China News Service:

The nature of socialism is to achieve common prosperity. The CPC Central Committee is committed to achieving common prosperity for everyone by the middle of the 21st century. What have SOEs done to promote common prosperity? How can they work better? Thank you.

Peng Huagang:

Thank you for your questions. The state-owned assets belong to and are the common property of all the people. Ensuring the sustained and steady development of the SOEs and maintaining and increasing the value of state-owned assets are the foundation for common prosperity for everyone. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, resolutely implementing the instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping and the decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, SOEs have fully carried out their economic, political, and social duties and promoted common prosperity by protecting and growing the common wealth of the people, mainly including the following aspects:

First, SOEs have been committed to releasing and developing their productive forces, constantly increasing the common wealth of all the people. By the end of 2021, the asset value of the central SOEs totaled 75.6 trillion yuan, an increase of 141.1% over the end of 2012, and successively passed the 40 trillion, 50 trillion, 60 trillion, and 70 trillion yuan marks. From 2012 to 2021, the accumulated profits of the central SOEs totaled 15.7 trillion yuan, with an annual increase of 8%. The development of central SOEs has made great contributions to the sustained and steady growth of the national economy, continuously making the "cake" bigger and better.

Second, SOEs have been actively engaged in income distribution reform, playing an exemplary role in wealth distribution. In primary distribution, SOEs have upheld an income distribution system under which distribution according to work is the mainstay while multiple forms of distribution exist alongside it and improved the market-based incentive and constraint mechanism. Respecting the fruits of the hard work of employees, the SOEs have made appropriate increases to the pay packages for them. In redistribution, SOEs pay taxes in accordance with the law, serving as an important source of national fiscal revenue. During the 13th Five-Year Plan Period, SOEs paid a total of 17.6 trillion yuan in taxes and fees, accounting for about a quarter of the national tax revenue in the same period. Seventy-six central SOEs transferred their state capital of 1.2 trillion yuan to replenish the national social security fund. In tertiary distribution, SOEs have actively participated in public services, making every effort to provide assistance and support for those in poverty, taking the initiative to strengthen charitable donations, and earnestly fulfilling their social responsibilities, thus acting as an example for the whole of society.

Third, the SOEs have made every effort to serve and improve people's livelihoods, consolidating the foundation for common prosperity. Consciously subordinating to the arrangement of macro regulation, SOES have made solid efforts to ensure the supply and prices of key supplies such as coal, petroleum, natural gas, and electricity that are essential to social stability and people's wellbeing; strengthened operational management of infrastructure networks, including communications, railways, and aviation; undertaken the construction of infrastructure and livelihood projects with large investment and low profits such as the Sichuan-Tibet, Central Tibet, and Ngari Prefecture power grid interconnection projects; and further advanced a new round of rural power grids upgrade and Dynamic Electricity for Each Village Project. By making all these efforts, people's work and lives have been effectively improved. SOEs have done their utmost to help win the battle against poverty. Since 2016, the SASAC and the central SOEs have sent a total of 37,000 temporary poverty relief officials and invested hundreds of billions of yuan in assistance funds. Under their paired assistance, all of the 248 counties that are key targets of the government's development-oriented poverty-reduction work have been lifted out of poverty. 

Fourth, the layout of the state-owned sector of the economy has been continuously improved and adjusted, contributing to addressing imbalances and inadequacies in development. In terms of the layout of industries, SOEs have mainly focused on basic industries, public service industries, and strategic industries, with over 70% of the revenues in sectors that concern national security and are essential to social stability and people's wellbeing coming from central SOEs. In terms of the layout of capital, SOEs have leveraged their strength to play a leading role in taking active and prudent steps to push forward mixed-ownership reform. They have strengthened collaboration in industrial chains and coordination in supply chains with enterprises under all forms of ownership to achieve a win-win for mutual benefit and common development. In terms of regional development priorities, SOEs have fully implemented major regional development strategies, taking an active part in addressing development disparities among the eastern, the central, and the western regions and those between the northern and the southern regions. SOEs have also earnestly implemented the rural revitalization strategy, providing strong support for narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas and between regions.

It is the glory mission and important duty of state-owned assets and the SOEs to take a new and distinctively Chinese path to modernization and promote common prosperity. Striving for the fundamental goal of meeting the growing expectation of the people for a better life and working on resolving imbalances and inadequacies in development, we will spare no effort to promote more development gains of the SOEs to better trickle down to all the people to make greater contributions to and play a better role in delivering prosperity to all the people. First, SOEs will continue to make the "cake" bigger, serving as the creator of common prosperity. Second, SOEs will contribute to the distribution of the "cake", serving as an example of the scientific distribution of wealth. Third, the SOEs will protect the "cake", serving as the defender of the security of state-owned assets.

Thank you.

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