On 19 October 2021, a seminar on the preparation of Public Finance in China was held at ZUEL. The meeting was co-hosted by the School of Public Finance and Taxation and IIDPF. The conference was attended by more than 10 experts and scholars from Southwest University of Finance and Economics, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL). The seminar focused on the positioning, outline and division of tasks in the preparation of the textbook.
Leaders and guests attending the seminar included: Professor Yang Canming, Deputy General Secretary of the Party Committee and President of ZUEL, Professor Ma Xiao, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Southwest University of Finance and Economics, Professor Wang Qiao, former Secretary of the Party Committee and former President of Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Professor Liu Rong, School of Finance and Taxation of Southwest University of Finance and Economics, Professor Zhang Kezhong, Dean of the School of Public Finance and Taxation, Deng Song, Vice Minister of Academic Affairs of Zhongnan University of Finance and Economics, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics Prof. Xiao Jianhua and Mr. Wu Zongfu from the School of Finance, Taxation and Public Administration, and relevant faculty from the School of Public Finance and Taxation.
Prof. Yang Canming, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of ZUEL, firstly expressed his warm welcome and heartfelt thanks to the experts and scholars, and conveyed the spirit of the National Conference on Textbooks and the First National Textbooks Construction Award Commendation Conference. First, the construction of textbooks is a national affair and must reflect the will of China. New textbooks should reflect Chinese characteristics and world standards, and constantly consolidate the guiding position of Marxism in the field of ideology. Second, it is necessary to firm up cultural confidence, promote Xi Jinping's thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, interpret Chinese practice with Chinese theory, and fully present the Chinese story in textbooks through academic rationalization.
Next, President Yang focused on "how to reflect Chinese characteristics in the development of textbooks" and proposed seven aspects to be emphasized in the development of textbooks. The first is to reflect the people's nature, finance is the people's finance, people's livelihood finance and democratic finance; the second is to reflect the leadership of the Communist Party of China; the third is to reflect China's whole process of consultation and democracy; the fourth is to reflect China's economic ownership structure; the fifth is to reflect the financial relationship between the central and local governments; the sixth is to reflect China's special financial and fiscal system; and the seventh is to reflect the community of shared future for mankind and global governance.
Professor Ma Xiao, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Southwest University of Finance and Economics, pointed out in his speech that textbooks, as the basic basis for education and teaching, are designed to solve the fundamental problem of "what kind of talent to train, for whom to train and how to train people", which is a question that educators must consider. Preparation of this textbook should be closely aligned with the spirit of the "Guide to the Incorporation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" and the "Guide to the Incorporation of "Party Leadership" into the Curriculum and Textbooks of Colleges and Schools", and should fully grasp China's financial practices and rationalise the relationship between finance and the Chinese government.
Professor Wang Qiao, former Secretary of the Party Committee and former President of Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, pointed out that this textbook should be inclusive and that its preparation should put aside personal will and personal views and attach importance to the changes in the contemporary Chinese reform system.
According to Professor Zhang Kezhong, Dean of the School of Public Finance and Taxation, firstly, this textbook should have a certain degree of academic rationality and should start from a humanistic perspective. Secondly, the new liberal arts background should be considered in the writing process, history and reality should be taken into account, and the history of taxation should be added. Thirdly, theory and method, how to use modern methods to write this textbook so that students can understand it, this is the problem we need to pay attention to.
Professor Liu Rong from the School of Public Finance and Taxation of Southwest University of Finance and Economics pointed out that, it is important to consider students' feelings in writing textbooks, which should be both lofty and acceptable to students. In the meantime, the method of the preparation of undergraduate textbooks is recommended to use primary methods such as statistical analysis and descriptive statistics. Third, the outline of the textbook should contain elements of theory, institution building, Chinese fiscal policy, Chinese cases and methods.
According to Professor Xiao Jianhua from the School of Public Finance & Public Administration of Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, the fiscal theory of this textbook should selectively absorb Western fiscal theory. It is a technical challenge to organically cut into the realities of Chinese finance in the textbook. While we focus on fiscal issues at the central level, we also need to pay attention to the distillation and summary of local fiscal management, especially the details of specific management.
In his conclusion, President Yang Canming emphasized the positioning and characteristics of the preparation of the textbook Public Finance in China. First, the textbook should be positioned at the level of undergraduate students. Our theory is rooted in Chinese soil and draws on the West, and mainly originates from localized Chinese theory, which has its roots and roots in China and does not exclude its branches and leaves from reaching out to the periphery to absorb nutrients that can be used for us. Second, it is necessary to pay close attention to Chinese practice, to stand at the level of the combination of central and local, to pay attention to the system of up and down, vertical and horizontal, and to be more in line with Chinese characteristics and Chinese reality.
At the seminar, experts and scholars gathered to share their teaching and research achievements and discuss the framework of ideas for the preparation of the textbook Public Finance in China, which opened up academic horizons, provided ideas and methods, and contributed to the wisdom and strength of the academic community in order to advance the progress of the preparation of the textbook, condense the characteristics of the textbook and further improve the level of quality! In the coming year, the School of Public Finance and Taxation will continue to strengthen the construction of high-level textbooks and continuously promote the training of talents and educational reform work of the School to a new level.