In March 2020, the Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Establishing a More Improved Institutional Mechanism for the Market-Oriented Allocation of Factors established the basic framework for deepening the reform of the market-oriented allocation of factors今日头条. In December 2021, the General Office of the State Council issued the Overall Plan for Comprehensive Reform Pilots on the Market-Oriented Allocation of Factors, which further clarified the implementation path for this reform. The Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Promoting Chinese-Style Modernization proposes improving the systems and rules for factor markets, facilitating the smooth flow of production factors, the efficient allocation of various resources, and the full release of market potential今日头条. On March 5 this year, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, while participating in the deliberations of the Jiangsu delegation at the Third Session of the 14th National People's Congress, the need to deepen the reform of the market-oriented allocation of factors and proactively break down local protectionism, market segmentation, and "involutionary" competition. A profound understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions on the reform of the market-oriented allocation of factors and the full implementation of the Party and the country's strategic plans are of great significance for advancing the construction of a unified national market in depth.

I. The Significance of Promoting the Construction of a Unified National Market in Depth by Deepening the Reform of the Market-Oriented Allocation of Factors

Building a unified national market is a major decision made by the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core from an overall and strategic perspective今日头条. The Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Accelerating the Construction of a Unified National Market proposes promoting the smooth flow of goods, factors, and resources on a larger scale and accelerating the development of a unified national market that is efficient, standardized, fair in competition, and fully open今日头条. The recently held Sixth Meeting of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission made arrangements for advancing the construction of a unified national market in depth, explicitly calling for the unification of factor and resource markets.

Practical Innovation for Forging a New Development Pattern

Deepening the reform of the market-oriented allocation of factors is one of the key paths for China to further break through regional development barriers at this stage. In the process of deepening this reform, establishing unified national market systems and rules and improving the basic systems of the market economy, such as property rights protection, market access, fair competition, and social credit, will help promote the free flow and efficient allocation of various production factors, including labor, capital, technology, and data, across the country今日头条. This can not only effectively break down market segmentation caused by local protectionism, eliminate administrative monopolies and industrial barriers, but also stimulate innovation vitality through market mechanisms and improve total factor productivity. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to deepen the market-oriented reform of factors, improve the basic systems of the market economy, comprehensively clean up and rectify local protectionist practices, promote the rational cross-regional flow and optimal allocation of various productive factors, and better participate in the construction of a unified national market今日头条. Establishing factor trading platforms and cross-regional coordination mechanisms can facilitate the mutual recognition of talent qualifications, the sharing of scientific and technological achievements, and the circulation and appreciation of data factors. Efforts should be made to smooth the domestic economic cycle and effectively release domestic demand potential; at the same time, accelerate the expansion of high-standard opening-up, promote the international economic cycle, and ultimately drive factor markets and goods and services markets to achieve a higher level of dynamic balance in multiple dimensions such as supply and demand matching, regional coordination, and industrial upgrading.

Supply-Side Innovation for Achieving High-Quality Development

The reform of the market-oriented allocation of factors can significantly improve the allocation efficiency of factors such as land, capital, and technology. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out the need to build a digital economy with data as a key factor. Therefore, the market-oriented exploration of data factors is particularly crucial. Following the release of policies such as the Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Improving the Basic Systems for Data to Better Play the Role of Data Elements, China is accelerating the exploration and establishment of a data property rights separation system and building a data trading and circulation system. The release of the value of data factors is reflected in the improvement of total factor productivity. Through the integrated application of technologies such as the industrial Internet and artificial intelligence, it drives the intelligent transformation of manufacturing, the digital upgrading of the service industry, and the precision-oriented transformation of agriculture, thereby further fostering new business forms such as intelligent connected vehicles and the metaverse, which have become key engines for developing new-quality productive forces. This supply-side structural reform is systematically improving the quality and efficiency of China's economic development by reconstructing the production function and optimizing the supply structure.

Institutional Innovation for Improving the Socialist Market Economy System

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that adhering to the direction of the socialist market economic reform, the core issue is to properly handle the relationship between the government and the market, allowing the market to play a decisive role in resource allocation and enabling the government to better perform its functions. Deepening the reform of the market-oriented allocation of factors should focus on key links such as the factor price formation mechanism and the property rights protection system, and strive to resolve the deep-seated contradictions in the market system. In terms of the market-oriented allocation of factors, deepening the reform of the market-oriented allocation of factors such as land, labor, and capital, breaking administrative monopolies and regional barriers, and promoting the free flow and efficient allocation of factors. In the field of property rights protection, improve the property rights protection system centered on fairness, refine the intellectual property protection system, and stimulate the innovation vitality of various business entities. By establishing a unified urban-rural construction land market, breaking the urban-rural dual structure, and realizing the equal exchange of land factors. These institutional innovations not only give full play to the decisive role of the market in resource allocation, but also enable the government to better perform its functions, promoting a better combination of an efficient market and a capable government. They mark the continuous maturity and improvement of China's socialist market economic system in theoretical innovation and practical exploration, and build a more systematic and comprehensive institutional guarantee for high-quality development.

II. Major Challenges in Promoting the Construction of a Unified National Market in Depth by Deepening the Reform of the Market-Oriented Allocation of Factors

Currently, remarkable achievements have been made in China's reform of the market-oriented allocation of factors. In terms of land factors, the market entry of collectively-owned operational construction land and the pilot reform of the homestead system have advanced steadily. In terms of labor factors, the reform of the household registration system has continued to deepen. More attention should be paid to improving market operation efficiency, maintaining a fair and orderly competitive environment, and expanding market openness. While breaking administrative segmentation through institutional innovations such as improving factor trading platforms, we should use technological means such as big data and blockchain to improve factor allocation efficiency, providing solid support for advancing the construction of a unified national market in depth.

Establishing and Improving an Institutional Coordination Mechanism and Forging a New Cross-Administrative Cooperation and Development Mechanism

Explore an institutional coordination mechanism featuring central overall planning and regional linkage. Through the combination of top-level design and local pilot practices, gradually establish a national framework for factor markets with unified rules. Improve the basic systems of factor markets by starting with standardized factor property rights registration, unified transaction contract templates, breach of contract dispute resolution, and fair market access conditions, and establish and improve various unified national rules for factor right confirmation, trading, and supervision, continuously weakening and ultimately eliminating local protectionist policies. Vigorously carry out cross-administrative factor market coordination pilots, set up cross-administrative factor trading centers in the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, etc., regularly evaluate the pilot effects, and summarize experiences worthy of replication and promotion. Explore and implement a basic model where central ministries and commissions take the lead in formulating national rules, provincial departments are responsible for local detailed plans, and county-level authorities focus on implementation and supervision. Combine "negative list governance" with "positive list guidance" to gradually establish a dynamic adjustment mechanism for factor market development.

Continuously Improving the Market Pricing System and Dynamically Correcting Factor Price Signals

Strive to promote the market-oriented formation mechanism of factor prices and accelerate the establishment of a market pricing system that reflects factor scarcity and true value. Further deepen the price reform of traditional factors such as land, labor, and capital, improve the urban-rural unified construction land price formation mechanism, support qualified regions in accelerating the removal of barriers such as household registration restrictions, and promote the formation of a multi-level capital market pricing mechanism. Improve the evaluation and pricing standards for new factors such as technology and data, continue to optimize the patent value evaluation system, and actively develop the technology trading market. Encourage and support the formulation of rules for data asset right confirmation, pricing, and trading, and foster a number of professional data trading platforms. Establish and introduce professional third-party evaluation institutions, formulate scientific new factor value evaluation methods and standardized processes, and ensure marketization, objectivity, and credibility. Strengthen factor price monitoring and regulation. Promote the construction of an information platform for factor markets, improve the factor price monitoring and early warning system, accelerate the improvement of the emergency response mechanism for abnormal price fluctuations, strengthen the pre-prevention and post-event handling of market monopoly behaviors, and intensify the supervision of unfair competition in factor markets.

Effectively Strengthening Digital Technology Support and Striving to Build a Digital Ecosystem

Accelerate the construction of a national digital infrastructure for factor markets to support digital transformation. Establish a unified data factor governance system, study and formulate technical standards or norms covering the entire chain of data collection, storage, processing, and trading, and further clarify the rules for confirming data ownership, usage rights, and income rights. Take the application of blockchain and other technologies in data right confirmation as an example, pilot data circulation model innovation in the Yangtze River Delta region first, explore the establishment of a cross-regional data sharing mechanism, and promote the legislation on facilitating data factor circulation in a timely manner. Cultivate the modern data service industry, support the establishment of professional service institutions for data asset evaluation and compliance auditing, explore a data broker qualification certification plan, encourage financial institutions to develop data pledge financing products, and guide the cultivation of new positions such as technical evaluation and data compliance. Build a national-level factor trading platform, integrate existing regional trading platform resources, construct a national digital trading system, and use big data analysis to simulate factor flows a