Published on : 30/07/2024
Since China's "Two Sessions" this year, the phrase "new quality productive forces" has become one of the hot topics.
What are "new quality productive forces" and what is "new" about "new quality productive forces"?
What are "new quality productive forces"?
In September 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping introduced "new quality productive forces" for the first time during his visit to Heilongjiang Province, emphasising the need to promote industrial innovation through technological innovation, accelerate the formation of new quality productive forces, and enhance new growth momentum.
Subsequently, the phrase "new quality productive forces" was further elaborated and deployed by the central government on multiple occasions.
In January 2024, during the 11th collective study session of the 20th Central Political Bureau, President Xi explained the connotations and requirements of "new quality productive forces".
What are "new quality productive forces"?
As Xi pointed out, "New quality productive forces refer to advanced productivity freed from the traditional economic growth mode and productivity development paths. It features high-tech, high efficiency and high quality, and comes in line with the new development philosophy."
He emphasised that new quality productive forces are driven by revolutionary technological breakthroughs, innovative allocation of production factors, and profound industrial transformation and upgrading. Its fundamental connotation includes the advancement of human labour, means of labour, subjects of labour and their optimal combinations; the core characteristic is a substantial increase in total factor productivity.
What is "new" about "new quality productive forces"?
So, what is "new" about "new quality productive forces"? China's state media provides the following answer.
What's "new" in new quality productive forces comes in four aspects: new workers, such as talents who can use modern technology efficiently; new subjects of labour, like data elements; new tools of labour, such as generative artificial intelligence; and new infrastructure, such as centres of big data.
Fields related to "new quality productive forces”
New quality productive forces focus on the frontier technology of future human development, enhancing economic output through technological innovation.
It means that technological innovation is key. New technologies represented by big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and green technologies are all areas and industries relevant to new quality productive forces.
On the other hand, the new technologies mentioned above need to be closely integrated with new elements such as digital machines, workers with digital skills, digital infrastructure, a massive amount of data, computing power, new energy, new materials and so on, in order to form a new form of productivity.
President Xi emphasised the cultivation of strategic emerging industries such as new energy, new materials, advanced manufacturing, and electronic information to accelerate the formation of new quality productive forces and enhance new growth momentum. This shows that areas such as new energy and new materials are also key areas of development.
It's worth noting that while the new quality productive forces represent new technology, new value, new industries, and new momentum, the government also stresses that developing new quality productive forces does not mean abandoning traditional industries.
The key is to proceed from reality, adapt to local conditions, upgrade traditional industries with new technologies, and actively promote high-end, intelligent, and green industries.
New quality productive forces influence our lives
The domestically produced large aircraft C919, the domestically produced large cruise ship "Costa Venezia", Huawei's smartphone that supports satellite calls, and China's first independently developed manned submersible Jiaolong, are all examples where new quality productive forces have been applied.
In fact, whether it is everyday life applications that we take for granted, such as online shopping, mobile payments, smart homes, new energy vehicles, remote officing, or intelligent driving, flying taxi, 5G remote robot surgery in emerging fields, all of these are manifestations of developing new quality productive forces.
Read More: China-made C919 makes overseas debut at Singapore Airshow
