During his 2023 inspection tour in northeast China, an important agricultural and traditional industrial base, Chinese President Xi Jinping first put forward the concept of new quality productive forces with far-reaching implications. Amid deep global economic adjustment and domestic industrial upgrading and transformation, breaking the shackles of traditional productive forces, driving industrial transformation via scientific and technological innovation, and reshaping the development model have become urgent priorities to stimulate new momentum for China's further development.
On January 31, 2024, Xi emphasized that China should accelerate the development of new quality productive forces and promote high-quality development.
Today, from academic discussions to policy making, from corporate strategic layout to industrial transformation practices, the influence of new quality productive forces can be seen almost everywhere, reshaping socioeconomic development.
An advanced type of productive force, they have broken away from the traditional economic growth mode and the path of productive force development, with innovation playing a leading role in their formulation. They are therefore characterized by high-tech, high-efficiency and high-quality, and are in line with the new development philosophy proposed by Xi.
While an inevitable product of China's development in the new era, new quality productive forces have their roots in China's long-term economic practices and the changes in the development paradigm. They come with both opportunities and challenges.
A new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation has been booming since the concept was implemented, with significant achievements in cutting-edge technology such as artificial intelligence, green energy and quantum communication.
China has been comprehensively implementing the innovation-driven strategy, with remarkable progress in its journey to become an innovative country. The growing scientific and technological strength, combined with the super large market and the continuously improving industrial system, lays the foundation for the development of new quality productive forces.
According to the Global Innovation Index 2024 released by the World Intellectual Property Organization, China is the only middle-income economy among the top 30 economies. Ranked 11th, it accounts for three of the world's five major science and technology clusters and is one of the economies with the fastest-growing innovative capabilities in the past decade.
However, China is still facing challenges in the development of new quality productive forces. As globalization intensifies, innovations in science and technology have increasingly become the focus of competition among countries. The global industrial and supply chain landscape has undergone unprecedented transformation, and improving international competitiveness has become a complex issue for China.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
