Effectively promoting common prosperity and enhancing the balance and accessibility of public services for common prosperity

The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly requires "to improve the basic public service system, improve the level of public services, enhance balance and accessibility, and solidly promote common prosperity.". This requirement indicates that, on the basis of a sound basic public service system, improving the level of public services and enhancing their balance and accessibility is the direction of public service work in the new era and an important focus on promoting common prosperity.

Enhance the balance and accessibility of public services, and enhance the level of public service work

The report of the 20th National Congress proposes to enhance the balance and accessibility of public services, which is a new requirement of the Party for the public service system under new historical conditions and missions. It is a further enhancement and development of the goal of achieving equalization of basic public services. The report of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China first proposed a requirement for equalization of basic public services. The report of the 20th National Congress called for a significant improvement in the level of equalization of basic public services in the next five years and the achievement of equalization of basic public services by 2035.

Compared to the goal of achieving equalization of basic public services, the new requirements for enhancing the balance and accessibility of public services have put forward new requirements for public service work at two levels.

Firstly, expand the scope of public service work in a timely and reasonable manner. The 14th Five Year Plan for Public Services by the National Development and Reform Commission divides public services into two categories: basic public services and inclusive non basic public services. Basic public services are public services that ensure the basic needs of the entire population for survival and development, and the government bears the main responsibility for supply guarantee. Inclusive non basic public services are public services that are necessary to meet the higher-level needs of citizens and ensure the overall welfare level of society, but are spontaneously insufficient or difficult for the majority of citizens to bear, and require the state to increase inclusive supply by supporting social institutions or market entities. With the successful completion of the battle against poverty and the comprehensive completion of a moderately prosperous society, China has entered a new journey of Chinese path to modernization. Public service work should not only accelerate the equalization of basic public services, but also increase efforts in inclusive non basic public services to promote the realization of higher development goals.

Secondly, there are requirements for the implementation of public service work, which should be more refined and scientific. From the different requirements of the report of the 20th National Congress for basic public services and general public services, it can be seen that not all public services have equalization requirements. Only basic public services have equalization requirements, while general public services have gradually enhanced balance and accessibility requirements. Basic public services involve the basic needs of survival and development, and are mainly supplied and guaranteed by the state through public resources. The quantity and quality of supply should be subject to basic unified standards, and equalization is an inherent requirement. The equalization of basic public services is also related to social fairness and justice. Inclusive non basic public services are difficult and not suitable for unified standardization, and need to allow for certain personalization and differentiation. It is generally believed that balance has the meaning of respecting reasonable differences without excessive differences while balancing efficiency and fairness, and also emphasizes the matching of supply and demand, rights and responsibilities, and input-output adaptation. Accessibility emphasizes not only the pursuit of comprehensive coverage with no one missing or falling behind, but also the adaptability between supply and demand, taking into account both the cost of supply arrival and the accessibility, affordability, and acceptability of services to service recipients.

Enhancing the interactive relationship between the balance and accessibility of public services and common prosperity

Public services have strong social wealth redistribution attributes. The level of supply, balance, and accessibility of public services directly characterize the level of achieving common prosperity. Common prosperity is based on the premise and goal of prosperity, which is not only about sharing, but also about development. It is a close combination of high-quality development and sustainable and fair sharing. Public services are not only a guarantee of basic livelihood and well-being, but also a source of social development momentum.

The requirement for enhancing the balance and accessibility of public services, compared to the equalization of basic public services, lies in the deepening and breakthrough of the conceptual understanding of public services. That is, a portion of inclusive non basic public services are not only redistributed as social wealth that adapts to the requirements of fairness and wealth, but also regarded as a social investment with efficiency and wealth creation, used to help specific groups who encounter temporary difficulties but have huge future output potential, better accumulate human capital and form higher output capabilities, thereby enhancing overall social output. For example, the supply of public education and public healthcare services not only ensures the quality of life, but also effectively enhances the accumulation of human capital and empowers its development. To enhance the balance and accessibility of public services, it is necessary to bridge the gap between fair and efficient allocation of public resources, promote the organic connection between the two, and build a solid foundation for promoting common prosperity.

Implementation path to enhance the balance and accessibility of public services and promote common prosperity

To enhance the balance and accessibility of public services guided by common prosperity, it is necessary to pay attention to the following key points in the framework system, supply mechanism, promotion process, structural content, functional effects, and other aspects of public service work:

Firstly, the framework system adheres to the reasonable coordination between national unity and local subjectivity, and leverages the initiative of both the central and local governments. The top-level design of the public service framework system is formulated by the state, but local innovation and exploration are encouraged, and good practices are actively absorbed. The central government focuses on basic public services, strictly implements unified standards for the supply and allocation of basic public services, and ensures the early achievement of the goal of equalization of basic public services. At the same time, fully leverage the advantages of local governments in better understanding the supply and demand information of local public services, and mobilize their enthusiasm to empower development with high-level public services. Provide certain flexibility, autonomy, and discretion in the development and promotion of inclusive non basic public services, and reasonably meet the multi-level and diverse public service requirements of the people. Encourage some places to take the lead in achieving higher overall social welfare and build demonstration areas for common prosperity. But it is necessary to ensure that the regional differences in inclusive non basic public services are always controlled within a reasonable and fair range, and to avoid regional imbalances in economic development caused by regional differences in public services, which may hinder common prosperity. At the same time, we should speed up the implementation of the openness of local public services, comprehensively remove the threshold system restrictions such as registered residence, education background and qualifications, and promote the balance and accessibility of development opportunities with the balance and accessibility of public services.

Secondly, the supply mechanism adheres to an organic combination of government leadership and social participation, and improves the cost sharing mechanism. Basic public services are guaranteed by the government, but it does not mean that they must all be provided by the government. It is possible to reasonably introduce diverse social entities to participate in the supply under the premise of government leadership. Inclusive non basic public services require the active participation of social institutions and market entities, leveraging their advantages of being closer to the demand side, promoting precise matching of supply and demand, and improving supply efficiency, in order to expand effective supply. The reason why public services are provided or participated in by the state is because the services provided have "positive externalities", but the externalities of different types of public services are different. For basic public services, the state bears the main cost. For inclusive non basic public services, it is necessary to reasonably allocate costs among diverse stakeholders according to the situation, so as to ensure that relevant services can be sustainably expanded.

Thirdly, the process of promotion should adhere to the principle of doing our best, acting within our capabilities, progressing step by step, and adapting to local conditions. Equilibrium and accessibility are both within a certain boundary range, which will continue to expand with the level of economic development and social cognition. It is impossible to achieve them in one step and can be immediately achieved at the national and all categories of public services. The government should do its best to ensure the equalization of basic public services, and fulfill its responsibility to meet the requirements of social fairness and justice. It should firmly safeguard the bottom line of basic livelihood and well-being, and focus on the development of inclusive non basic public services within its capacity. Enhancing the balance and accessibility of public services is a long-term process that cannot be achieved overnight. The foundation and conditions of each place are different, and the progress of the balance and accessibility of each type of public service is also different. It needs to be promoted step by step, tailored to local conditions, and tailored to specific situations.

Fourthly, pay attention to the balance between material and spiritual aspects in the structure and content. Livelihood and well-being are the unity of objective gains and subjective feelings, and common prosperity requires both material and spiritual prosperity. To enhance the balance and accessibility of public services, it is not only necessary to consider the balance and accessibility of material level public service products and facilities, but also to pay attention to strengthening and improving the balance and accessibility of spiritual and cultural level public service products, meeting the diverse, multi-level and multifaceted spiritual and cultural needs of the people, and thus promoting common prosperity at a deeper level.

Fifth, attention should be paid to the synergy between functional effects and the integration of social interests and the formation of values of common prosperity. The allocation process of public services involves a lot of interest adjustments, including the improvement of balance and accessibility of public services, including inclusive and non basic public services. It is also a process of integrating various social interest demands by the state. This integration process enhances the spirit of collectivism and social community awareness among all levels of society, increases social cohesion and a sense of identification with the common cause and interests of the country. It is also a process of internalizing the values of common prosperity, ensuring that the cause of common prosperity receives the common support, active response, and smooth implementation of all people.