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What is new-quality productivity?
“New-quality productive forces are a contemporary advanced form of productivity spurred by revolutionary technological breakthroughs, innovative allocation of production factors, and deep transformation and upgrading of industries. At their core, they embody qualitative changes in the workforce, means of labor, objects of labor, and their optimized combinations, with the enhancement of total factor productivity as the central hallmark.” Recently, a responsible official from the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Office, while interpreting the spirit of the 2023 Central Economic Work Conference and addressing current economic hot topics, made the above statement on the essence of new-quality productive forces.
The official emphasized that accelerating the cultivation of new-quality productive forces requires focusing on three key priorities. First, we must build a new type of workforce, comprising strategic talent capable of generating new-quality productive forces and application-oriented talent proficient in mastering new production tools and technologies. Second, we need to make effective use of new production tools, particularly by mastering critical core technologies to empower the development of emerging industries. At the technological level, we should address weaknesses, strengthen strengths, and place greater emphasis on general-purpose technologies; at the industrial level, we should consolidate strategic emerging industries, proactively plan for future industries, and upgrade and transform traditional industries. Third, we must shape production relations that are compatible with new-quality productive forces. Through reform and opening-up, we should vigorously remove bottlenecks and obstacles that constrain the development of new-quality productive forces, ensuring the smooth flow and efficient allocation of all advanced, high-quality production factors toward the goal of fostering such productive forces.
Specifically, there are six policy measures.
First, we will ensure a virtuous cycle among education, science and technology, and talent development; promote the spirit of scientists and the entrepreneurial spirit; and foster a favorable environment that encourages bold innovation.
Second, we will accelerate the refinement of the new national system for major scientific and technological innovation, fully leverage the government’s strategic guidance role, ensure that enterprises truly become the main actors in innovation, and attract various innovation factors—such as talent and capital—to converge on enterprises.
Third, we will support the development of strategic emerging industries and industries of the future, incentivize enterprises to accelerate their digital and intelligent transformation, and achieve deep integration between the real economy and the digital economy.
Fourth, we will accelerate the development of a unified national market, continuously optimize the business environment for private enterprises, and fully leverage the unique advantages of China’s ultra-large-scale market—namely, its rich array of application scenarios and the amplification of innovation-driven benefits.
Fifth, we will improve the mechanism for allocating income based on factor participation, stimulate the vitality of production factors such as labor, knowledge, technology, management, data, and capital, and better reflect a knowledge-, technology-, and human-capital–oriented approach.
Sixth, we will further open China to high-standard international engagement, continuously improve the business environment, strengthen intellectual property protection, foster an open and innovative ecosystem that is globally competitive, and share the benefits of China’s development with businesses and talent from around the world.
The official also stated that the meeting explicitly emphasized the need to use scientific and technological innovation to lead the development of a modern industrial system. To fully understand and effectively implement the spirit of the meeting, it is crucial to focus on the following three areas of work.
First, we must improve the new national system and focus on tackling key core technologies. The “new national system” we refer to is one that operates under the conditions of a socialist market economy, where both the government’s strategic guidance and enterprises’ role as the main innovators are fully leveraged. We need to accelerate efforts to close gaps in areas such as the foundations of industrialization and deep-level accumulation, continuously strengthen the resilience of industrial and supply chains, and enhance the security of the modern industrial system.
Second, we must vigorously advance new-type industrialization and enhance the core competitiveness of our industries. We should proactively adapt to and lead the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, robustly develop the digital economy, accelerate the development of artificial intelligence, cultivate a number of strategic emerging industries such as biomanufacturing, commercial spaceflight, and the low-altitude economy, pioneer new frontiers in future industries like quantum technology and brain science, and encourage the development of green and low-carbon industries. We should also leverage advanced and appropriate technologies—such as digital and intelligent technologies and green technologies—to inject new momentum into traditional industries and expedite their transformation and upgrading.
Third, we must distill specific industrial needs and optimize the layout of the innovation system. Based on both the immediate urgent needs of industries and their long-term development requirements, we should identify and launch a batch of major national science and technology projects that are of overarching importance and have far-reaching implications. We will continuously strengthen applied basic research and cutting-edge research, and further leverage the role of national laboratories and other strategic national scientific and technological forces. In addition, we will encourage the development of venture capital and equity investment to channel more long-term and patient capital into technological innovation.
“In addition, the ‘new three’ sectors—lithium-ion batteries, photovoltaics, and new-energy vehicles—which have attracted considerable attention, have experienced rapid growth in recent years and enjoy strong competitiveness in the international market. It is essential to provide robust support for enterprises in deepening their expansion into both domestic and international markets, promote the optimization of industry technical standards, foster a healthy competitive environment, and ensure that market forces drive natural selection and survival of the fittest,” said the official.
Keywords:
New-quality productive forces
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