The 34th Annual Conference of the Chinese Society of Political Economy and the 2nd Rural Revitalization Forum Successfully Held at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law
From April 20 to 21, 2024, the 34th Annual Academic Conference of the China Society of Political Economy and the 2nd Rural Revitalization Forum, themed "Theory and Policy of High-Quality Economic Development," were successfully held and concluded at the Wenquan Building of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL). This annual conference was co-hosted by the China Society of Political Economy and ZUEL, and organized by the ZUEL School of Economics, the Institute of Marxism Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), and the Academy of Hai-style Economics [1] at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. Co-organizers included the editorial boards of Chinese and English journals such as Studies on Political Economy, Contemporary Economic Research, Hai-style Economics, Political Economy Quarterly, Journal of Hebei University of Economics and Business, and World Review of Political Economy.
The two-day conference agenda included an opening ceremony, keynote reports, thematic speeches, exchange presentations across eight sub-forums, a seminar on academic writing and journal development, and an academic salon hosted by the Center for Marxist Political Economy at the Academy of 21st Century Marxism (co-established by Nankai University and the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences). The event brought together over 320 experts and scholars in the field of political economy, journal editors, and graduate students from more than 70 universities, research institutes, and publishing houses across the country. Participants shared their latest research findings and practical experiences to jointly explore new paths for China’s high-quality development.
At 8:30 AM on April 20, the conference opened grandly in the academic lecture hall of the Wenquan Building. The opening ceremony was presided over by Professor Shi Zhilei, Dean of the School of Economics at ZUEL. Distinguished guests included Professor Cheng Enfu, Honorary President of the China Society of Political Economy and Member of the CASS Academic Division; Professor Zou Jinwen, Vice President of ZUEL; Researcher Hou Weimin, President of the China Society of Political Economy and Director of the CASS Research Center for Marxist Economic and Social Development; Professor Jian Xinhua of Wuhan University, former Vice President of the Society; Professor Zheng Zhiguo of the Party School of the Guangdong Provincial Committee; Professor Wang Zhaoke of Shanghai University of International Business and Economics; and Professor Ip Kuai Peng, Vice Rector of the City University of Macau.
Professor Zou Jinwen delivered the welcoming remarks. He noted that since its founding, ZUEL has possessed a noble revolutionary sentiment and "red genes" [2], and that the discipline of political economy is one of the university’s oldest. He observed that the successful holding of 33 previous annual conferences is a rare feat among national societies, demonstrating a long history and tradition. He expressed his wishes for the success of the conference and hoped it would serve as a platform to jointly promote the development and innovation of political economy.
Researcher Hou Weimin delivered the opening address, providing a profound interpretation of high-quality development through four dimensions: the dialectical unity of "quality" and "quantity"; the unity of rapidly developing productive forces and further improving relations of production; the unity of macro, meso, and micro levels; and the unity of economic development and economic security. He expressed his hope that scholars would use the conference exchanges to produce more excellent academic results and push research on Chinese political economy theory and policy to a new level.
Following the opening ceremony, the conference moved to the keynote report session, chaired by Professor Zhang Xinning of Fudan University. Professor Cheng Enfu entregued a keynote titled "Several Theoretical and Policy Issues Concerning High-Quality Development." He discussed high-quality development from four aspects—history, theory, policy, and indicators—providing theoretical frameworks and practical policy suggestions for China's high-quality development while offering academic guidance for the subsequent exchanges.
Professor Jian Xinhua of Wuhan University delivered a report titled "Has the Chinese Economy Fallen into a Long-term Recession?" He refuted external misjudgments of China's economic situation by analyzing the transitional characteristics and growth potential of China's economic development, favorable conditions and factors, responses to economic difficulties, and the current reality of economic development, thereby "singing the bright theory of the Chinese economy." [3]
After a group photo, the first stage of thematic speeches on "Theory and Policy of China's High-Quality Development" began, chaired by Professor Ding Xiaoqin of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. Professor Zheng Zhiguo analyzed the bottlenecks in China's high-quality development and proposed countermeasures; Professor Ip Kuai Peng explored Macau’s strategic positioning in the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; Researcher Wang Zhongbao of CASS analyzed the definition of high-quality development from a political economy perspective, arguing that the high-quality development of the production and reproduction of labor power is most critical; Professor Wang Zhaoke clarified the process of new quality productive forces transforming from individual productive forces to social average productive forces through the lens of holographic systems theory and technology diffusion; and Associate Professor Chen Libing of ZUEL focused on the development of relatively backward inter-provincial regions, using Zigui County as a typical case to analyze the development ideas for new quality productive forces in such areas.
The second stage of thematic speeches focused on the relationship between new quality productive forces and high-quality development, chaired by Professor Dai Shuangxing of Fujian Normal University. Professor Li Zhengtu of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences subdivided productivity theory into five categories, emphasizing the importance of grasping new quality productive forces in both broad and narrow senses; Professor Wu Shanlin of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics proposed that accelerating the development of new quality productive forces requires managing five major relationships, including those between new quality and conventional productive forces, and between new quality productive forces and new-type relations of production; Professor Li Zheng of Liaoning University clarified the theoretical and practical logic of developing new quality productive forces; Professor Liu Gang of Qufu Normal University explained the evolution of the production paradigm of new quality productive forces from lower to higher levels based on the theory of endogenous productivity; and Professor Lv Jingchun of Tianjin Normal University provided a "green perspective" by understanding the connotation of new quality productive forces through an ecological dimension.
At 2:00 PM on April 20, eight sub-forums were held simultaneously. Over 130 representatives presented papers and exchanged results on eight themes: "Research and Interpretation of Xi Jinping’s Important Discourses on High-Quality Economic Development," "Marxist Economic Growth Theory and the Connotation of High-Quality Economic Development," "Research on the Relationship between New Quality Productive Forces and High-Quality Economic Development," "Research on the Relationship between High-Quality Development, High-Level Opening Up, and National Economic Security," "Research on Policies and Practices of China’s High-Quality Economic Development," "Mathematical Political Economy Analysis of High-Quality Economic Development," "Hai-style Economics on Theoretical and Policy Aspects of High-Quality Development," and "Research on the Theory and Application of Marxist Political Economy."
At 8:00 PM on April 20, the academic writing seminar and the Marxist Political Economy center's salon were held. Representatives from journals such as Studies on Political Economy discussed their positioning, indexing, and review cycles, and engaged with scholars on topic preferences and review criteria to enhance the quality of journals in the field. The academic salon, hosted by Professor Cheng Enfu, focused on promoting the "New Marxist School" (新马派) as a major international school of thought. He called for global cooperation among Marxist economists to form unique and scientific economic insights and policy recommendations.
On the morning of April 21, the conference continued with three stages of speeches, sub-forum reports, and the closing ceremony.
The first stage of speeches focused on new quality productive forces, chaired by Professor Zhang Hongwu, Vice Dean of the ZUEL School of Economics. Professor Mao Peihua of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics outlined the essential connotation of new quality productive forces from the perspectives of technological development, material production, and ultimate goals. Professor Zhou Shaodong of Wuhan University used the example "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" [4] to vividly argue that "new quality productive forces must be grounded in reality." Professor Wei Feng of Heilongjiang University noted that as the technological gap between latecomer and advanced nations narrows, a higher form of advanced productivity—new quality productive forces—is needed to avoid the "profit-seeking effect." Professors Zhou Xiaoliang of Fuzhou University and Cui Xiangyang of Nanjing University of Finance and Economics elaborated on the connotation and mechanism of digital new quality productive forces.
The second stage, focused on high-quality development, was chaired by Professor Liu Zhen of Tsinghua University. Professor Li Xiaoping, Director of the ZUEL Research Department, explained how the digital economy empowers common prosperity through digital infrastructure and factor inputs. Professor Zhao Jinhui of the Central Party School explored economic structural upgrading through the lens of contradictions. Associate Professor Qi Hao of Renmin University of China provided a new perspective via the concept of service-oriented manufacturing. Associate Professor Tian Wangjie of Lanzhou University of Finance and Economics traced the seeds of new quality productive forces back to Marx’s productivity theory. Professor Wang Feng of ZUEL discussed Hubei Province's promotion of high-quality county-level economic development.
The third stage, on political economy theory and application, was chaired by Professor Duan Xuehui of Yan'an University. Professor Song Xianping of Beijing Institute of Technology proposed "guided" methods for China's high-end manufacturing to embed itself in global value chains. Professor Pan Dan of Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics argued regarding digital capital’s exploitation of the digital labor of the knowledge-based gig economy. Professor Liu Changming of Shandong University of Technology analyzed the convergence of Guan Zhong’s economics [5] and Marxist political economy based on the principle of "ordering the world and succoring the people" (经世济民). Professor Wang Jinzhao of Wuhan University reflected on the power of capital and offered suggestions for guiding its healthy development. Professor Wang Feng of Southwest University emphasized that wealth accumulation mechanisms are inherent to high-quality development.
Subsequently, Associate Professor Zhang Yang of the China University of Political Science and Law presided over the sub-forum reports, where eight scholars summarized the previous day’s discussions, reflecting the spirit of openness and innovation in the political economy community.
The closing ceremony was presided over by Professor Zhu Qiaoling, discipline leader of Political Economy at ZUEL. Researcher Wang Zhongbao, Vice President and Secretary-General of the Society, announced recent Society matters, including National Social Science Fund grants, and delivered the concluding remarks on behalf of Professor Duan Xuehui. He noted that this was the largest and best-organized conference in the Society’s history, expressing special thanks to the leadership of ZUEL and the faculty, students, and volunteers of the School of Economics.
Finally, Professor Liu Zhen of Tsinghua University, representing the host of next year’s 35th Annual Conference, extended a sincere invitation to all scholars and students to attend.
With this, the two-day 34th Annual Academic Conference of the China Association of Political Economy and the 2nd Rural Revitalization Forum successfully concluded. This year's annual conference reached the largest scale in its history, with over 320 experts, scholars, and graduate students from all corners of the country [6] gathering at the venue. They engaged in brilliant presentations and heated exchanges characterized by high academic rigor, dialectical thought, and innovation, focusing on multiple topics: the theory and application of Marxist political economy, theories and policies for high-quality development, new quality productive forces and high-quality development, high-quality development and rural revitalization [7], mathematical analysis in political economy, and the theoretical and policy innovations of the Shanghai School of Economics [8]. This conference achieved innovative breakthroughs in refining organizational forms, broadening seminar models, and promoting disciplinary integration, building a high-quality platform for academic exchange among experts, scholars, young faculty, and students dedicated to the study of Marxist political economy. Through the exchange of ideas and the clashing of perspectives, participating scholars sparked wisdom and deepened friendships, working together to promote the Sinicization of Marxist political economy, ensuring it remains at the forefront, achieves new development, and serves the New Era.
[The School of Economics] The School of Economics at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL) possesses a profound historical heritage. Its origins can be traced back to the College of Finance and Economics, one of the four foundation colleges of Zhongnan University's predecessor, Zhongyuan University [9]. In 2000, it was renamed to its current form through the merger of the original Zhongnan University of Economics' Institute of Economics, the Department of Economics, and the Department of National Economic Management. The School of Economics was among the earliest in domestic universities to establish the discipline of political economy (1949) following the founding of the People's Republic, and was the first in the Central-South region to obtain a first-level discipline authorization for Theoretical Economics (2000). The school boasts a strong faculty: as of October 2023, it has 109 staff members, including 89 full-time teachers, of whom 32 are professors (including 23 doctoral supervisors) and 30 are associate professors. The college has 12 national-level talents, including National Leading Talents in Philosophy and Social Sciences, Ministry of Education Young Scholars, and experts receiving State Council Government Allowances. There are also 10 provincial and ministerial-level talents, such as experts receiving Hubei Provincial Government Special Allowances and Hubei Provincial Young and Middle-Aged Experts with Outstanding Contributions. The teaching and research teams have been recognized as an "Excellent Teaching Team of Hubei Province" and an "Excellent Primary-level Organization of Hubei Province," while the Theoretical Economics faculty team was awarded the honorary title of "National University Huang Danian-style Teacher Team" [10].
[The China Association of Political Economy] The China Association of Political Economy (CAPE) is a national first-level academic society under the supervision of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and formally registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People's Republic of China. It is dedicated to theoretical research and academic exchange in political economy. CAPE is a key liaison academic organization of the National Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences and a philosophy and social science society receiving priority funding from the National Social Science Fund of China. Its predecessor was the Chinese Association for the Systematic Study of Socialist Economic Laws (abbreviated as the China Economic Law Research Association), which was formally established in November 1983. On December 9, 2018, with the approval of the Ministry of Civil Affairs (Min Han [2023] No. 182), the association was officially renamed the China Association of Political Economy. The secretariat of CAPE is permanently housed within the Institute of Marxism Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The current president is Researcher Hou Weimin, Director of the CASS Research Center for Marxian Economics and Social Development. Professor Cheng Enfu, a Member of the CASS Academic Division [11], is the former president and current honorary president of the association. The official journal of the association is Study of Political Economy (Zhengzhi Jingjixue Yanjiu). Since its inception, the association has successfully held 34 annual academic conferences, making significant contributions to the innovative development of Marxist political economy.