At the annual economic work conference held by the Central
Government on December 5-7 last year, a new slogan for development
in 2007 was proposed. The slogan captures the aim to develop the
quality of the economy first, rather than focus on speed, so that
the economy will develop in a balanced and coordinated way. Instead
of "fast and good," the slogan is now "good and fast," so that the
emphasis is on the quality of development. Although this looks like
a simple word order adjustment, it has great significance, as Jia
Kang, a research fellow at the Financial Research Institute under
the Ministry of Finance, explains in an interview with People's
Daily reporter.
Reporter: "Fast and good" or "good and fast" –
they seem very similar as both emphasize quality and speed. What is
the difference between the two??
Jia Kang: The new "good and fast" slogan
prioritizes quality; quality will drive development. This is not
just a simple reordering of words; it reflects the scientific
concept of development. In the past, we used "fast and good," which
put more emphasis on speed. Although both slogans reflect the
importance of paying attention to quality and speed, people have
always paid more attention to speed and scale rather than the
quality of economic development.
Q: Then the change in word order is an
important sign that China is altering the course of its economic
development to one that is more scientific?
A: Yes. Theoretical analysis shows that only
when the quality and efficiency of the economy are high, the cost
of resources and energy is low and operations are environmentally
friendly will we see the positive effects of rapid development. If
the economy is headed in the wrong direction, the faster it
develops the faster the situation will worsen. If that happens,
resources are wasted and development is not sustainable. Now we are
emphasizing quality development to ensure that resources are used
more efficiently.? For years, in practice, China has
prioritized speed ahead of quality, and this has been a mindset
that is difficult to change. Only when quality development is the
guiding principle can we avoid a situation where GDP growth is the
sole goal. By emphasizing quality first, we can adjust the economic
growth mode, saving resources and energy and protecting the
environment. The change will also be conducive to increasing
innovation and avoiding a contradiction between speed and quality
in economic development.? China first proposed this idea some
time ago. In the 1950s, China focused on rapidly building a vast,
superior society using minimal resources. However, people focused
solely on speed and quantity, and sacrificed quality and efficiency
in resource management.
Q: At the Central Government's economic work
conference, prudent fiscal and monetary policies were again
proposed. What are the differences between prudent fiscal and
monetary policies in 2007 and those in the past?
A: Prudent fiscal and monetary policies have
been implemented for three years. In 2004, those policies tended to
be tight. In 2005 the policies were a bit loose and in 2006 the
policies tightened again. Under the umbrella of prudent fiscal and
monetary policies, some changes have been made, but the main focus
has always been readjusting and optimizing the economic
structure.
Currently, the central bank, the People's Bank of China, pays
great attention to inflation. So we will continue to have tight
financial and monetary policies. Over the last few years, such
policies have played an important role in optimizing the economic
structure. These policies are helpful in reducing deficits, but not
on a large scale; their main role is to help adjust the economic
structure.
To be more specific, the main purpose of prudent financial
policies is to control deficits, readjust the economic structure,
promote further reform, increase income and cut back on expenses.
They also specifically reflect the idea of quality-based economic
development. As part of prudent financial policies, the Ministry of
Finance emphasizes redistribution policies so that such policies
gradually narrow the income gap in China and promote social equity
and stability in the long run.
(China.org.cn)