Hong Yinxing: Clarifying the Path Towards High-Quality Development of China's Economy
Xi Jinping Economic Thought is a systematized theoretical generalization of the practical experience of China's economic development in the New Era, and high-quality development is a defining and significant component within it. The works concerning the people-centered development philosophy, the new development stage, the new development philosophy, the new development paradigm, and new quality productive forces in the first volume of the Selected Economic Works of Xi Jinping (hereinafter referred to as the Selected Works) constitute an original and signature theory of economic development. They clarify the path for Chinese economy to achieve high-quality development in the New Era.
Regarding the people-centered development philosophy: The opening article of the Selected Works, "The People’s Aspiration for a Better Life Is What We Are Striving For," points out: "Our people love life and expect better education, more stable jobs, more satisfactory income, more reliable social security, higher levels of medical and health services, more comfortable living conditions, and a more beautiful environment. They hope that children can grow up better, work better, and live better. The people’s aspiration for a better life is what we are striving for." This is a clear declaration of the people-centered development philosophy. Taking this as the starting point, since the 18th National Congress of the CPC [1], our Party has introduced a series of policies and measures. While vigorously promoting high-quality development and scientifically responding to major risks and challenges, the Party has continuously met the people’s aspirations for a better life.
Regarding the new development stage: The prerequisite for promoting high-quality development is accurately positioning the current stage of development. After more than 30 years of development since the Reform and Opening-up, the factors that supported China's rapid economic growth have been fully released, the potential economic growth rate has shown a downward trend, and China's economy has entered a "new normal" [2]. In the article "Economic Work Must Adapt to the New Normal of Economic Development," General Secretary Xi Jinping summarized the new normal: the growth rate is shifting from high-speed to medium-to-high speed; the mode of economic development is shifting from extensive growth focused on scale and speed to intensive growth focused on quality and efficiency; the economic structure is shifting from incremental capacity expansion to deep adjustment characterized by optimizing existing stock and upgrading increments; and the drivers of economic development are shifting from traditional growth points to new ones. This scientifically pointed out the direction for economic transformation under the new normal. In "China’s Economy Has Shifted from a High-Speed Growth Stage to a High-Quality Development Stage," he emphasized that "high-quality development is development that can well meet the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life, and it is development that embodies the new development philosophy." He further clarified that "high-quality development means shifting from 'whether there is enough' to 'whether it is good enough.'" General Secretary Xi Jinping has elaborated deeply on China entering a new development stage after the comprehensive expansion of a moderately prosperous society [3]. In "Grasp the New Development Stage, Implement the New Development Philosophy, and Foster a New Development Paradigm," he noted that the new development stage is a stage within the primary stage of socialism [4]. It is a new stage where our Party leads the people toward a historic leap from standing up and becoming prosperous to becoming strong. This clarified the relationship between the new development stage and the primary stage of socialism. In "Deepening Understanding of Major Issues in Medium- and Long-Term Economic and Social Development," he proposed that the new development stage must strive for higher quality, more efficient, fairer, more sustainable, and more secure development. He emphasized viewing the new opportunities and challenges of the new development stage with dialectical thinking [5], fostering a new development paradigm focused on smoothing the national economic cycle, generating new development momentum through technological innovation, stimulating new development vitality through deepening reform, creating new advantages in international cooperation and competition through high-level opening-up, and expanding a new situation of social development through co-construction, co-governance, and sharing.
Regarding the new development philosophy: The "newness" of the new development philosophy is relative to traditional development concepts. For a long period after the founding of New China, the momentum of economic growth primarily came from increasing inputs of factors such as land, capital, and labor. Entering the New Era, the principal contradiction in Chinese society [6] and the conditions for resource supply have changed. This dictates that promoting sustained and healthy economic development requires a new development philosophy. In "Guiding Development with the New Development Philosophy," General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed that innovative development focuses on the issue of growth momentum, coordinated development focuses on resolving imbalances, green development focuses on the harmony between humanity and nature, open development focuses on internal-external linkage, and shared development focuses on social equity and justice. The introduction of the new development philosophy provided ideological guidance for promoting high-quality development. An important aspect of implementing this philosophy is promoting supply-side structural reform. In "Deepening Understanding of the New Development Philosophy and Advancing Supply-Side Structural Reform," General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "the focus is on liberating and developing social productive forces, using reform methods to advance structural adjustment, reducing ineffective and low-end supply, expanding effective and mid-to-high-end supply, increasing the adaptability and flexibility of the supply structure to changes in demand, and improving total factor productivity."
Regarding the new development paradigm: Currently, the momentous changes unseen in a century [7] are accelerating. The external circulation of China's economy has been impacted by "decoupling and severing chains" and trade protectionism from certain countries. In "On Fostering a New Development Paradigm," General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed fostering a new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international dual circulation reinforcing each other. This is an inevitable choice to adapt to the requirements of China's new development stage and to shape new advantages in international cooperation and competition; it is also a strategic layout and a "preemptive move" [8] to seize the initiative for future development. Regarding the path to fostering the new development paradigm, he clarified in "Grasp the New Development Stage, Implement the New Development Philosophy, and Foster a New Development Paradigm" that the key lies in the unimpeded flow of the economic cycle, and its most essential feature is achieving high-level self-reliance and self-strength. In "Accelerate the Fostering of a New Development Paradigm and Strive to Promote High-Quality Development," he emphasized "adhering to the theme of promoting high-quality development, organically combining the strategy of expanding domestic demand with the deepening of supply-side structural reform, strengthening the endogenous momentum and reliability of domestic circulation, improving the quality and level of international circulation, and accelerating the construction of a modernized economic system." Currently, insufficient internal demand has become a major factor causing weak momentum and sluggishness in domestic circulation. In "Accelerate the Fostering of a New Development Paradigm and Seize the Initiative for Future Development," General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out the need to "focus on expanding consumption demand supported by income, investment demand with reasonable returns, and financial demand constrained by principal and debt." He emphasized "establishing and improving long-term mechanisms for expanding household consumption, so that residents have stable incomes to consume, can consume without worries, and are willing to consume in a high-quality environment." These important discourses have significant guiding meaning for stimulating economic growth with expanded consumption demand as the primary driver at the current stage.
Regarding new quality productive forces: To advance Chinese-path modernization at a new starting point, a new breakthrough in productive forces is required. General Secretary Xi Jinping originally proposed the major concept of "new quality productive forces." In "What Are New Quality Productive Forces and How to Develop Them," he stated: "New quality productive forces are those where innovation plays the leading role. They break away from traditional economic growth modes and paths of productive force development, featuring high technology, high efficiency, and high quality. They represent an advanced state of productive forces that aligns with the new development philosophy." Their "characteristics are innovation, the key is high quality, and the essence is advanced productive forces." Regarding the path for developing these forces, General Secretary Xi Jinping has provided profound expositions in multiple articles. In "Develop the Digital Economy and Seize the Commanding Heights of Future Development," he noted that developing the digital economy "is a strategic choice to seize new opportunities in the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation," requiring "promoting the deep integration of digital technology and the real economy, empowering the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, giving rise to new industries, new business forms, and new models, and continuously making China's digital economy stronger, better, and larger." In "Chinese-path Modernization Must Be Supported by Technological Modernization," he pointed out: "The technological powerhouse we intend to build should possess world-leading technological strength and innovation capabilities, supporting a leap in economic strength, national defense strength, and overall national power, enhancing human well-being, and promoting global development." During the "Two Sessions" [9] this year, General Secretary Xi Jinping further clarified the basic path for developing new quality productive forces, emphasizing: "In grasping technological innovation, we must focus on building a modernized industrial system, persisting in the integrated promotion of education, technology, and talent. We must not only produce more technological achievements but also transform them into tangible productive forces. In grasping industrial innovation, we must hold fast to the foundation of the real economy, balancing the transformation of traditional industries with the opening of new tracks for strategic emerging industries and future industries. In grasping the integration of technological and industrial innovation, we must build platforms, improve institutional mechanisms, strengthen the dominant position of enterprises in innovation, and ensure the seamless connection between the innovation chain and the industrial chain."
In summary, the people-centered development philosophy clarifies whom development is for; entering the new development stage clarifies China's historical orientation; implementing the new development philosophy clarifies the guiding principles for China's modernization; fostering the new development paradigm clarifies the path choice for economic modernization; and developing new quality productive forces clarifies the direction for technological and industrial innovation. By deeply studying and implementing Xi Jinping Economic Thought, we will surely overcome various difficulties and obstacles, promote changes in quality, efficiency, and momentum, and advance Chinese-path modernization on all fronts through high-quality development.
(The author is a professor at Nanjing University)