社会福利的竞赛

The Competition of Social Welfare

在国家之间特别是大国之间竞争愈益激烈的国际环境下,中国作为世界第一人口大国和第二经济大国,要实现经济发展的高水平自立自强,需要顺应发展阶段的一般规律,从自身面临的主要挑战出发,在关键领域不断提高国家竞争力。中国已经进入新发展阶段,在实现经济增长和共同富裕目标的进程中,面临着来自国际和国内的一系列重大挑战。在经济全球化遭遇逆流、世界经济进入长期停滞、全球供应链脱钩的国际环境下,以及在老龄化加深、人口总量趋近于达峰、需求侧因素日益成为经济增长主要制约的国内背景下,扩大消费需求愈益显现其重要性和紧迫性。鉴于此,通过再分配等途径构建中国特色福利国家、提高社会福利水平和均等化程度,是促进共同富裕目标实现和打破经济增长制约的关键之举,也是增强中国国家基础竞争力的重要任务。以增强国家竞争力为目标进行的社会福利竞赛,仍然要遵循尽力而为和量力而行的原则,坚持社会福利水平的提高同发展阶段相适应,最大化挖掘社会资源和财政能力的潜力,以分好蛋糕确保不断做大蛋糕。

In this international environment with increasingly fierce competition among countries,as the country with the largest population and the second largest economy,China is bound to strengthen its national competitive power in key areas so as to achieve a high level of self-reliance in economic development.In its new stage of development,China has to tackle new challenges in a bid to realize economic growth and common prosperity.On the one hand,the economic globalization encounters a headwind,the world economy is trapped in secular stagnation,and supply chains are to be decoupled.On the other hand,China’s population is rapidly aging and population size is about to reach its peak.As the result of both external and domestic challenges,demand-side factors,particularly household consumption,are becoming the major constraints on economic growth.Therefore,the construction of the welfare state through redistributive measures is vital for China in accomplishing common prosperity and breaking the constraints of sustained growth.At the same time,the social welfare competition aimed to strengthen national competitiveness should give a consideration to the willingness and ability in order to sustain economic growth while dividing its outcome fairly.