"Prioritizing economic treatment instead of criminal treatment is not being lenient with businesses"

This viewpoint was emphasized by Professor, Doctor of Economics Hoang Van Cuong (Member of the Economic and Financial Committee of the National Assembly), when answering a question from Dan Tri reporter in the hallway of the National Assembly about breakthrough orientations in private economic development in Resolution 68.

What is in between the lines, needs to choose a more beneficial way of handling

In the context that the whole country sets a growth target of over 8% in 2025 and double-digit growth in the following years - a challenging target, in your opinion, what is the significance of Resolution 68 of the Politburo on private economic development with many breakthroughs?

- We talk a lot about bottlenecks and "bottlenecks of bottlenecks" which are institutions, this must be the first problem to be solved. This is a huge change in management thinking.

The recent resolutions issued by the Central Committee and the Politburo have created a fundamental change in the way of thinking about management. For example, changing the perspective on legislation towards the direction that laws do not need to be detailed, should not interfere or guide, so that those who implement them have the "space" to be creative, dare to think, dare to do.

Or like before, we underestimated the private economy, now we have to affirm the position of this sector. Obviously, we have to change the management perspective, from there we have the basis to create the next changes.

In Vietnam, the private economy contributes about 50% of GDP, more than 30% of total state budget revenue and employs about 82% of the total workforce in economic growth and job creation. These figures show that this is a great potential that needs to be exploited and mobilized to create development.

We are entering a new era with a breakthrough orientation in science and technology development, innovation and digital transformation, while the private economic sector has a great advantage in this field, which is that they are willing to accept risks and approach new things. This sector will become a pioneering force, leading the way in technology application.

Therefore, Resolution 68 of the Politburo will pave the way for maximum mobilization of the potential and advantages of the private economy for the country's economic development.

National Assembly Delegate Hoang Van Cuong answers the press in the hallway of the National Assembly on the morning of May 8 (Photo: Hoai Thu).

You just mentioned the advantage of the private economic sector when they are willing to accept risks, and this resolution of the Politburo also presents an innovative viewpoint in handling violations, which is to prioritize applying administrative, civil and economic sanctions instead of criminal ones, creating conditions for businesses to proactively overcome violations and damages. In your opinion, what is the significance of this breakthrough regulation in terms of both psychology and action to help businesses overcome the barrier of "not daring to think, not daring to do"?

- The mission of an entrepreneur is to make money and create profits. They will find every way to carry out this mission, and of course, in action there will be risks, the higher the profit, the greater the risk. It can be economic or legal risks.

Therefore, when there are violations, we must clearly look at the motives of the business and the entrepreneur. If they simply want to create economic potential, do not violate the provisions of the law, do not go against the policies, guidelines and lines of the Party and the State, then priority must be given to resolving their violations using economic tools. Applying economic measures in this case can create conditions for businesses to overcome the damage.

In Resolution 68, the Politburo clearly stated that in cases where legal provisions can be understood in the direction of criminal handling, or not criminal handling, the Resolution resolutely requires no criminal handling.

In cases that have reached the point of requiring criminal proceedings, priority will still be given to using economic measures to remedy the consequences first and using the results of that remedy as a basis for considering and resolving the next steps.

The idea of prioritizing the use of administrative, civil, and economic measures instead of criminal measures as proposed by the Politburo is well-founded, and does not mean going easy on private enterprises, because in principle, what is in between the lines needs to be handled better and more beneficially.

In essence, entrepreneurs and businesses create resources and jobs for society. The money they generate contributes to creating products for society. If they are criminally prosecuted, they will not have the opportunity or conditions to compensate for economic losses. Meanwhile, if economic measures are prioritized, it will be more beneficial for the economy and society.

Create a good environment for business instead of adding costs

In handling violations, Resolution 68 also requires separating the responsibilities of individuals and businesses. Do you expect this direction to untie the long-standing problem that when handling an individual who violates the law, it can cause the business's operations to stagnate?

- The law does not equate the responsibility of individuals and corporate entities. Handling individual violations does not mean forcing a business to close down.

However, in reality, there are factors that are related to each other, for example, the decision of that individual affects the general operation of the enterprise, the rights of that individual affect the enterprise. If not handled promptly, the responsibility cannot be separated, leading to handling of the individual, and at the same time handling of the relationship of the enterprise.

Resolution 68 requires that when dealing with personal relationships, their rights and relationships in business operations need to be separated so as not to affect the business.

A bigger impact is on social psychology. When dealing with responsible people in businesses, public opinion often sees "businesses have problems, businesses will be inspected, audited...". This creates a crisis for businesses.

Development image of Ho Chi Minh City - the economic locomotive of the whole country (Photo: Hai Long).

Resolution 68 also emphasizes the requirement to inspect and examine enterprises only once a year. In your opinion, how will this impact the development of the private economy, since inspection and examination have long been a problem that has caused headaches and pressure for many enterprises?

- In principle, an enterprise can only be inspected and examined no more than once a year, and this regulation is equal between state-owned enterprises and private enterprises, except in cases of violations requiring inspection upon request or mandatory cases.

For agencies and enterprises that comply well, inspections are unnecessary because they waste the time of the management agency and enterprises and can cause negative psychology. Instead, we should manage risks, that is, manage them wherever there is risk.

There are now many tools to manage businesses, not just inspections and audits. This will create a better operating environment for businesses instead of adding unnecessary costs to them.

Private enterprises will grow like the leading birds

We have had many resolutions on the private economy, but the recently issued Resolution 68 of the Politburo is considered an important boost to develop this core force. In the next steps, what do we need to do to materialize these contents, sir?

- In the 80s, when we began to build a socialist-style economy, the private economy was not recognized.

It was not until 1986, when the renovation began, that this sector was recognized and 10 years later, we affirmed that economic sectors were equal to each other. Only then was the private sector considered equal to other economic sectors.

By 2017, the Party set the goal of making the private economy an important driving force of the economy. And it was not until Resolution 68 this time that we affirmed that the private economy is the most important driving force of the national economy; a pioneering force in the development of science and technology, innovation and digital transformation...

General Secretary and President To Lam talks with business representatives in November 2024 (Photo: VNA).

Resolution 68 also points out solutions, especially institutional ones, to create breakthroughs.

Based on the resolution's direction, we must act immediately. First, we need to create a legal framework to institutionalize the Politburo's directions into legal regulations.

In addition, the National Assembly needs to have a separate resolution on private economic development, based on the guiding spirit of Resolution 68, to have a common legal framework. On that basis, management and enforcement agencies will have a basis for implementation.

Resolution 68 clearly states the Politburo’s request to eliminate the mindset of asking and giving and prohibiting mechanisms that cannot be managed; at the same time, it encourages businesses to join hands to create greater potential. In your opinion, what value will these bring to business operations, especially private businesses?

- The Politburo clearly stated that it is necessary to transform the State management mechanism, from the State managing, businesses and entrepreneurs having to ask for permission to do anything, to the State creating, creating a legal framework and conditions for businesses and entrepreneurs to freely operate within the framework without having to ask anyone. State management agencies also have the responsibility to meet the requirements of businesses.

In general, we are having synchronous changes in the legal system, typically the Draft Law on Civil Servants and Public Employees has changed the management mechanism. Accordingly, civil servants do not have to sit and work according to the assigned position, but must complete the work, otherwise they will be eliminated from the system, meaning there is no longer the matter of "civil servants for life".

One more point, we often say that private enterprises have small potential, but if enterprises know how to join hands and link together, they will create great strength.

Our weakness is that in the past, the connection between private enterprises was not good, but with this resolution, we can expect that in the coming time, strong private enterprises will be formed as leading birds to attract and promote the development of other enterprises, creating overall strength for the country's economic development.

Thank you!

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/uu-tien-xu-ly-kinh-te-thay-hinh-su-khong-phai-nuong-nhe-cho-doanh-nghiep-20250508130136699.htm