Chapter 32 9.3 Reform the highly centralized planned economic system

In order to reform the highly centralized planned economic system, Chen Yun agreed to invigorate the economy and give play to the role of market regulation, and likened the relationship between invigorating the economy and adhering to planned guidance to the relationship between "a bird and a cage". The Third Plenary Session established the policy of reform and opening up.While leading the economic adjustment, Chen Yun also paid great attention to the healthy development of reform and opening up. After the Third Plenary Session, Chen Yun served as the secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, but he has been thinking about how to systematically change the problems in the past economic development from the perspective of the system and guiding ideology.

Chen Yun was the main leader of economic work for quite a long period after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and made great contributions to the establishment of the socialist economic system.He was also one of the early party leaders to recognize the role of the market in a socialist economy. On September 20, 1956, Chen Yun delivered a speech at the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, talking about the socialist economic system that was rapidly established in my country after the socialist transformation of agriculture and capitalist industry and commerce. Not only adhere to the planned economy, but also invigorate the economy.

Chen Yun put forward the famous idea of ​​"three main bodies and three supplements" of the socialist economic system. Chen Yun's idea was based on the reality of China at that time, a new idea that broke through the Soviet model. Unfortunately, the "Left" guiding ideology caused this correct idea to be interrupted in the later practice process. Over the years, hasty and aggressive "Left" mistakes have repeatedly appeared in economic work, and they have been harmful for a long time and are extremely destructive.This is inseparable from the mistakes and drawbacks of our guiding ideology and system.Chen Yun summed up the experience and lessons of work since the founding of the People's Republic of China, combined with the principles of Marxism and the practical experience and lessons of socialist construction in various countries, and conducted in-depth thinking.

These considerations are reflected in the further understanding of the relationship between planning and the market. On the afternoon of February 22, 1979, when Li Xiannian was listening to the report of the head of the People's Bank of China on the National Branch Presidents Meeting, he said: I talked with Comrade Chen Yun, and he agreed to supplement the planned economy with a market economy.The planned economy and the market economy are combined, and the planned economy is the main one; the market economy is a supplement, not a small supplement, but a major supplement.Domestic competition is needed, no matter whether something is good or bad, it cannot be purchased by the commercial sector.The factory is allowed to sell by itself or consignment.It's really outrageous to shut down a batch of them.

On March 8, 1979, Chen Yun wrote some conclusions of his thinking into an outline.This outline is the "Planning and Market Issues" included in "Selected Works of Chen Yun". The outline proposes that the socialist economy develops in a planned and proportionate manner. This is an assumption put forward by Marx after analyzing capitalism, and it is completely correct. Over the past 60 years, the Soviet Union and China have implemented planned economies, and they all acted according to Marx's theory. Chen Yun pointed out that in the process of establishing a planned economic system, due to the lack of development of Marx's principles based on the experience of the established socialist economic system and the actual situation of the development of productive forces in the country, it led to shortcomings: only "proportional planning" There is no such thing as the need for market regulation under the socialist system. The so-called market regulation means regulation according to the law of value. In some aspects of economic life, the method of "anarchy" and "blind" production can be used to regulate .Plans are also often disjointed, with planning agencies busy with day-to-day scheduling.The plan can only make plans for high-end goods and main varieties, so the production cannot be rich and colorful, and daily necessities are very monotonous.

This shortcoming was later summarized as "too much unification and too much death." In order to overcome this shortcoming, Chen Yun proposed that there must be two kinds of economy in the entire socialist period: the planned economy part, that is, the planned proportional part; Some, that is, do not make plans, only produce according to changes in market supply and demand, with blind adjustments.The first part is basic and main; the second part is subordinate, secondary, but necessary.Once the proletariat has taken power and the planned economic sector of the national economy, it will be able to build socialism.The market regulation part can only be a beneficial supplement, and of course it must be basically harmless.

Chen Yun predicts that in the future economic adjustment and system reform, the adjustment of the proportion of the planned economy and market regulation will actually play an important role.It is not necessarily true that the more the part of the planned economy increases, the smaller the absolute amount of the part of the market regulation will be. It may be that they all increase accordingly. Chen Yun's prediction was very accurate.In the reform, the exploration of the relationship between planning and the market has played a very important role.With the gradual deepening of reform and opening up, the role of the market has been gradually expanded, and the national economy has been radiated with new vitality.Chen Yun is very happy with this progress.He further generalized his thoughts on the relationship between planning and the market as a planned economy, supplemented by market regulation.

In March 1979, after becoming the director of the Finance and Economics Committee of the State Council, Chen Yun's idea was further implemented.He pointed out that system reform is imperative, and now we need to conduct research on what to reform first, what to reform later, and how to reform. On the other hand, in the process of invigorating the economy, there is also a tendency to get rid of the state's macro-management.This trend is not entirely the relationship between planning and the market, but mainly the contradiction between the management authority of the state and localities, government and enterprises.Excessive decentralization will be very dangerous to the stable development of the national economy when the market is just introduced and the transformation of the planned economy is implemented to invigorate the economy.

In order to carry out reform, opening up and modernization in a stable and healthy manner, Chen Yun reminds everyone to pay attention to this danger. On December 16, 1980, he proposed at the Central Working Conference: "We want to reform, but the pace must be steady. Because our reform is complicated, we cannot ask too hastily. Reform depends on certain theoretical research, economic statistics and economics. Forecasting, it is more important to start from the pilot and sum up experience at any time, that is, to "cross the river by feeling the stones". At the beginning, the steps should be small and slow. This is definitely not not to reform, but to make the reform beneficial Adjustment is also conducive to the success of the reform itself.”

On December 2, 1982, when Chen Yun talked with some representatives of the Shanghai delegation attending the Fifth Session of the Fifth National People's Congress, he compared the relationship between planning and the market to the relationship between a bird and a cage. Chen Yun spoke highly of the achievements made by expanding the role of the market and respecting the law of value in economic work since the reform and opening up.He said that since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party, the policy of invigorating the economy has been implemented, and the effect is remarkable.There are a lot of things in department stores now, and the "seller's market" is becoming a "buyer's market". The masses hold the tickets in their hands, buy the good ones, and don't buy the bad ones. Such a good situation has not been seen in a long time. seen.In the future, we will continue to implement policies to invigorate the economy and continue to play the role of market regulation.In economic work, there must be a concept of time and a concept of profit.Otherwise, it is impossible for the young master to run a business.

On the other hand, he also reminded that it is necessary to prevent the tendency to get rid of the national plan in the process of invigorating the economy.To invigorate the economy is to invigorate under the guidance of the plan, not to invigorate without the guidance of the plan.This is like the relationship between a bird and a cage. A bird cannot be held in the hand, because it will die if held in the hand. If you want it to fly, you can only let it fly in the cage.Without a cage, it flies away.If birds are to invigorate the economy, then cages are a national plan.Of course, the size of the "cage" should be appropriate, as large as it should be.Economic activities are not necessarily limited to one province or one region. Under the guidance of the national plan, economic activities can also cross provinces and regions, or even within the country, and can also cross borders and continents.In addition, the "cage" itself has to be adjusted frequently, such as the revision of the five-year plan.But in any case, there must be a "cage".That is to say, invigorating the economy and regulating the market can only function within the scope permitted by the plan and cannot deviate from the guidance of the plan. In September 1985, Chen Yun said at the National Party Congress that planning is the main basis for macro control.Plans include prescriptive plans and instructional plans.The two planning methods are different, but both use various economic adjustment methods. These views of Chen Yun played a positive role in emancipating the mind, reforming the economic system, emphasizing market regulation and breaking through the shackles of the highly centralized planned economic system under the conditions at that time. On the issue of opening up to the outside world, when Chen Yun presided over financial work many times, his attitude was always very positive. On March 21, 1979, he clearly stated at the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee that foreign capital and foreign technology "must and must be fully utilized." However, the problem at that time was that some cadres were too enthusiastic and their minds were already very unclear.As much as foreign debt can be borrowed, special economic zones will bloom everywhere at once.With his rich experience and high sense of responsibility, Chen Yun reminded everyone to be clear-headed, analyze carefully, and constantly summarize experience. On September 28, 1979, at the report meeting held by the Finance and Economics Committee of the State Council, he clearly stated: "No one is against borrowing foreign debts now, but the foreign debts borrowed must be differentiated." Deficit in infrastructure investment.” “How much equipment loans we can use each year is not determined by our subjective wishes, but by the amount of domestic investment required to support it when we use it.” He warned everyone: "We still have very little experience in using foreign capital for construction, and we need to study it carefully." Such calmness is extremely valuable in the frenzy at the beginning of opening to the outside world.If this is not the case, the tragedy of Latin American countries blindly introducing foreign capital regardless of the consequences, causing the economy to be overwhelmed, and working for long-term foreign debts, cannot guarantee that it will not happen in China. On December 16, 1980, he talked about the reasons for his consideration at the Central Work Conference.He said: "The reason why I have repeatedly said that we should be vigilant in welcoming foreign capitalists is because some of our cadres are naive about this matter. The reason why I mention this is that I don't mean not to use foreign capital at all. It’s just a wake-up call. Again, using foreign capital and introducing new technologies is an important policy measure for us right now, but with a clear head.” When Chen Yun took office as the director of the Financial and Economic Commission of the State Council, he already stated that he was not in good health and could not bear the heavy responsibility of leading the overall economic work.A lot of heavy work seriously damaged Chen Yun's already weak body. Shortly after Baosteel's investigation, he fell seriously ill.Although everyone hopes that he will take charge of the economic work in an all-round way, he proceeds from the overall situation and advocates that younger people should come up. In October 1979, Chen Yun gave a speech at the symposium of party committee secretaries of various provinces, cities, and districts. He proposed that, for the benefit of the party, he suggested that the central government send more practical and younger cadres to the central government to do financial and economic work. plan.If you don't take such organizational measures, your health will be weak and you won't be able to work.The central government seriously considered Chen Yun's opinion. On March 17, 1980, the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee decided to establish the Central Financial and Economic Leading Group, abolish the Financial and Economic Commission of the State Council, and continue to implement the economic policies of economic adjustment and reform and opening up. Although Chen Yun is no longer directly in charge of economic work.However, he actively supported and cooperated with the work of the new leading financial and economic institutions, and was pleased with the achievements made in the cause of adjustment and reform and opening up. In 1981, Chen Yun enthusiastically praised that: since the Third Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party, reforms in agriculture, industry, commerce, and financial planning are aimed at breaking the egalitarian "big pot of rice" and will greatly mobilize the majority of workers, farmers, and intellectuals. The enthusiasm of the Communist Party members and cadres to carry out the construction of the four modernizations has enabled a new major liberation of our country's productive forces, and its significance is no less than that of the socialist transformation of capitalist industry and commerce in the 1950s to eliminate exploitation. Chen Yun made important contributions to Deng Xiaoping's three-step strategy for socialist modernization.The Twelfth National Congress of the Communist Party of China determined the strategic goal of quadrupling the gross national product in 20 years, and at the same time decided to proceed in two steps. The first ten years mainly focused on laying a solid foundation, which was strongly promoted and supported by Chen Yun. On December 2, 1982, Chen Yun pointed out in a discussion with some representatives of the Shanghai delegation attending the Fifth Session of the Fifth National People's Congress: "If you are eager for success, you can barely get the things that should be done in the next ten years. If the capital construction projects are messed up during the "Sixth Five-Year Plan" and the "Seventh Five-Year Plan", then the economy may be in chaos again, and the task of quadrupling may not be completed." Due to the prudent steps taken, since the new era, the people The economy has not only achieved rapid growth, but also avoided the big toss of eagerness for quick success. Reform and opening up is a brand-new practice that requires continuous innovation and exploration. Sometimes difficulties are inevitable. Chen Yun always gives help and encouragement. On October 8, 1988, he talked with the person in charge of the central government and said: "In a socialist country like ours, it seems that it is quite difficult to learn the methods of the Western market economy. It is inevitable, and we can continue to explore and sum up experience at any time." On July 21, 1992, in an article commemorating Li Xiannian, an old comrade-in-arms, he encouraged everyone to say: "The scale of our country's economic construction is now much larger and more complex than in the past. Under the current new situation of reform and opening up, many are no longer applicable. This requires us to work hard to learn new things, and constantly explore and solve new problems." Today, reform and opening up and socialist modernization have overcome many difficulties and obstacles, creating a world miracle of rapid growth for more than 20 consecutive years.Although Chen Yun has left us, his great achievements in his lifelong struggle for the interests of the people, his thoughts and morals will always be an inexhaustible treasure for future generations! On September 3, 1956, Mao Zedong commented on Chen Yun at the Seventh Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and said: "I think he is a good man. He is more reasonable, capable, and stable. Very, but he sees problems sharply and can grasp the main points." From our experience of Chen Yun's career as a "red shopkeeper" who was dedicated to the interests of the people, and from his practice of repeatedly creating new situations, we can understand that this is the most pertinent to Chen Yun. evaluation of.