”。但是习主席传递的信息是一贯的：激发民企创新活力，创造增量财富，同时通过正确行使政府权力公平公正地分配增量财富。大家对共同富裕的价值有不同看法，但是习主席传递的信息一以贯之。

Common prosperity is aspirational, the overarching domestic vision of what it will take to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, thus heralding China's new era.

共同富裕是宏大的，是首要的国内愿景目标，是实现中华民族伟大复兴的题中之意，预示着中国新时代的到来。

I'm keeping watch. I'm Robert Lawrence Kuhn.

我在持续观察。我是罗伯特·劳伦斯·库恩。

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