Understanding Xi's quotes on new productive forces

Developing new productive forces is an intrinsic requirement and an important focus of promoting high-quality development, and it's necessary to continue to well leverage innovation to speed up the development of new productive forces.

— Chinese President Xi Jinping

Quote backgrounder: Xi made the remarks on Wednesday while presiding over a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

What is 'new productive forces'?

Definition: With innovation playing the leading role, new productive forces mean advanced productivity that is freed from traditional economic growth mode and productivity development paths, features high-tech, high efficiency and high quality, and comes in line with the new development philosophy.

Drivers: revolutionary technological breakthroughs, innovative allocation of production factors, and deep industrial transformation and upgrading

Basic connotation: the improvement of workers, means of labor, subjects of labor and their optimal combinations

Core hallmark: a substantial increase in total factor productivity

Marked by innovation, and with high quality as the key, new productive forces are advanced productivity in essence.

Why it matters?

Promoting high-quality development has become the consensus and conscious action of the whole Party and society in the new era. There are still many factors restricting high-quality development, which must be guided by a new productivity theory.

Previous mentions of 'new productive forces'

It was first put forward by President Xi Jinping during his inspection tour in September 2023 to northeast China, the country's old industrial base.

The central economic work conference, held late last year to chart economic development in 2024, said China will "promote industrial innovation through technological innovation ... to foster new industries, new models and growth drivers, and develop new productive forces."

How to accelerate development of new productive forces?

● To continue to well leverage innovation to speed up the development of new productive forces

--Sci-tech innovation can generate new industries, new models and new growth drivers, which are the core elements of the development of new productive forces

--Strengthen sci-tech innovation, especially original and disruptive innovation

--Sci-tech innovations should be applied to specific industries and industrial chains in a timely manner

--Expedite the green transformation of growth models and contribute to carbon peaking and carbon neutrality

● To further deepen reform in an all-round way and form a new type of relations of production appropriate to the development of new productive forces

--Deepen reforms of the economic system and the science and technology management system, work hard to remove bottlenecks that hinder the development of new productive forces

--Further deepen reform in an all-round way and form a new type of relations of production appropriate to the development of new productive forces

● To smooth the virtuous cycle of education, science and technology as well as talent in accordance with the requirement of developing new productive forces, and improve the mechanism of talent training, introduction, use and flow

Most of China's provincial-level governments explicitly pledged to foster or expand "new productive forces" in their 2024 work reports, outlining the specific areas where new productive forces are to be anchored.

Guangdong province, an economic powerhouse in South China, aims to boost new productive forces in industries including integrated circuit, new energy storage and commercial spaceflight. It also plans to foster future industries such as 6G technology and humanoid robots.

Liaoning province, an old industrial base in Northeast China, said it will promote clustered, integrated development of new materials, bio-medicine and other emerging industries.

Hainan, an island province that celebrated robust economic growth last year amid a tourism revival, has rolled out its vision on "new tracks" such as the seed industry and aerospace.