Ideas for the Third Plenum

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The third plenum of the 20th Central Committee (CC) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has finally been scheduled for July15-18 2024. Previous 3rd plenums, among which that of the 11th (reform and opening up), the 14th (socialist market economy) and the 18th (decisive role of the market) spelled out comprehensive programs of policies and institutional reforms that defined China’s economic policies for decades to come. The question is whether the upcoming plenum will deliver the depth and breath of reforms that the 11th, 14th and 18th 3rd plenum delivered. Signs are that the forthcoming plenum could again deliver major reforms. Quite likely, the main theme of the plenum will be achieving “High Quality Development,” a term favored by CPC general secretary Xi Jinping.A February 19 meeting of the Central Committee for Comprehensively Deepening Reform drew the comparison with the 3rd plenum of the 18th Central Committee in 2013, which suggests that the reform package sought could be ambitious. From the April politburo meeting readout it seems that the plenum will focus on China’s modernization and technology, as well as on the demand side and distribution of the economy. The Central Economic Work Conference of December 2023 had called for reforms in the fiscal system and household registration system. Xi Jinping’s meeting with private sector participants in Shandong province suggests that the role of the private sector in the new era will be on the agenda as well. A June 26 page 1 editorial in the People’s Daily,[1] authored by “Ren Zhongping,” a pseudonym that stands for “im…