Exploring Common Prosperity

By Lan Xinzhen

Steering the population toward a bet- ter life and common prosperity is the committed objective of the Communist Party of China （CPC）. Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping， the architect of reform and opening up， declared that poverty does not equate to socialism， and the essence of socialism is liberation and development of productivity， elimination of exploitation and polarization， and the ultimate achievement of prosperity for all.

Over the past four decades， China has recorded remarkable achievements in social and economic development， particularly by hitting the goal of eliminating absolute poverty in 2020， paving the way for common prosperity.

However， despite its huge economic aggregate， China now faces large regional disparities in terms of income and development. In this context， achieving common prosperity will only be a time-consuming and daunting task. Thus， its necessary to select a certain area to serve as a pilot zone， so that its experiences can be imitated by others.

On June 10， the central authorities issued a document to stress its support for the efforts on the part of Zhejiang Province to develop a demonstration zone. This document shows that prosperity for all is no longer a mere blueprint， but from this point onward will take physical shape through tangible efforts.

Zhejiang stands out

A prerequisite for any such demonstration zone is that it must be a bellwether of development in the country.

The top five provincial economies on the Chinese mainland in 2020 were Guangdong， Jiangsu， Shandong， Zhejiang and Henan. So why did these other economic champions not make the cut？ As a coastal province in the east， Zhejiang is a pioneer in sustaining economic development and addressing disparities. It boasts multiple advantages in validating common prosperity， yet at the same time has a few weak links of its own to take into account. Consequently， Zhejiang is able to set an example for other provinces.

In 2020， the provinces GDP hit 6.46 trillion yuan （$1 trillion）， which if it were a country would rank among the worlds top 20. Nevertheless， uneven economic growth still exists.

The key is that Zhejiang has begun to explore ways of filling the gaps based on its strong overall economic strength. Now， urban resident incomes are 1.96 times that of rural residents， far below the rural-urban income gap in other provinces.

Then how difficult is the task？

According to the document， by 2025， Zhejiang will bear tangible fruits in its development as a demonstration zone for common prosperity. The province has to continuously narrow the gap between rural and urban areas as well as the gap in living conditions and incomes. It needs to empower low-income groups to earn more， enhance social welfare on the whole and build an olive type of social structure where middle-income earners compose the majority. By 2035， Zhejiang will have basically realized common prosperity， a lofty goal that looms only 15 years into the future.