Zhao Hui: Empowering Economic and Social Development through Culture
General Secretary Xi Jinping, while participating in the deliberation of the Jiangsu delegation during the third session of the 14th National People's Congress, pointed out: "We must deepen the building of spiritual civilization in both urban and rural areas, optimize the supply of cultural products and services, and empower economic and social development through culture." Empowering economic and social development through culture and continuously stimulating the vitality of cultural innovation and creativity will surely provide strong support for the high-quality development of the economy and society, and for meeting the people's needs for a better life.
I. Profoundly Grasping the Relationship Between Economy and Culture
In the long river of human history, economy and culture have never existed in isolation. A country's economic development often promotes cultural development and prosperity; culture also integrates into economic life "moistening things in silence" [1], providing impetus and support for economic development. Culture and economy are like the two wheels of a cart or the two wings of a bird in the development of human society; they influence and interact with each other, jointly promoting the development and progress of human society.
Economic development determines cultural development. From the perspective of the general laws of human social development, economic development determines cultural development and provides a sufficient and rich material foundation for it. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, "Fundamentally speaking, culture is determined by the economy, and economic power provides the material platform for cultural power to exert its efficacy." As the most fundamental activity for human survival and development, the economy emerged and developed simultaneously with the emergence and development of humanity; culture emerged and developed alongside human socio-economic activities and is constrained by the level of development of the productive forces. In ancient China, periods of economic strength were also periods of great cultural development. The Silk Road was not only an important channel for trade between East and West, but also a bridge for the exchange and mutual learning of civilizations. During the Western Han, Sui, and Tang dynasties, the export of Chinese commodities such as silk, porcelain, and tea, along with the spread of cultural technologies like papermaking and printing, promoted economic and cultural exchanges across the Eurasian continent. During the Industrial Revolution, mechanized large-scale production not only brought a leap in productive forces but also gave birth to new cultural forms. The technological innovation and institutional change within the process of industrialization promoted the development of modern scientific culture, forming a cultural landscape unique to industrial civilization. In recent years, along with the effective improvement in the quality and reasonable growth in the quantity of China's economic development, the development of new cultural business formats has been vigorously promoted, opening up a new space for "culture +" development. Many cultural enterprises use advanced technology to empower the development of the cultural industry, reshaping its development models.
Culture is the "booster" of economic development. The Marxist historical materialist view holds that social consciousness has its own forms and laws of development, exerts an active counter-reaction on social existence, and under certain conditions, transforms into a material force, thereby influencing the process of social development. Cultural construction reacts upon the contradictory movement of the productive forces and relations of production; it not only improves the quality of economic development but also transforms the mode of economic development. In Zhijiang Xinyu [2], Comrade Xi Jinping pointed out: "The power of culture, or what we call cultural soft power—which constitutes comprehensive competitiveness—always integrates into economic, political, and social forces 'moistening things in silence,' becoming the 'booster' of economic development, the 'navigation light' of political civilization, and the 'adhesive' of social harmony." Culture's promotion of economic development is mainly reflected through long-term cultivation in terms of moral outlook and values, achieving the goal of "cultivating the person through culture" [3] and strengthening the cultural support for high-quality economic development. Culture endows economic development with profound humanistic value. Once advanced culture is combined with the human factor—the most active factor in the productive forces—it will greatly improve the quality of the labor force, expand the breadth and depth of the objects of labor, and enhance humanity's ability to transform nature and create wealth. For example, Confucius's student Duanmu Ci [4] always kept in mind Confucius’s teaching that "a person of noble character loves wealth but acquires it through the proper Way" during his business dealings. Later generations referred to his business philosophy of benevolence, righteousness, and integrity as the "Duanmu Legacy." Influenced by this, over thousands of years, China formed commercial groups with regional cultural characteristics, such as the Shandong, Huizhou, Shanxi, Zhejiang, and Fujian merchants, reflecting the role of culture in promoting economic prosperity. Since the New Era, the practice of deep integration between culture and the economy in China has increasingly expanded, forming a vivid pattern where flourishing humanity and economic prosperity reflect one another. Beijing, the millennial ancient capital, took the application for World Heritage status for its Central Axis as an opportunity to innovatively implement the "Cultural Exploration Road" project, allowing humanity and economy to interact and the charm of the ancient capital to merge with modern civilization. The ancient city of Suzhou, which both values culture and education and emphasizes exquisite craftsmanship and commerce, insists on "walking on two legs" with humanity and economy, using the "double-sided embroidery" [5] of striving for excellence to depict a modern version of the "Prosperous Suzhou Chart" where the past and present share the same frame. In Hangzhou, the West Lake cultural landscape and the digital economy reflect each other, with economic development and cultural protection and prosperity advancing in sync; many "cultural name cards" have become well-known "economic brands" and new "humanistic landmarks." These innovative practices vividly illustrate that when cultural genes are integrated into the economic bloodstream, they can stimulate a "1+1>2" synergistic effect.
II. Culture is an Important Fulcrum for Promoting High-Quality Development
As China's economic development shifts from high-speed growth to high-quality development, the role of culture in the economy and society has become increasingly prominent, and the "fulcrum" and "lever" roles played by culture have become increasingly significant. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "To promote high-quality development, culture is an important fulcrum." Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has raised cultural construction to a new historical height, taking it as an important part of the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan and the Four Comprehensives, further highlighting the important role of culture in empowering economic and social development.
Enriching the spiritual life of the masses. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The greatest difference between human society and the animal kingdom is that humans have spiritual needs; the people's demand for spiritual and cultural life exists at all times." Spiritual needs are higher-level needs based on the satisfaction of material needs. Culture molds temperament, enlightens wisdom, and warms the soul, providing a steady stream of spiritual nourishment for economic and social development. In the long process of historical development, culture becomes the gene of a nation, shaping its spiritual character, nurturing people’s spiritual world, and strengthening their spiritual power. Material abundance and spiritual wealth are fundamental requirements of socialist modernization. To advance Chinese-path modernization, we not only need to cultivate a thick material foundation and continuously consolidate the material conditions for the people's happy life; at the same time, we also need to vigorously develop advanced socialist culture, enrich the spiritual and cultural life of the masses, and promote the well-rounded development of the individual.
Cultural products improve the quality of life for the masses. The principal contradiction in Chinese society has evolved into the contradiction between the people's ever-growing need for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development. The supply problem facing the cultural field is no longer a question of presence or absence, or whether it is enough, but a question of whether it is good and refined. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, "Culture is an important factor in meeting the people's ever-growing need for a better life." China's per capita GDP has exceeded 12,000 USD, accompanied by more vigorous, higher-level, and more diverse spiritual and cultural needs among the masses; the people's requirements for the quality, taste, and style of cultural products are also higher. This objectively requires expanding the supply of high-quality culture, forming a new balance where demand leads supply and supply creates demand. Prospering and developing cultural undertakings and cultural industries, expanding the supply of high-quality cultural products, and promoting industry and empowerment through culture can facilitate the optimization and upgrading of the economic structure, using high-quality development to meet the diverse, multi-level, and multifaceted needs of the people for a better life.
Culture stimulates the vitality of innovation and creativity. Innovation is the primary driving force for development. Practice has repeatedly proven that any breakthrough innovative practice is rooted in cultural soil that admires creation and encourages exploration. At the National Science and Technology Conference, the National Science and Technology Award Conference, and the General Assembly of the Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Persist in cultivating a culture of innovation, inherit the innovative genes of fine traditional Chinese culture, and create a good environment that encourages exploration and tolerates failure, making the respect for science and the pursuit of innovation a common practice throughout society." As the source of innovation and creativity, culture provides rich innovative resources for economic and social development, promoting development in technology, art, design, and other fields. The enormous value generated by innovation and creativity will, in turn, further stimulate the enthusiasm and initiative of the whole society, forming a virtuous cycle. Therefore, an indispensable condition for promoting innovation is the formation of a good culture and atmosphere of innovation. Only by creating a favorable environment throughout society that respects labor, knowledge, talent, and creativity, and an atmosphere that encourages exploration and tolerates failure, can we continuously cultivate innovative thinking and creativity, allow innovative vitality to burst forth, and provide inexhaustible impetus for economic transformation and upgrading. When the culture of innovation is deeply integrated into the social fabric, innovative vitality will surely surge like a spring tide, converging into a majestic force that promotes high-quality development.
III. Innovating and Exploring Effective Paths for Empowering Economic and Social Development through Culture
Empowering economic and social development through culture is a long-term, systematic task. General Secretary Xi Jinping has put forward requirements ranging from deepening the building of spiritual civilization in urban and rural areas to optimizing the supply of cultural products and services, emphasizing the empowerment of economic and social development through culture. We should accurately grasp the key points for the prosperity and development of culture, strengthen the overall layout, tap into humanistic heritage according to local conditions, and better empower high-quality economic and social development.
Deepening the building of spiritual civilization in urban and rural areas. The 20th National Congress of the CPC listed "promoting the integrated development of urban and rural spiritual civilization" as an important part of improving the level of civilization throughout society. To promote the integrated development of urban and rural spiritual civilization, we must maintain the integrated development of urban and rural production and life as a prerequisite. Through the integration of urban and rural spiritual civilization construction platforms and institutional mechanisms, we can promote the integration and complementarity of urban and rural culture, ultimately narrowing the gap in concepts and perceptions between urban and rural residents, achieving balanced development in the spiritual outlook of all members of society, and shaping a new type of urban-rural relationship based on shared civilization. We must persist in taking the core socialist values as a guide, coordinate cultural cultivation, social practice, and the creation of civilization, innovate forms of civilized practice, enrich mass spiritual civilization activities, set benchmarks for spiritual civilization construction, increase its vitality, and continuously improve the people’s ideological awareness, moral standards, cultural literacy, and the civilized level of the whole society. We must smooth the flow of elements for urban and rural spiritual civilization construction, promote the downward shift of the focus and resources of public cultural services, drive superior urban cultural resources to feed back into rural cultural development, and promote the effective connection between urban and rural spiritual civilization construction and rural revitalization. We should give full play to the advantages of the countryside in terms of traditional cultural inheritance, neighborly mutual assistance, the building of self-governing organizations, moral evaluation and education, and the selection of advanced role models, promoting the two-way exchange of high-quality resources between "down to the countryside" and "into the city," so that the practices of urban and rural spiritual civilization construction promote one another.
Optimizing the supply of cultural products and services. Optimizing the supply of cultural products and services can optimize the structure of the cultural industry, improve its overall competitiveness, and help high-quality economic development through the innovative development of the cultural industry; it can stimulate the vitality of innovation and creativity in the cultural field and promote the interaction and integrated development of economy and culture. Currently, the masses' demand for spiritual culture is characterized by diversification, personalization, and high quality. New demand stimulates new supply. We must persist in the unification of meeting the people's cultural needs and strengthening the people's spiritual power, focusing on "cultivating roots and souls" [6] and "enlightening wisdom and nourishing the heart," creating cultural products that reflect the call of the times, showcase the people's struggles, inspire the national spirit, and mold noble sentiments, thereby enhancing people's sense of cultural gain and happiness through high-quality cultural supply. We should improve the modern cultural industrial system and market system, promote the development and growth of various cultural business entities, cultivate new cultural business formats and consumption models, further increase the added value of the cultural industry, and form more new growth points for the cultural industry. We must explore effective mechanisms for the integration of culture and technology, using technological empowerment to enhance the technical support and communicative power of the cultural industry, and applying digital and intelligent technologies to reshape the landscape of the cultural industry, promote changes in cultural production methods, and innovate production tools. We should persist in "shaping tourism through culture and highlighting culture through tourism," promote the integrated development of culture and tourism, and launch new products and services with both cultural and tourism characteristics, providing a new engine for the development of culture and tourism.