Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, June 15th: Supporting Chinese modernization with high-quality population development — — Interview with Liu Ming, Director of Social Development Department of National Development and Reform Commission
Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Weiwei
The first meeting of the 20th Central Financial and Economic Committee held recently emphasized that Chinese modernization should be supported by high-quality population development. How to correctly view the new situation of China’s population development? How to promote the high-quality development of population? Xinhua News Agency interviewed Liu Ming, director of the Social Development Department of the National Development and Reform Commission.
Population factors can provide lasting impetus for Chinese modernization.
Q: How to fully understand and correctly treat the new situation and new normal of China’s population development?
A: The population problem has always been an overall, long-term and strategic problem facing China. Understanding, adapting and leading the new normal of China’s population development is the great logic to promote the high-quality development of the population at present and in the future.
While China’s total population has maintained a large scale, the overall quality of the population has been steadily improved. The average education period of China’s labor force has reached 11 years, and the newly added labor force has reached 14 years. Coupled with the improvement of health, the improvement of labor productivity and the growth of middle-income groups, the population factor can fully provide a solid foundation and lasting motivation for Chinese modernization.
Under the background that aging has become a basic national condition, China will actively respond to the aging of the population and become a national strategy. With the continuous improvement of health conditions, the average life expectancy in China has been continuously extended. In 2022, the number of elderly people aged 60 and over in China will reach 280 million. However, with solid material foundation, sufficient human capital and profound filial piety culture, we are fully qualified, capable and confident to deal with it effectively. Aging also contains development opportunities, such as the great potential of silver-haired economy.
Generally speaking, China’s "demographic dividend" has not disappeared, while the "talent dividend" is taking shape, and the population quantity and quality can fully support Chinese modernization.
Promote the realization of moderate fertility level and ensure the long-term sustainable development of population
Q: How to grasp the requirements of high-quality population development in the new era?
A: The high-quality development of population should implement the new development concept completely, accurately and comprehensively, and creatively answer the questions of the times of population development.
First, adhere to innovation and development, and solve the driving force of population development. We will promote education, science and technology and talents in an all-round way, improve the education level, health level and civilized quality of the population, and promote high-quality and full employment. Promote the realization of a moderate fertility level, ensure the long-term sustainable development of the population, and stabilize the supply of newly-grown high-quality labor.
Second, adhere to coordinated development and solve the problem of unbalanced population development. Promote the industry to follow the function, the population to follow the industry and the public service to follow the people, promote the balanced distribution, reasonable agglomeration and orderly flow of population between urban and rural areas, and support the implementation of major national and regional strategies.
Third, adhere to green development and solve the problem of harmony between man and nature. We will improve the population policy in a targeted manner, promote the population size and distribution to adapt to the carrying capacity of local resources and environment and the suitability of land space development, and accelerate the formation of a green production and lifestyle.
Fourth, adhere to open development and solve the problem of internal and external linkage of population development. Adhere to the combination of "bringing in" and "going out", establish a global vision of human resources development and utilization, and gather talents from all over the world to use them; Strengthen international exchange of talents and contribute talents from China to global governance.
The fifth is to adhere to shared development and solve the problem of fairness and justice in population development. Adhere to the best efforts and capabilities, improve the basic public service system, improve the level of public services, enhance inclusiveness, balance and accessibility, and continuously improve people’s livelihood and well-being.
Improve population quality in all directions
Q: Facing the new situation and the new normal, how to improve the overall quality of the population and shape modern human resources?
A: Adhere to the problem orientation, plan relevant supporting policies as a whole with a systematic concept, and focus on the following three aspects:
Improve the quality of the population in an all-round way and cultivate the comprehensive competitiveness of the population. Adhere to the priority development of education and accelerate the construction of a high-quality education system. Vigorously develop advanced socialist culture and improve the ideological and moral quality of the population.
Establish a positive fertility support policy system and strive to build a fertility-friendly society. Expand the effective supply of inclusive nursery and preschool education, and significantly reduce the burden of family childbirth, parenting and education.
Stimulate the vitality of all ages and people and actively conserve human resources. Effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of workers and eliminate gender discrimination. Create a good social atmosphere and protect the rights and interests of the elderly in civilized practice, charity, voluntary service, science, education, culture and health. Get rid of the disadvantages of the system and mechanism that hinder the flow of labor force.
Q: In the next step, what are the key considerations and arrangements of the National Development and Reform Commission to promote high-quality population development through reform and innovation?
A: The National Development and Reform Commission will thoroughly implement the spirit of the important speech delivered by the Supreme Leader General Secretary at the first meeting of the 20th Central Financial and Economic Committee, correctly handle the relationship between the present and the long-term, the aggregate and the structure, the population and the resources and environment, accelerate the shaping of modern human resources with excellent quality, abundant aggregate, optimized structure and reasonable distribution, and support Chinese modernization with high-quality population development.
First, focus on the high-quality development of the population and strive to improve relevant economic policies and supporting measures. Promote the benign interaction between population and economy and provide talent support for the transformation of economic development mode, the upgrading of industrial structure and the improvement of total factor productivity. Promote comprehensive decision-making on population and development, improve the demographic monitoring system, improve the mechanism of linking public resources with population, and promote the effective docking of population distribution with productivity layout, public service allocation, and resource and environment carrying capacity.
The second is to focus on the objective needs of population development, improve public service capabilities, and strengthen people’s livelihood security. Further improve the public service system and improve the level of people’s livelihood security in the fields of education, medical care and social services. We will further promote the high-quality and balanced development of compulsory education and the integration of urban and rural areas, implement the action of promoting the integration of production and education in vocational education, and accelerate the layout of a new batch of national innovation platforms for integration of production and education. Promote the expansion and sinking of high-quality medical resources, accelerate the construction and layout of comprehensive, specialist and traditional Chinese medicine national medical centers and national and provincial regional medical centers, and promote the expansion and regional balanced layout of high-quality medical resources. Improve the hierarchical and classified social assistance system that is suitable for China’s population development situation and has a fairly high level of security.
The third is to focus on the shortcomings of population service capacity and improve the "one old and one small" service system. Accelerate the construction of the basic old-age service system, promote the concentration of old-age resources around the community and the masses, and incorporate the allocation and construction of old-age facilities into policy documents such as planning, land use and housing use, so as to promote family harmony and social integration with convenient services nearby. Accelerate the cultivation of the silver-haired economy, achieve the goal of enhancing the well-being of the elderly, expanding domestic consumption, and exploring new economic kinetic energy. We will carry out special actions for inclusive care services, develop community care service facilities and comprehensive care service institutions, and increase the supply of inclusive care services. Further study substantive and systematic support measures, share the cost of childbirth, parenting and education, and help people of childbearing age to better balance their work and life.
