Wang Bin: Advancing High-Quality Development Requires Preventing "New Wine in Old Bottles" [1]
On January 31, 2024, during the eleventh collective study session of the Political Bureau of the 20th CPC Central Committee, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that many factors still constrain high-quality development. Some leading officials hold outdated concepts; while they claim to promote high-quality development, they are actually putting "old wine in new bottles" [1]. These issues must be taken seriously and effectively resolved.
"Old wine in new bottles" refers to expressing old content through new forms. General Secretary Xi Jinping used this metaphor to describe problems existing in the promotion of high-quality development. He noted that some localities superficially focus on high-quality development by issuing new policies, launching new projects, applying new technologies, or developing new models. In reality, however, they are still perpetuating traditional development modes, inertial thinking patterns, and obsolete management concepts and technical means. This not only affects sustainable economic development but also misses critical development opportunities.
As we enter a new stage of development, we are implementing the new development philosophy [2] and accelerating the construction of a new development pattern [3], which has opened a new chapter for economic high-quality development. From the perspective of development positioning, high-quality development is the primary task of building a modern socialist country in all respects. From the perspective of development modes, economic high-quality development means that the mode of economic growth will shift from an intensive rather than extensive type [4], placing greater emphasis on innovation as the primary driver. From the perspective of development goals, we must achieve development that is of higher quality, more efficient, fairer, more sustainable, and more secure. From the perspective of development results, the fruits of reform and development must benefit all people more substantially and equitably. Currently, the key to high-quality development lies in "quality," the focus is on "quantity," and the ultimate goal remains "development." That is, we must better coordinate the effective improvement of quality with the reasonable growth of quantity. This means that clinging to old concepts, using old methods, and following old paths will inevitably fail to work or go far on the road of high-quality development.
"Old wine in new bottles" conforms neither to the requirements of Marxist dialectical materialism nor to the essential characteristics of high-quality development, and even less to China's actual development reality. Only by breaking the old and establishing the new, weeding through the old to bring forth the new [5], establishing the new before breaking the old [6], and acting in light of local conditions [7]—filling "new bottles with new wine"—can we truly achieve high-quality development. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "High-quality development requires the guidance of new theories of productive forces. New quality productive forces have already formed in practice and demonstrated a strong driving and supporting force for high-quality development. We need to summarize and generalize this theoretically to guide new development practices." Developing new quality productive forces is the intrinsic requirement and important focus for promoting high-quality development; it is like the "new wine" that can be poured into new bottles. On one hand, new quality productive forces are characterized by "high technology, high efficiency, and high quality." Developing new quality productive forces aligns with the goal of transforming development modes and can fundamentally prevent the erroneous tendency of "innovation for innovation's sake." On the other hand, focusing on constructing relations of production that are compatible with the productive forces can better leverage the important role of the contradictory movement between the productive forces and relations of production in enhancing development quality and efficiency.
Currently, further comprehensively deepening reform is injecting strong endogenous power and vitality into the promotion of high-quality development. To prevent the occurrence of "old wine" in high-quality development, we must also prevent "old wine" from appearing at the level of reform. If reform measures are given new names but their connotation remains unchanged, and if what ought to be reformed is not reformed, then the systems and mechanisms to ensure high-quality development cannot naturally take shape. For example, some localities claim to expand patient capital [8] and cultivate emerging industries by following the trend of establishing large-scale government-guided funds. In reality, this is merely a case of "changing the liquid but not the medicine" [9]. They have an inadequate understanding of the dual attributes of patient capital—both "policy-oriented" and "market-operated"—resulting in a waste of fiscal funds, human resources, and material wealth. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee dedicated a specific chapter to emphasizing the improvement of systems and mechanisms for promoting economic high-quality development, fully demonstrating the Central Committee's determination to remove institutional and mechanistic obstacles hindering economic high-quality development. As reform enters a "period of arduous struggle" [10], we must actively adapt to the changes in the principal contradiction in Chinese society [11], follow the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, and profoundly recognize that economic structural reform is the "ox's nose" [12] that leads the way for further comprehensively deepening reform. Simultaneously, we must coordinate reforms in all other areas: what should and can be reformed must be reformed well and to the necessary extent; what should not or cannot be reformed must resolutely remain unchanged. We must continuously improve our capacity and skills to promote high-quality development and courageously take new paths with a sense of historical initiative.
"He who does not examine the trends of the world will find it difficult to respond to the affairs of the world" [13]. To prevent "old wine in new bottles," we must pursue constant freshness in thinking, innovation in methods, and creativity in practice. The more we "climb slopes and cross ridges" or "tackle hard bones," the more we must respect the laws of development, master scientific methods, and increase initiative in our work. We must proceed from reality, accurately identify changes, scientifically respond to changes, and actively seek changes. We must have the courage to break through "old forms" and "old content" that do not adapt to high-quality development, creatively present new content in new forms, work steadily and take practical actions, and ensure that "new bottles are filled with new wine" to continuously open up new horizons for high-quality development.
Source: Study Times (学习时报) January 8, 2025