China Strengthens Push for 'Gongdong Buyu' After Third Historical Resolution

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Following the adoption of the Chinese Communist Party's third historical resolution, President Xi Jinping's policy direction of 'Gongtong Buyu' (共同富裕, meaning "common prosperity" or "prosperity for all") appears to be gaining stronger momentum.

On the 19th, the People's Daily emphasized the necessity of common prosperity in a column titled "Common Prosperity Achieves Great Victory Based on Small Victories."

The newspaper stated, "Common prosperity is a fundamental goal of Marxism and a basic ideal of the Chinese people," adding, "Realizing common prosperity is an essential requirement of socialism and a major responsibility of the Party and government."

Furthermore, it defined common prosperity not only as an economic issue but also as a significant political matter related to the Party's ruling foundation. The newspaper said, "We cannot allow the wealth gap to continue widening, with the poor remaining poor and the rich remaining rich," and "There must not be an insurmountable wall between the rich and the poor."

The dominant analysis is that China is emphasizing common prosperity due to severe wealth inequality. The wealth gap is considered the biggest factor threatening the Chinese Communist Party's long-term rule.

On the 16th, when the US-China summit was held, the Chinese Communist Party released the full text of its third historical resolution. In the resolution, President Xi stressed, "(Since reform and opening up) wrong ideological trends such as money worship, hedonism, extreme individualism, and historical nihilism have suddenly emerged," and mentioned the term common prosperity five times, signaling his intention to make it a core policy.

To this end, China recently established the 'National Anti-Monopoly Bureau,' a state agency that cracks down on corporate market monopolies. It was upgraded to a vice-ministerial level agency under the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR). After consolidating anti-monopoly duties that were previously scattered across three departments?the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Ministry of Commerce, and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce?into the Anti-Monopoly Bureau under SAMR in 2018, the creation of this dedicated agency is expected to enforce strong regulatory policies aimed at achieving common prosperity.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.