Promote the construction of a new type of urbanization centered on people (authoritative interview)
——Interview with Cai Fang, Vice President of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Promoting the construction of a new type of urbanization centered on people can unleash huge domestic demand potential, which is of great significance for doing the "six stability" work, fulfilling the "six guarantees" task, and stabilizing the economic fundamentals.
In the context of building a new development pattern, what is the significance of promoting new urbanization?
How to further promote new urbanization?
Can the goal of creating more than 9 million new jobs in cities and towns be achieved this year?
The reporter interviewed Cai Fang, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
New urbanization is conducive to expanding domestic demand, promoting the formation of a strong domestic market, and providing a solid guarantee for building a new development pattern
Reporter: Under the background of building a new development pattern, what is the significance of promoting new urbanization?
Cai Fang: At present and in the future, my country's development is still in a period of important strategic opportunities, but there are new developments and changes in opportunities and challenges.
For this reason, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Accelerating the formation of a new development pattern with the domestic cycle as the main body and the domestic and international dual cycles mutually promoting each other is a strategic decision made in accordance with my country's development stage, environment, and conditions. Systemic deep-level changes."
From the perspective of the international situation, the world today is undergoing major changes unseen in a century. The global pandemic of the new crown pneumonia epidemic has accelerated the evolution of this major change. The world economy is sluggish, the global industrial chain and supply chain are facing impacts, and the external environment facing my country's development is more complicated. .
From the perspective of domestic development, my country has entered a stage of high-quality development, with many advantages and conditions.
my country has the world's most complete and largest industrial system, strong production capacity, and complete supporting capabilities. It has more than 100 million market players and more than 170 million people with higher education or various professional skills, including more than 400 million A large-scale domestic demand market formed by 1.4 billion people including middle-income groups.
The basic characteristics of my country's economic potential, strong resilience, large room for maneuver, and many policy tools have not changed.
Of course, we also face some challenges and need to be prepared to deal with them.
The new development pattern with the domestic big cycle as the main body and the mutual promotion of the domestic and international double cycles is a whole and cannot be separated.
With the domestic big cycle as the main body, it is by no means a closed door to operate. The domestic and international double cycle is not just a simple opening to the outside world, but a higher level of opening up.
The new development pattern conforms to the inherent requirements for high-quality development of the Chinese economy and also conforms to international expectations.
Under the background of building a new development pattern, the promotion of a new type of urbanization will not only help improve the efficiency of factor allocation, stimulate new development momentum, promote the formation of a strong domestic market by expanding domestic demand, but also promote the integrated development of urban and rural areas and promote coordinated regional development. .
The experience of various countries in the world shows that urbanization is the result of economic and social development and the only way to modernization.
Comparing the relationship between the urbanization rate and the per capita gross national income internationally, we can clearly see that the urbanization rate is closely related to the level of economic development and is mutually cause and effect.
At present, the urbanization rate of my country's permanent population has exceeded 60%, and cities and towns have become the main platform for carrying population and economy.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, my country has initiated a new type of urbanization practice and achieved fruitful results.
In the future, we should actively promote the sustainable and healthy development of new-type urbanization with Chinese characteristics, continuously improve the level of urban-rural integration, and continue to enhance the people's sense of gain, happiness, and security, in order to build a domestic and international dual-cycle mutual promotion. The new development pattern provides a solid and powerful guarantee.
Deepen reforms in key areas and promote county urbanization to make up for shortcomings, strengths and weaknesses
Reporter: What do you think is the key to promoting new urbanization?
Cai Fang: General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward the concepts of "taking people's urbanization as the core" and "adhering to the people's city for the people", which embodies the people-centered development idea.
The new urbanization centered on people is a new urbanization strategy proposed by the Party Central Committee since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. It not only has a high-level theoretical height, but also adapts to my country's actual national conditions.
To promote the construction of a new type of urbanization centered on people, it is necessary to understand the laws of urbanization and the relationship between urbanization and other areas of economic and social development at a deeper level. The key lies in whether the people are the center.
Only people-centered urbanization that conforms to the law of development can improve the sharing and sustainability of development.
To promote the construction of a new type of urbanization centered on people, we should deepen reforms in key areas such as the household registration system to promote the urbanization of migrant workers with the equalization of basic public services as the central content.
On the one hand, it is necessary to promote the equalization of basic public services in urban and rural areas, continue to tilt new public resources to the countryside, improve the level of rural residents’ enjoyment of basic public services, and enable migrant workers and their families to truly integrate into the city and enjoy the same social security. Basic public services such as compulsory education and affordable housing.
On the other hand, it is necessary to focus on increasing the urbanization rate of the registered population and realize the citizenization of migrant workers through the reform of the household registration system. This is the most effective means and ultimate manifestation of promoting the equalization of basic public services.
Reporter: What role should the county play in advancing the construction of new urbanization?
Cai Fang: This year's "Government Work Report" proposes to strengthen the construction of a new type of urbanization, and vigorously improve the public facilities and service capabilities of the county to meet the increasing demand of farmers to find employment and settle in the county.
As an important space for my country's industrialization and urbanization, an important link in the urban system, and a key link for the development of urban-rural integration, county towns play a very important role in my country's economic and social development.
It is of great significance to promote the new-type urbanization of county towns, and we should accelerate the promotion of county towns to make up for shortcomings, strengths and weaknesses.
Judging from the current situation, the central urban areas of more than 10 super-large cities in my country are over-populated and overloaded with functions. Small cities (about 90% are county-level cities) and county towns are generally lagging behind, and their overall carrying capacity and governance capacity are weak.
Speeding up the urbanization of county towns will not only help to undertake the deconstruction of the non-core functions of the central city, strengthen the connection with neighboring prefecture-level cities and urban areas, but also help optimize the spatial pattern of urbanization, promote the implementation of the strategy of expanding domestic demand, and enhance the people's sense of gain. It can be said to benefit both the present and the long-term.
Ensure that residents are confident enough in employment and able to achieve the annual employment target
Reporter: Employment is an important aspect in the process of new urbanization.
Do you think the goal of creating more than 9 million new jobs in urban areas this year can be achieved?
Cai Fang: I think this goal can be achieved.
Statistics show that from January to August this year, 7.81 million new jobs have been created in cities and towns across the country, and the goal of over 1 million people in the remaining months should be assured.
Our country’s confidence in the employment of residents is mainly based on three factors: First, the economic growth rate is gradually recovering, and it is expected that it will soon return to the level of potential growth rate, and various production factors including labor will eventually get better. Make full use of it; second, the service industry, new growth operators, emerging business models, and new forms of employment are also accelerating recovery, which will help absorb a large number of jobs; third, the government has incorporated the employment priority policy into the macro policy level, and the effect of public employment services has been significantly improved .
It should be noted that the indicator "new urban employment" is a flow concept, referring to jobs or opportunities created continuously, not a net increase.
This indicator can reflect the economic vitality of our country, and this vitality is very important.
In the future, we will continue to comprehensively strengthen measures to ensure employment for residents. First, we must restore and maintain the growth rate of new ventures, further improve the business environment, and create better conditions for multiple ownership, multiple business formats, multiple business models and diversified employment forms. .
Secondly, comprehensively implement policies for different key groups, expand the scope of public employment services, improve the implementation efficiency of government assistance measures to stabilize jobs, and support people's livelihood through social policies to restore and expand consumer demand.
Third, increase human capital training, expand the scale of enrollment in high schools, vocational colleges and universities, provide skills training and create training-based public welfare positions.
Our reporter Wang Guan