China Global Television Network (CGTN) commentator Robert Lawrence Kuhn shared his insights on China's reform journey under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, in a newly-released thought-provoking video footage, saying that the reform from top to bottom stay focused on people's well-being and innovation.
Reform has become a buzz word in recent China, especially after the third plenary session of the four-day 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) that closed on July 18 in Beijing.
"To appreciate President Xi's leadership on reform, one must begin by understanding what China means by 'reform.' It does not mean less government and more private sector. It does mean optimizing both government and the private sector. In a word, when China says 'reform,' China means 'improvement.' So, when President Xi streamlined the government bureaucracy in 2018 by combining ministries and reducing their numbers, that was reform. When Xi transferred the management of the local courts to the provincial governments, that was reform. When Xi directed the restructure of China's healthcare system, that was reform. When Xi instituted the relentless anti-corruption campaign in the Party, that was reform," Kuhn said.
One of Xi's first guiding political theories of overall governance is the "Four Comprehensives," put forth in 2014 (later, the "Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy"), three of which refer to comprehensively expanding in-depth reform, promoting law-based governance, and enforcing strict Party self-governance, Kuhn recalled.
"From there I go to Xi's first guiding theory of economic development - the 'Five Major Concepts of Development' in 2015 (later the 'New Concepts of Development') - innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing," he said.
It was the first time that "innovation" was given pride of place as the first of the five, the top position. Xi's focus on innovation was just beginning. It would become the core of his vision to drive China's "high-quality development" via "new quality productive forces," according to Kuhn.
"Xi's commitment to reform is exemplified by his leading, since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, over 72 highest-level, reform-focused meetings, from the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reform to the Central Committee for Comprehensively Deepening Reform. This is called, 'the drumbeat for reform.' These senior-most meetings reviewed and approved more than 600 reform documents, and guided authorities to issue more than 3,000 reform plans," Kuhn said.
It was in April 2023, at the first meeting, that Xi emphasized that "comprehensively deepening reform should be regarded as the fundamental driving force for promoting Chinese modernization.
"To Xi, the system of income distribution is the foundational system for promoting common prosperity. In 2018, the individual income tax threshold was raised from 3,500 yuan (about 482 U.S. dollars) to 5,000 yuan (688 U.S. dollars) per month. This change reduced the proportion of taxpayers among urban workers from 44 percent to 15 percent, with additional deductions further lowering the tax burden for those earning below 20,000 yuan (2,752 U.S. dollars) per month by more than 50 percent. This, to Xi Jinping, is real reform. Looking forward, President Xi will continue stressing science and technology, and indigenous innovation, as the pinnacle of Chinese reform," Kuhn said.
Political affairs expert on China's efforts to comprehensively deepen reform
