Bert Hofman, Professor at the East Asian Institute at the National University Singapore (NUS), Former World Bank Country Director for China 2014-2019
The third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China concluded last Thursday with the issuance of a communique which announced the adoption of the Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization. The session has charted a new blueprint for China's reform and opening-up and put forward more than 300 key reform measures in various fields.
Bert Hofman, Professor at the East Asian Institute at the National University Singapore (NUS) told China-ASEAN Observation, “It is comparable in detail with the 3rd Plenum of the 18th Central Committee in 2013, and should be the basis for further detailed policy formulation, and would help in settle expectations of households and the private sector.”
The reform tasks laid out in this resolution shall be completed by the time the People’s Republic of China celebrates its 80th anniversary in 2029. “This adds some urgency to the reforms and will put pressure on government at central and local level to deliver.” Hofman said.
As is highlighted in the session, opening up is a defining feature of Chinese modernization. The communique said that the Party will "steadily expand institutional opening-up, deepen foreign trade structural reform, further reform the management systems for inward and outward investment, improve planning for regional opening-up, and refine the mechanisms for high-quality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative".
Hofman mentioned that the resolution contains a number of sections relevant to the China-ASEAN relationships.
As outlined in the resolution, the party will improve the systems for promoting full integration between the real economy and the digital economy, move faster to advance new industrialization and realize a reasonable reduction in overall costs and tax and fee burdens in the manufacturing sector.
“This implies that China will continue to be a fierce competitor for South-East Asian manufacturing, but also a potential partner in high-tech manufacturing.”
Hofman said that China’s high-quality development will continue to shape China’s economy for the foreseeable future. A key question is whether the policy package as presented will deliver higher potential growth for China. “This will be beneficial for ASEAN as long as China maintains its policy of opening up.”
China is committed to further opening up its market, continuously strengthening cooperation with ASEAN countries. The negotiations for the 3.0 version of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area are accelerating. The country is also stand ready to galvanize high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, make the China-ASEAN Year of People-to-People Exchanges a success, and foster a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.
Mao Ning, spokesperson of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on regular press conference that despite the global economic slowdown and ongoing geopolitical conflicts, East Asia has been generally stable, and regional economic integration is making steady progress. To let this region remain an engine of development and champion of cooperation is a shared desire of people from countries across the region.
Hofman noted that China has further pursued opening up through RCEP, the Belt and Road initiative and growing foreign investment, and at the same time, focus on national security. “ASEAN has benefited from these policies, and the challenge is to create an environment in which those benefits continue to outlast the costs of national security policies.”
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