What’s new: As China pushes ahead with its common prosperity drive, local governments shouldn’t be overambitious when setting goals or overpromise on social welfare, according to an official with the country’s top economic planning agency.
“We must be aware that there is still a big gap between China’s development level and that of developed countries, therefore we must ensure and improve people’s livelihood on the basis of sustainable economic development and financial resources,” said Ha Zengyou, head of the National Development and Reform Commission’s (NDRC) department of employment, income distribution and consumption, at a press briefing on Thursday.
Local governments should focus on improving basic public services including education, health care, elderly care and housing, Ha added.
The NDRC is facilitating the formulation of a common prosperity action plan, which will focus on narrowing gaps between different regions, urban and rural areas, and different income levels, as well as in access to public services, said Chang Tiewei, a deputy head of the same NDRC department.
The background: The goal of common prosperity jumped up China’s policy agenda during an economic policy meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping in August.
The meeting emphasized the need to “reasonably regulate excessively high incomes,” and encouraged high-earning businesses and individuals to give more back to society.
That call has drawn a number of philanthropic and investment commitments from the country’s tech giants, including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Pinduoduo Inc.
Read more In Depth: What’s Standing in the Way of ‘Common Prosperity’?
Contact reporter Kelsey Cheng (kelseycheng@caixin.com) and editor Joshua Dummer (joshuadummer@caixin.com)
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