Liang Weijun: The Logical Rationale and Practical Path of New Quality Productive Forces Empowering High-Quality Development
Productive forces are the fundamental driving force for the development and progress of human society, and the level of their development serves as a significant marker of advancement in human civilization. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Party has led the people in consistently upholding the development of social productive forces throughout the historical processes of socialist revolution, construction, and reform. This has propelled the cause of the Party and the state to achieve historical accomplishments and undergo historical transformations. The Chinese nation has welcomed a great leap from standing up and becoming prosperous to becoming strong, and the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered an irreversible historical process. In the New Era and on the new journey, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has persisted in taking economic construction as the center, attached great importance to the development of productive forces, and continuously deepened the understanding of the laws governing socialist economic development. It has made the major decision to develop new quality productive forces, providing a fundamental guideline for advancing the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation. In July 2024, the Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform to Advance Chinese-path Modernization (hereinafter referred to as the "Resolution"), adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, proposed a series of major reform measures to "improve the institutions and mechanisms for developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions." This defined the fundamental strategy for accelerating the development of new quality productive forces and providing a more solid material foundation for Chinese-path modernization.
General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions on the development of new quality productive forces represent the latest achievement in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxist productive force theory. This is both a theory regarding what new quality productive forces are and a methodology for how to develop them; it contains a profound logical path and a scientific practical approach for empowering high-quality development through new quality productive forces. Analyzing and researching the logical path and practical approach of new quality productive forces in empowering high-quality development is of great significance for deepening the understanding of the laws of socialist productive force development in the New Era and on the new journey, for accelerating the development of new quality productive forces and promoting high-quality development, and for continuously injecting strong momentum into the comprehensive advancement of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization.
I. High-quality development is the distinct theme of China's economic and social development in the New Era
High-quality development is a major decision made by the Party Central Committee regarding China’s economic development in the New Era, based on summarizing the practical experience of economic development since the 18th CPC National Congress and deepening the understanding of the laws of economic development. It conforms to the objective requirements of economic and social development in the New Era.
(1) High-quality development is a major strategic decision of the Party in the New Era
Deeply recognizing and grasping the laws of socialist economic development, and consciously following and applying these laws, is the fundamental reason why the Party has led the people to achieve the "two miracles" of rapid economic development and long-term social stability [1]. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has integrated changes in China's development stage, environment, and conditions to continuously deepen the understanding of the periodic characteristics and laws of economic development. It has fully implemented the New Development Philosophy and placed greater emphasis on the high quality of development. In 2013, it was proposed that China's economic development was in a "period of three overlapping phases" [2]: a period of pivoting growth rates, a period of labor pains in structural adjustment, and a period of absorbing the effects of previous stimulus policies. In 2014, it was proposed that China's economic development had entered a "new normal" [3], where the environment, conditions, tasks, and requirements of economic development had all undergone new changes. The growth rate must shift from high speed to medium-to-high speed; the development model must shift from a scale-and-speed type to a quality-and-efficiency type; the economic structure must shift from focusing primarily on incremental capacity expansion to a coexistence of adjusting the existing stock and optimizing increments; and the driving force of development must shift from relying mainly on factor inputs such as resources and low-cost labor to innovation-driven growth. In 2015, it was proposed that we must adhere to the people-centered development philosophy and firmly establish and implement the New Development Philosophy of innovation, coordination, green development, openness, and sharing. In 2017, the 19th CPC National Congress declared that "China's economy has transitioned from a stage of high-speed growth to a stage of high-quality development." At the Central Economic Work Conference held that same year, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech emphasizing that "high-quality development is development that can well meet the people's ever-growing needs for a better life; it is development that embodies the New Development Philosophy; it is development where innovation becomes the primary driving force, coordination becomes an endogenous characteristic, green development becomes the universal form, openness becomes the only way, and sharing becomes the fundamental purpose." This profoundly elucidated the scientific connotation of high-quality development. In 2020, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee emphasized taking the promotion of high-quality development as the theme. In 2022, the report to the 20th CPC National Congress proposed that "high-quality development is the primary task in building a socialist modernized country in all respects," and achieving high-quality development is an essential requirement of Chinese-path modernization.
(2) High-quality development is an inevitable requirement for economic and social development in the New Era
First, the transformation of the principal contradiction in society in the New Era is the theoretical basis for high-quality development. Marxist contradiction theory holds that contradiction is the objectively existing relationship of the unity of opposites among various factors of development; it is the inner drive for the development and change of things. Human society develops and progresses through the movement of contradictions. The contradiction between the productive forces and the relations of production, and the contradiction between the economic base and the superstructure, are the basic social contradictions. The principal social contradiction is the concrete manifestation of the basic social contradictions at a specific historical stage of society and is a concentrated reflection of various social contradictions. In 2017, the 19th CPC National Congress made the important judgment that the principal contradiction in Chinese society has evolved into the contradiction between the people's ever-growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development. This provided the ideological and theoretical foundation for the economy and society to pursue a path of high-quality development. From the perspective of the relations of production, after more than 70 years of continuous and rapid development since the founding of the People's Republic of China, our country has basically solved the problem of food and clothing for over a billion people and achieved moderate prosperity in general; we will soon complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects [4]. The people's needs for a better life are becoming increasingly broad, not only placing higher requirements on material and cultural life but also growing in areas such as democracy, the rule of law, fairness, justice, security, and the environment. From the perspective of productive forces, the level of social productive forces in our country has significantly improved overall, and social production capacity has entered the world's front ranks in many aspects. The more prominent problem is unbalanced and inadequate development, which has become the main factor constraining the fulfillment of the people's ever-growing needs for a better life. The change in the principal social contradiction is a historic shift affecting the overall situation, posing new goals, tasks, and development requirements for the Party's governance of the country. On the basis of continuing to promote development, we must focus on resolving the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development, vigorously improve the quality and efficiency of development, achieve high-quality economic and social development, and better satisfy the people's growing needs in economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological dimensions, thereby better promoting the well-rounded development of the individual and the comprehensive progress of society.
Second, the changing development environment in the New Era is the realistic condition for high-quality development. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a New Era, and the domestic and international environments for China's development have undergone major changes. Internationally, the world is undergoing major changes unseen in a century at an accelerated pace; a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is developing in depth; and the international balance of power is undergoing profound adjustments, presenting China's development with new strategic opportunities. Meanwhile, the impact of the pandemic of the century is far-reaching; the tide of anti-globalization is rising; unilateralism and protectionism are significantly increasing; the world economic recovery is sluggish; local conflicts and turbulence occur frequently; and global issues are intensifying, pushing the world into a new period of turbulence and transformation. Domestically, reform, development, and stability face many deep-seated contradictions; Party building—especially the improvement of Party conduct, the promotion of clean government, and the anti-corruption struggle—faces many stubborn and frequent problems; and external suppression and containment could escalate at any time. China's development has entered a period where strategic opportunities and risks/challenges coexist, and uncertain and unpredictable factors are increasing. Faced with a complex domestic and international development environment, the 20th CPC National Congress proposed major principles such as persisting in and strengthening the Party's overall leadership, adhering to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, staying committed to a people-centered development philosophy, persisting in deepening reform and opening up, and maintaining a fighting spirit. It emphasized accelerating the construction of a new development pattern with the domestic cycle as the mainstay and the domestic and international dual circulation mutually reinforcing each other, making systematic deployments to focus on promoting high-quality development in an effort to achieve effective qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth of the economy.
Finally, the laws of economic and social development are the basic guidelines for high-quality development. Advancing in waves and rising in spirals is the basic law of the development of things, and economic and social development is no exception. The theoretical and practical innovations since the reform and opening up have proven that development is the Party's top priority in governing and rejuvenating the country; development is the basis and key to solving all of China's problems. In the decade from the 16th CPC National Congress to the 18th CPC National Congress, China's economy and society developed continuously and rapidly, and the construction of a moderately prosperous society in all respects progressed steadily, significantly improving the country's comprehensive national strength and the people's standard of living. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a New Era, and economic development has faced new situations and challenges. These are prominently reflected in the increasingly tight supply of resources and the growing severity of ecological and environmental issues. The contradiction between economic development and the protection of resources and the environment has become increasingly strained. Theoretical answers were urgently needed regarding the periodic characteristics of economic development and its future trends. Economic development is in a "period of three overlapping phases" and is evolving toward a stage with a more advanced form, more complex division of labor, and a more rational structure, entering a "new normal." This is the Party Central Committee's deepening of understanding and theoretical summary of the laws of China's economic development in the New Era. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that after nearly 20 years of high-speed growth at an average annual rate of 10% from 1992 to 2011, China's economy entered a period of pivoting growth rates starting in 2012. From 2012 to 2021, the Gross Domestic Product grew from 54 trillion yuan to 114 trillion yuan, with annual growth rates of 7.9%, 7.8%, 7.3%, 6.9%, 6.7%, 6.9%, 6.7%, 6.0%, 2.2%, and 8.1% respectively. Per capita GDP increased from 39,800 yuan to 81,000 yuan. China's total economic output reached 18.5% of the world economy, an increase of 7.2 percentage points, firmly ranking second in the world. Economic development has entered a new normal, shifting from accelerating growth speed to enhancing development quality. Recognizing, adapting to, and leading the new normal has become the overarching logic for following the objective laws of economic development.
II. Developing new quality productive forces is an inherent requirement for promoting high-quality development
Persisting in the development of productive forces is a successful experience accumulated through the development of China's socialist cause. Developing new quality productive forces is an inherent requirement and an important focal point for promoting high-quality development, as well as a major task for the development of the cause of the Party and the state in the New Era and on the new journey.
(1) Persisting in the development of productive forces is a valuable experience for the success of the socialist cause
Marx once pointed out, "The degree to which theory is realized in a country depends on the degree to which theory satisfies that country's needs," profoundly revealing the inner connection between scientific theoretical guidance and national development and progress. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Party has persisted in integrating Marxist productive force theory with the reality of China's economic and social development, and with the economic thoughts found in fine traditional Chinese culture. As development conditions, targets, tasks, and requirements have changed with the times, it has innovated and developed productive force theory, forming a theory of productive forces for socialism with Chinese characteristics, providing strong support for upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics. Centering on the grand goals of building a modernized socialist country and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the Party has persisted in taking the liberation and development of productive forces as the essential content of socialism. Through reform and opening up, it has improved and developed the socialist system, eliminated various institutional and mechanistic obstacles hindering the development of productive forces, ensured that the relations of production adapt to the development of productive forces, stimulated economic and social vitality, and fully mobilized the enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity of laborers. This has promoted overall economic and social progress and well-rounded human development, created the "two miracles" of rapid economic development and long-term social stability, achieved the Party's First Centenary Goal, and propelled China onto a new journey toward the comprehensive construction of a socialist modernized country. Persisting in the development of productive forces and the practical exploration thereof has changed the destiny of the Party, the country, the nation, and the people; it is a successful experience accumulated through the development of China's socialist cause.
(2) Developing new quality productive forces is a major task in adapting to the requirements of high-quality development
"Problems are the public, fearless, time-echoing voices that dominate every individual. Problems are the slogans of the age, the most practical outcry expressing its spiritual condition." [5] What kind of development the New Era should achieve and how to achieve it is the question of our age, requiring a clear answer. On the basis of scientifically summarizing the practical development experience of the Party and state since the start of the New Era and systematically analyzing the situation facing development, the "Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Formulating the Fourteenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035," deliberated and adopted by the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee in 2020, explicitly proposed that during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, we must unswervingly implement the new development philosophy of innovation, coordination, green development, openness, and sharing. We must adhere to the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, taking high-quality development as the theme, deepening supply-side structural reform as the main line, reform and innovation as the fundamental driving force, and satisfying the people's ever-growing needs for a better life as the fundamental goal. We must coordinate development and security, accelerate the construction of a modern economic system, and accelerate the construction of a new development pattern with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international dual circulation promoting each other, while advancing the modernization of the state governance system and governance capacity.
Analyzed from the perspective of the principal contradiction in society [6], high-quality development is the developmental theme of the New Era. The prominent problems to be solved are unbalanced and inadequate development—namely, the developmental imbalances across various regions and fields, such as the large urban-rural gap, regional gap, and income gap, as well as the weakness of a low overall development level—so as to promote a major transformation in the mode of economic and social development and better satisfy the people's ever-growing needs for a better life. Practical development experience shows that productive forces are the key point of high-quality development and require innovative breakthroughs based on reality. In September 2023, during an inspection in Heilongjiang, General Secretary Xi Jinping first proposed "new quality productive forces," requiring the Northeast region to accelerate the formation of new quality productive forces and enhance new drivers for development. Subsequently, he delivered a series of important expositions on developing new quality productive forces, providing ideological and theoretical guidance for taking the development of new quality productive forces as an important entry point to accelerate high-quality development and the comprehensive building of a modern socialist country.
New quality productive forces is a landmark concept of Socialist Political Economy with Chinese Characteristics first proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping. Developing new quality productive forces adapts to the requirements of high-quality development and is a major task for the development of the Party and state's cause at present and for a period to come. In January 2024, during a speech at the 11th group study session of the Political Bureau of the 20th CPC Central Committee on solidly promoting high-quality development, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Developing new quality productive forces is the intrinsic requirement and an important focal point for promoting high-quality development," and "High-quality development needs the guidance of new productive forces theory, while new quality productive forces have already formed in practice and demonstrated strong driving and supporting power for high-quality development; we need to summarize and generalize this theoretically to guide new developmental practices." This means that new quality productive forces not only fit the requirements of high-quality development but have already formed in practice and produced prominent actual results; they require further improvement in top-level design, powerful guidance for practical exploration, and the promotion of a virtuous cycle between the two.
During the 2024 Two Sessions [7], General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized while attending the deliberation of the Jiangsu delegation: "We must firmly grasp the primary task of high-quality development and develop new quality productive forces according to local conditions." New quality productive forces were written into the "2024 Government Work Report" adopted by the Second Session of the 14th National People's Congress for the first time, with "vigorously promoting the construction of a modernized industrial system and accelerating the development of new quality productive forces" listed as one of the specific deployments for the 2024 government tasks. Through the system of People's Congresses and following statutory procedures, the Party's proposition to develop new quality productive forces was organically combined with the will of the people and transformed into a national development strategy, demonstrating the organic unity of Party leadership, the people as masters of the country, and the rule of law. The "Decision" adopted by the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee in July 2024 proposed a series of major reform measures to "improve the organizational mechanisms for developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions," clarifying the practical strategy for effectively accelerating the development of new quality productive forces, promoting high-quality development, and providing a more solid material foundation for Chinese-path modernization. In December 2024, while affirming the effectiveness of high-quality economic development such as the steady growth of new quality productive forces, the Central Economic Work Conference emphasized that "we must coordinate the relationship between nurturing new drivers and updating old drivers, and develop new quality productive forces according to local conditions," making deployments for key tasks in the economic field for 2025, such as "leading the development of new quality productive forces through scientific and technological innovation and building a modernized industrial system." The 2025 No. 1 Central Document [8] proposed "agricultural new quality productive forces" for the first time, clarifying the specific task of leading the concentration of advanced productive factors through scientific and technological innovation and developing agricultural new quality productive forces according to local conditions. This major decision and systematic deployment for developing new quality productive forces fully demonstrate the important strategic positioning of high-quality development as the primary task in the comprehensive building of a modern socialist country. As a high-level form of productive forces, new quality productive forces serve as the key kinetic reliance and core driving force for high-quality economic development and Chinese-path modernization.
III. The Theory of New Quality Productive Forces Provides Scientific Guidance for Promoting High-Quality Development
Since 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping has systematically expounded on the major theoretical and practical questions of what new quality productive forces are and how to develop them, forming the theory of new quality productive forces. This provides the fundamental observance and action guide for comprehensively grasping the breakthrough directions of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation in the New Era, accelerating the development of new quality productive forces, promoting high-quality economic and social development, and advancing Chinese-path modernization on all fronts.
(1) The Conceptual Reference of New Quality Productive Forces
"New quality productive forces are advanced productive forces in which innovation plays the leading role, breaking away from traditional economic growth modes and development paths for productive forces. They are characterized by high technology, high efficiency, and high quality, and align with the New Development Philosophy." Productive forces are the power through which humanity obtains material resources from nature through labor practice; developing productive forces is the fundamental task of socialism and the fundamental driving force for creating social material wealth and promoting economic and social development. Under traditional economic growth modes, the development of productive forces often relies heavily on natural resource inputs, belonging to extensive growth that places great pressure on the ecological environment. New quality productive forces change the extensive growth path of over-reliance on natural resources and focus on the boosting effect of scientific and technological innovation on the development of productive forces—especially original and disruptive technological innovations and their effective transformation and application. This not only improves the efficiency of factor allocation but also favors the protection of the ecological environment, achieving the harmonious coexistence of man and nature within the coordinated development of material and ecological civilization.
(2) The Basic Connotation of New Quality Productive Forces
New quality productive forces are "triggered by revolutionary technological breakthroughs, innovative allocation of production factors, and deep industrial transformation and upgrading. Their basic connotation is the leap in the quality of laborers, means of labor, and subjects of labor, as well as their optimized combination." Scientific and technological innovation is the source power for the development of new quality productive forces. Revolutionary technological breakthroughs drive the optimized combination of production factors such as labor, capital, land, knowledge, technology, management, and data, promoting the transformation, upgrading, and iteration of industrial structures. New industries, new business forms, and new models continuously emerge, urging the constituent elements of productive forces to improve in quality, optimize in structure, innovate in combination, and increase in efficiency. Laborers, means of labor, and subjects of labor are the constituent elements of productive forces. Among them, laborers with certain labor skills and necessary labor experience are the human factor in productive forces and play the leading role. Means of labor include tools and conditions of labor, while subjects of labor represent the various material materials upon which laborers act during the labor process; these two constitute the material factors in productive forces. The organic unity of human and material factors constitutes the physical power through which humanity obtains the material resources necessary for survival and development from nature through labor practice. The development of new quality productive forces is a process of promoting the progress of productive forces through the continuous optimization and combination of new production factors. Laborers must possess richer knowledge, master more advanced technologies, and have a stronger sense of innovation to comprehensively improve their comprehensive quality and capabilities. Means of labor must incorporate more advanced technological achievements, applying tools of production such as informatization, digital intelligence, and labor conditions such as efficient and convenient factory equipment to realize the renewal of production tools and the improvement of labor conditions, thereby increasing labor productivity. Subjects of labor must continuously expand in breadth and depth, utilizing natural resources and raw materials efficiently and sparingly. Through the application of advanced scientific and technological achievements, the scope of the subjects of labor is expanded, centrally embodied in the promotion and application of new substances, new energy, and new materials.
(3) The Essential Attributes of New Quality Productive Forces
New quality productive forces "take a significant increase in total factor productivity (TFP) as their core indicator. Their hallmark is innovation, their key lies in high quality, and their essence is advanced productive forces." TFP is the ratio of total output to total factor inputs; it reflects the increase in output through technological progress, organizational innovation, and specialization while keeping the input quantities of all other factors such as capital, labor, and land constant. The economic performance of the development of new quality productive forces is centrally reflected in the significant increase of TFP, highlighting the increment in economic efficiency brought about by technological innovation and other transformations. New quality productive forces are guided by the New Development Philosophy; innovation is the first driving force for development and the driver for the development of new quality productive forces. New quality productive forces adapt to the needs of economic and social development and align with the strategic goal of entering the forefront of innovative countries; they represent the development direction of advanced productive forces, with "advancedness" being their essential attribute.
(4) The Distinctive Characteristics of New Quality Productive Forces
"The distinctive characteristic of new quality productive forces is innovation, which includes innovation at the levels of technology and business models, as well as innovation at the levels of management and institutions." Innovation is "creative destruction" [9] and is a collective concept. Understood from the perspective of an innovative country, it includes theoretical innovation, institutional innovation, scientific and technological innovation, cultural innovation, and other aspects of innovation; it is the source of power for a country's comprehensive development and progress and the formation of strong international competitive advantages. Innovation runs through the entire process of developing new quality productive forces. The innovative characteristics of new quality productive forces are mainly reflected in technology, industry, management, and institutions. Regarding technological support, new quality productive forces are productive forces based on new technologies such as the Internet, big data, cloud computing, blockchain, and artificial intelligence. Regarding industrial leapfrogging, the development of new quality productive forces promotes the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, the rapid rise of emerging industries, and the gathering potential of future industries. Regarding management innovation, new quality productive forces achieve precision in resource allocation through digital and intelligent management, promoting the continuous optimization and combination of production factors. Regarding institutional guarantees, new quality productive forces take the stimulation of laborers' enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity as the fundamental basis, focusing on the organic integration, dynamic optimization, and synergistic promotion of laborers, means of labor, and subjects of labor, constructing a rule-based guarantee system for the high-quality and high-efficiency development of productive forces that features the compatibility of incentives and constraints and the complementarity of rigidity and flexibility.
(5) The Ecological Foundation of New Quality Productive Forces
"Green development is the defining feature of high-quality development, and new quality productive forces are themselves green productive forces." General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that we must "firmly establish the concept that protecting the ecological environment is protecting productive forces, and improving the ecological environment is developing productive forces," profoundly elucidating the internal organic connection between ecological environmental protection and the development of productive forces. Green and low-carbon, high-quality and high-efficiency, human-orientation, and sustainable development are the essential characteristics and vivid foundation of new quality productive forces. New quality productive forces are guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, adhering to the concepts of awe, respect, compliance, and protection for nature. They promote the green and low-carbon transformation of development modes, focus on governing environmental pollution, enhance the diversity, stability, and sustainability of ecosystems, and promote the realization of the goals for a Beautiful China. The development of new quality productive forces highly aligns with the green and low-carbon requirements of ecological civilization construction. It abandons traditional economic growth modes and, through technological, institutional, and product innovation, forms a high-quality industrial structure with high technological content, good economic benefits, low resource consumption, and little environmental pollution. This develops green productive forces and follows a path of civilized development characterized by industrial growth, prosperous living, and a sound ecosystem, providing high-efficiency, more sustainable, and green low-carbon new drivers for economic and social development.
IV. Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform is the Fundamental Path for New Quality Productive Forces to Empower High-Quality Development
Reform and opening up is the precious experience through which Chinese Communists have successfully pioneered, persisted in, and developed socialism with Chinese characteristics since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee [10]; it is an important "magic weapon" for the Party and the people to catch up with the times in great strides. On the new journey of the New Era, we must persist in a problem-oriented approach. We must focus on the bottlenecks and obstacles facing the promotion of high-quality development—such as weak scientific and technological innovation capabilities that do not meet the requirements of high-quality development, an industrial system that is large but not strong and comprehensive but not refined, and the fact that the situation of being dependent on others for key core technologies has not fundamentally changed. By further comprehensively deepening reform, we must embed the development of new quality productive forces into the entire process of high-quality development, providing systemic dynamic support for accelerating the development of new quality productive forces and promoting high-quality development.
(1) Forming New Relations of Production Compatible with the Development of New Quality Productive Forces
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "To develop new quality productive forces, we must further comprehensively deepen reform and form new relations of production compatible with them." This clarified the strategic focus for developing new quality productive forces and provided fundamental directional guidance on how to develop them. Productive forces and relations of production are core concepts in Marxist theory. Marxism holds that the production of material goods is the basic condition for human survival and development. The power of people to obtain material goods from nature through labor practice constitutes the productive forces; in essence, this is a material exchange relationship between man and nature, and productive forces are the material foundation of human social life and all history. Relations of production are the economic relations formed by people in the process of material production that are independent of human will; in essence, these are relations of interests between people, and they are the most basic relations in human society. Productive forces and relations of production influence each other and form a unity of opposites; the productive forces determine the relations of production, while the relations of production exert a counter-reaction on the productive forces. The contradiction between the productive forces and the relations of production is the basic contradiction of society and the internal driving force for social development and progress. The report to the 19th CPC National Congress pointed out that development is the basis and key to solving all our country's problems. Development must be high-quality development, and new quality productive forces must serve as the driving force. By further comprehensively deepening reform, we must eliminate institutional and mechanistic obstacles hindering the development of productive forces, improve the relations of production centered on economic interest relations, break through the "clogging points" and "bottlenecks" restricting the development of new quality productive forces, and promote a better alignment between the relations of production and productive forces to provide powerful dynamic support for the development of productive forces.
(2) Promoting the Deep Integration of Scientific and Technological Innovation with Industrial Innovation
The Decision [11] adopted by the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee explicitly set forth the general task of developing new quality productive forces: "To promote revolutionary breakthroughs in technology, the innovative allocation of production factors, and the deep transformation and upgrading of industries; to promote the optimized combination and leap-forward renewal of laborers, means of labor, and objects of labor; to give rise to new industries, new models, and new momentum; and to develop productive forces characterized by high technology, high efficiency, and high quality." Science and technology are the primary productive forces. Scientific and technological innovation is the engine for developing new quality productive forces, while industrial innovation is the vehicle; the two influence and promote each other in an organic unity. Focusing on the general task of developing new quality productive forces, we must advance scientific and technological innovation to promote the industrial application of innovative achievements; advance industrial innovation to meet market demands with new products, new business forms, and new models; and promote a virtuous interaction between the two, using changes in market demand to guide scientific and technological innovation, thereby better promoting industrial innovation and effectively satisfying market needs.
First, we must vigorously advance scientific and technological innovation. Scientific and technological self-reliance and strength [12] is the breakthrough point for the qualitative change of productive forces. Revolutionary breakthroughs in technology are the starting point for the generation of new quality productive forces, capable of fostering new industries, models, and momentum; they are the core element of developing new quality productive forces. On September 11, 2020, at a symposium for scientists, General Secretary Xi Jinping issued clear requirements for scientists and the vast number of scientific and technological workers: "Persist in facing the global frontiers of science and technology, the main economic battlefield, the major needs of the country, and the lives and health of the people; and continue to advance into the breadth and depth of science and technology." We must adhere to these "Four Orientations" [13], using key generic technologies, frontier leading technologies, modern engineering technologies, and disruptive technological innovations as breakthrough points to strengthen original and disruptive innovation, achieve high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and strength, and enhance the capacity for independent innovation. Second, we must use scientific and technological innovation to drive industrial innovation. A modern industrial system led by innovation is the industrial form that carries new quality productive forces. The focus of innovative scientific and technological achievements is to face market demand, catalyze new industries, promote the deep transformation and upgrading of industries, optimize industrial structures, improve economic development performance, and transform these achievements into actual productive forces. We must combine scientific and technological achievements with industrial structural adjustment and optimization, taking the establishment and improvement of the industrial chain, value chain, interest chain, and ecosystem chain as the main thread. Directed toward enhancing the resilience and safety levels of industrial and supply chains, we should transform and upgrade traditional industries, cultivate and expand emerging industries, and plan for the construction of future industries. This will promote the high-end, intelligent, and green development of industry, forming a modern industrial system that is innovative, growth-oriented, competitive, and sustainable, thereby improving international industrial competitiveness and promoting economic and national security through industrial security. Third, we must promote the integrated symbiosis of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation. From the perspective of systems thinking, the two do not have a linear development relationship (where science comes first and industry follows), but are an organic unity of mutual influence and integrated development. Scientific and technological innovation stems from industrial needs, and technological achievements serve industrial development. Driven by the further deepening of economic system reform, we must improve the market-oriented mechanism for technological innovation, reinforce the dominant position of enterprises in innovation, and promote the concentration of various innovation factors in enterprises. This will form a technological innovation system where enterprises are the mainstay, the market is the guide, and there is a deep integration of production, education, research, and application, facilitating the deep integration and synergistic development of scientific and technological and industrial innovation.
(3) Developing New Quality Productive Forces According to Local Conditions Based on Objective Realities
Seeking truth from facts is the Party’s incisive summarization of the Marxist worldview and methodology. It has run through the formation and development of the theoretical results of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism and is the essence of these theoretical achievements. The theory of new quality productive forces is the latest achievement in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxist productive force theory, possessing the theoretical characteristic of seeking truth from facts. Seeking truth from facts requires that we understand problems and promote development by starting from reality, integrating theory with practice, and testing and developing truth through practice. It is both an epistemology and a methodology—an organic unity of the two. Developing new quality productive forces must persist in seeking truth from facts, integrating with reality and acting according to local conditions. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Developing new quality productive forces does not mean neglecting or abandoning traditional industries. We must prevent a headlong rush into action or the creation of bubbles, and we must not adopt a single model. All localities must persist in starting from reality, 'establishing the new before breaking the old' [14], acting according to local conditions and providing category-based guidance. Based on local resource endowments, industrial foundations, and scientific research conditions, they should selectively promote the development of new industries, new models, and new momentum, use new technologies to transform and upgrade traditional industries, and actively promote high-end, intelligent, and green industrial development." Economic work is the Party's central task. We must persist in the Party’s overall leadership over economic work. Under the Party and state’s overall strategic deployment for developing new quality productive forces, we should combine the specific conditions of our own regions, departments, industries, and units. After comprehensively considering development conditions such as resources, industry, science and education, R&D, and talent, we must formulate and implement specific strategies for technological, industrial, and institutional innovation that suit local realities. We should tap into comprehensive potential, leverage comparative advantages, and continuously improve the quality and efficiency of development.
(4) Improving Systems and Mechanisms for Developing New Quality Productive Forces According to Local Conditions
Developing new quality productive forces is a strategic, long-term, and systemic major task that requires systemic, professional, and modern institutional support. We must advance institutional innovation as a whole and strengthen the institutional supply for promoting the development of new quality productive forces. First, we must establish a mechanism for increasing investment in future industries, strengthening innovation in key generic technologies, frontier leading technologies, modern engineering technologies, and disruptive technologies to plan for future industries ahead of time. Second, we must improve policies and governance systems for promoting the development of strategic industries, guiding the healthy and orderly development of emerging industries such as next-generation information technology, artificial intelligence, aerospace, new energy, new materials, high-end equipment, biomedicine, and quantum technology. Third, we must advance the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, leveraging the leading role of improved national standards to support enterprises in using digital-intelligent and green technologies to upgrade traditional sectors. Fourth, we must improve the innovation capital support system, encouraging and regulating the development of angel investment, venture capital, and private equity investment, while making better use of government investment funds to develop "patient capital" [15]. Fifth, we must coordinate development and security, strengthening institutional constraints regarding environmental protection and safety to ensure that the development of new quality productive forces conforms to the principles of "ecology first" and green development, as well as national security requirements, achieving the organic unity of high-quality development and high-level security.
(5) Creating Superior Intellectual Resource Support for Developing New Quality Productive Forces
Building a great modern socialist country in all respects and achieving the Second Centenary Goal [16]—advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization—is the central task of the Party and the country on the new journey of the New Era. Education, science and technology, and talent are the foundational and strategic supports for building a modern socialist country in all respects, as well as for developing new quality productive forces; they can provide solid intellectual resource support for the latter. We must take comprehensive measures in terms of strategic implementation, goals and tasks, and reform initiatives to build a country strong in education, science and technology, and talent, providing a steady stream of high-quality intellectual resources for the accelerated development of new quality productive forces. First, regarding strategic implementation, we must persist in the idea that science and technology are the primary productive forces, talent is the primary resource, and innovation is the primary driving force. We must deeply implement the strategy for invigorating China through science and education, the strategy on developing a quality workforce, and the innovation-driven development strategy. Second, regarding goals and tasks, we must persist in the prioritized development of education, scientific and technological self-reliance and strength, and the lead role of talent. We must accelerate the construction of a country strong in education, science and technology, and talent, persisting in educating people for the Party and cultivating talent for the country, comprehensively improving the quality of independent talent cultivation, and focusing on creating top-notch innovative talents. Third, regarding reform measures, we must coordinately advance the integrated reform of systems and mechanisms for education, science and technology, and talent. We must deepen comprehensive educational reform to provide education that satisfies the people; deepen the reform of the scientific and technological system to improve the innovation system; and deepen the reform of the system and mechanisms for talent development to cultivate socialist builders and successors with an all-round development in morals, intelligence, physique, aesthetics, and labor, gathering outstanding talents from all sides into the cause of the Party and the people.
The above five aspects are interconnected and organically unified, working together to promote the "good and fast" development of new quality productive forces. Among them, forming new relations of production compatible with the development of new quality productive forces is the focus, providing a powerful impetus; promoting the deep integration of scientific and technological and industrial innovation is the key, guiding the direction; developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions based on objective realities is the fundamental requirement, defining the basic strategy; improving systems and mechanisms for developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions is the guarantee, creating the institutional conditions; and creating superior intellectual resource support is the foundation, consolidating long-term support.
The theoretical and practical development of the cause of the Party and the state has proven that developing productive forces is the fundamental task of socialism and the only way to build a strong country and achieve national rejuvenation. The current and upcoming period is a critical stage for comprehensively advancing the great cause of building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation through a Chinese path to modernization. We must persist in using Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as our guide, focusing on the major task of developing new quality productive forces, further comprehensively deepening reform, and advancing Chinese-path modernization. We must persist in combining theory with practice, continuously explore the development paths and promotion measures for new quality productive forces, summarize practical experience, and deepen theoretical innovation. This will push the level of socialist productive forces to new heights, providing inexhaustible momentum for building a modern socialist country in all respects and comprehensively advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
(The author is a professor at the School of Marxism, Huazhong Agricultural University) Online Editor: Ma Jingren Source: Journal of South-Central University for Nationalities (Humanities and Social Sciences), Issue 4, 2025