Reform of state-owned enterprises

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are the backbone of our national economy. They provide the material and political basis for developing socialism with Chinese characteristics. They are also important pillars underpinning the efforts of the CPC as the ruling party to govern the country and promote national development. Reform of SOEs is critical to both economic and social reform. It is the most important among all reform initiatives, as it bears on all aspects of national development. It is a difficult, complex and immense task that requires sustained commitment.

There have been several rounds of reform involving SOEs since the rollout of the reform and opening-up program, including the introduction of a contract system, a program to replace turning over business profits with income tax, implementation of managerial accountability, and promotion of modern corporate governance. At its third plenary session in 1993, the 14th CPC Central Committee called for modernizing corporate management, a move that paved the way for accelerating SOE reform. At its third plenary session in 2013, the 18th CPC Central Committee called for pursuing SOE reform at a deeper level. The year 2016 was a watershed year when the implementation of new reform policies began. To support a new round of SOE reform, the 2016 report on the work of the government outlined a series of pilot measures, such as diversification of forms of ownership – including introduction of mixed ownership – establishment of corporate boards of directors, open selection of executives and managers, and introduction of employee equity stakes. These measures were accompanied by initiatives to reform and reorganize national capital investment and management corporations. Together, they opened a chapter in SOE reform.

Unlike previous reforms, the current reform measures focus on innovation, and aim to sharpen the competitive edge of SOEs by tapping into their innovative potential, so as to build world-class enterprises and brands in response to the drive for economic structural upgrading. To this end, business integration and reorganization is essential. Some SOEs that use too much energy and produce too much pollution are being phased out. Another important reform measure is to expand market access in areas where SOEs used to enjoy monopolies, so as to allow private capital to have more opportunities to compete.  

國(guó)企改革攻堅(jiān)戰(zhàn)

國(guó)有企業(yè)是中國(guó)國(guó)有經(jīng)濟(jì)的核心載體和重要支撐，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。國(guó)企改革不僅影響經(jīng)濟(jì)體制改革的推進(jìn)，而且影響社會(huì)體制改革推進(jìn)的過(guò)程，是全面深化改革的重中之重，事關(guān)發(fā)展全局，任務(wù)重、難度大，具有長(zhǎng)期性、艱巨性和復(fù)雜性。

改革開(kāi)放以來(lái)，國(guó)有企業(yè)改革作為整個(gè)經(jīng)濟(jì)體制改革的中心環(huán)節(jié)，經(jīng)歷了從承包制到利改稅、從廠長(zhǎng)負(fù)責(zé)制到建立現(xiàn)代公司治理結(jié)構(gòu)等過(guò)程。1993年黨的十四屆三中全會(huì)提出建立現(xiàn)代企業(yè)制度，國(guó)企改革進(jìn)入快速推進(jìn)階段。2013年，黨的十八屆三中全會(huì)提出進(jìn)一步深化國(guó)有企業(yè)改革的方向和任務(wù)。2016年是深化國(guó)企改革攻堅(jiān)年，也是政策措施落實(shí)年。為支撐新一輪國(guó)有企業(yè)改革,2016年的政府工作報(bào)告列出了推進(jìn)股權(quán)多元化改革,開(kāi)展落實(shí)企業(yè)董事會(huì)職權(quán)、市場(chǎng)化選聘經(jīng)營(yíng)者、職業(yè)經(jīng)理人制度、混合所有制、員工持股等試點(diǎn)，加快改組組建國(guó)有資本投資?運(yùn)營(yíng)公司等一系列配套措施?由此，中國(guó)新一輪國(guó)企改革即國(guó)企改革攻堅(jiān)戰(zhàn)正式開(kāi)啟。

與此前幾輪國(guó)企改革相比，此輪攻堅(jiān)戰(zhàn)的首要任務(wù)是創(chuàng)新發(fā)展，借此進(jìn)一步提升國(guó)有企業(yè)的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力和影響力,打造一批世界級(jí)企業(yè)和品牌，呼應(yīng)中國(guó)正在進(jìn)行的經(jīng)濟(jì)結(jié)構(gòu)轉(zhuǎn)型升級(jí)?兼并重組則是此輪國(guó)企改革提升競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力的重要途徑，此外，一部分高耗能、高污染國(guó)有企業(yè)消失在歷史舞臺(tái)，以及以往被國(guó)有企業(yè)壟斷的領(lǐng)域更多放開(kāi)市場(chǎng)準(zhǔn)入，讓社會(huì)資本有更多機(jī)會(huì)參與競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，也是此輪國(guó)企改革攻堅(jiān)戰(zhàn)的重要方向。