The Reform of State-Owned Enterprises

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are the pillars of China's economy. They serve as important material and political foundations for Chinese socialism, and a guarantor of CPC governance. They play an important role in advancing socialist productive forces and realizing industrialization and modernization.

Due to supporting heavy social burdens and overmanning, the SOEs at one point sank into a very difficult state, which weakened them in comparison to booming private enterprises. To push SOE reform forward, various policies were adopted under different conditions at different times.

For instance, in the 1990s, the SOEs focused on transforming their management, separating enterprise management from government administration, adopting new systems and making strategic adjustments. At that time, SOE reform was one of the main tasks in China's economic reform.

In January 1997, a State Council meeting proposed that SOEs downsize to increase efficiency, redirect laid-off workers, follow bankruptcy procedures and seek merger opportunities. The meeting announced bankruptcies and mergers among SOEs in 110 pilot cities. The following year, the State Economic and Trade Commission urged the SOEs to accelerate reform so that large and medium-sized loss-making enterprises could address their problems through reorganized and reinforced management, and establish a modern corporate system by the end of the 20th century. The 15th CPC Central Committee rolled out objectives and guidelines for SOE reform and development in a decision taken at its fourth plenary session in September 1999.

Through three years of reform, the SOEs found their burdens eased and their losses turned into profits. The stronger ones prospered and the weaker ones fell by the wayside. They have maintained an ongoing commitment to reform ever since.

Since 2012, the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at the core has devised further plans and policies on SOE reform, focusing on top-level design and a holistic approach, and the SOEs have made impressive progress. In September 2015, the central authorities released a decision on further SOE reform. Under this guideline, a policy framework set the direction with specific goals for the reform. In June 2020, the Central Commission on Further Reform rolled out a three-year action plan (2020-2022) to guide SOE reform.

Through years of reform, the SOEs have on the whole adapted well to the market economy, become more efficient and provided better quality, making a great contribution to China's economic and social development and composite national strength.

國(guó)有企業(yè)改革

國(guó)有企業(yè)是中國(guó)國(guó)民經(jīng)濟(jì)的支柱，是中國(guó)特色社會(huì)主義的重要物質(zhì)基礎(chǔ)和政治基礎(chǔ)，是中國(guó)共產(chǎn)黨執(zhí)政興國(guó)的重要支柱和依靠力量。發(fā)展社會(huì)主義社會(huì)的生產(chǎn)力，實(shí)現(xiàn)國(guó)家的工業(yè)化和現(xiàn)代化，始終要依靠和發(fā)揮國(guó)有企業(yè)的重要作用。

由于社會(huì)負(fù)擔(dān)重、歷史包袱多、企業(yè)冗員嚴(yán)重等諸多問(wèn)題的困擾，與蓬勃發(fā)展的民營(yíng)企業(yè)相比，國(guó)有企業(yè)一度陷入舉步維艱的境地。中共中央、國(guó)務(wù)院在不同歷史時(shí)期，針對(duì)中國(guó)國(guó)情和國(guó)有企業(yè)實(shí)際，采取了一系列措施，不斷將國(guó)有企業(yè)改革向縱深推進(jìn)。進(jìn)入20世紀(jì)90年代，國(guó)有企業(yè)改革在前期改革基礎(chǔ)上，朝著轉(zhuǎn)換機(jī)制、政企分開(kāi)、制度創(chuàng)新、戰(zhàn)略調(diào)整的方向邁進(jìn)。國(guó)有企業(yè)改革成為中國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)體制改革的中心環(huán)節(jié)。

1997年1月，國(guó)務(wù)院召開(kāi)會(huì)議提出，解決國(guó)有企業(yè)的困難，要堅(jiān)持走減員增效、下崗分流、規(guī)范破產(chǎn)、鼓勵(lì)兼并的路子，并宣布對(duì)110個(gè)試點(diǎn)城市的國(guó)有企業(yè)破產(chǎn)、兼并的政策。1998年5月，國(guó)家經(jīng)濟(jì)貿(mào)易委員會(huì)印發(fā)《關(guān)于1998年國(guó)有企業(yè)改革和發(fā)展工作的意見(jiàn)》，提出加快國(guó)有企業(yè)改革和發(fā)展是1998年至2000年經(jīng)濟(jì)體制改革的中心環(huán)節(jié)和重要任務(wù)，即通過(guò)改革、改組、改造和加強(qiáng)管理，使大多數(shù)國(guó)有大中型虧損企業(yè)擺脫困境，力爭(zhēng)到20世紀(jì)末使大多數(shù)國(guó)有大中型骨干企業(yè)初步建立起現(xiàn)代企業(yè)制度。1999年9月，中共十五屆四中全會(huì)通過(guò)《關(guān)于國(guó)有企業(yè)改革和發(fā)展若干重大問(wèn)題的決定》，提出國(guó)有企業(yè)改革和發(fā)展的主要目標(biāo)和指導(dǎo)方針。經(jīng)過(guò)3年攻堅(jiān)，國(guó)有企業(yè)負(fù)擔(dān)有所減輕，國(guó)企優(yōu)勝劣汰得以促進(jìn)，整體實(shí)現(xiàn)了扭虧為盈。此后，國(guó)有企業(yè)從未停止過(guò)改革的步伐。

中共十八大以來(lái)，以習(xí)近平同志為核心的中共中央親自謀劃、部署和推動(dòng)國(guó)有企業(yè)改革，更加注重改革的頂層設(shè)計(jì)，更加注重改革的系統(tǒng)性、整體性和協(xié)同性，國(guó)有企業(yè)改革取得新的重大進(jìn)展和歷史性成就。2015年9月，中共中央、國(guó)務(wù)院印發(fā)《關(guān)于深化國(guó)有企業(yè)改革的指導(dǎo)意見(jiàn)》，并以此為統(tǒng)領(lǐng)，以若干配套文件為支撐，形成了國(guó)企改革的“1+N”政策體系，有力保證了國(guó)企改革有方向、有目標(biāo)、有遵循。2020年6月，中央全面深化改革委員會(huì)第十四次會(huì)議審議通過(guò)《國(guó)企改革三年行動(dòng)方案（2020—2022年）》，對(duì)新發(fā)展階段深化國(guó)企改革作出重要部署。

通過(guò)持續(xù)多年的改革，中國(guó)的國(guó)有企業(yè)總體上已經(jīng)同市場(chǎng)經(jīng)濟(jì)相融合，發(fā)展質(zhì)量和效率明顯提高，為推動(dòng)中國(guó)的經(jīng)濟(jì)社會(huì)發(fā)展和提升綜合國(guó)力作出重大貢獻(xiàn)。