On March 5, in the new Government Work Report for 2024, the Chinese government proposed to "accelerate the development of a new quality production force." In September 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping first proposed this concept of "new quality manufacturing power" during a working visit to Heilongjiang Province, after which he devoted a special series of discussions and plans to this topic.
And what is the productive power of new quality? In the literal sense, it is a new type of productivity that differs from the traditional one and is based on technological innovation. Looking back on the history of the development of human civilization, productivity is the ability of human beings to transform and conquer nature, the decisive force and source of motivation that promotes the continuous development of human civilization. With the transformation and change of productive power, human civilization can continue and develop. In ancient times, the use of stone tools marked the beginning of civilization, and man used the laws of nature in the service of production and life. Human civilization then entered a new phase. Watt's improved steam engine ignited the industrial revolution, mass production with the help of machines replaced manual production, thus productivity developed rapidly, and world civilization then entered the era of industrialization.
Entering the information age, new technologies such as the Internet, big data, cloud computing and blockchain are simply flourishing. Everything is interconnected and intelligently produced. Human production and life have entered the era of computerization, intelligence and smart technology. Popular artificial intelligence and autopilot in driving have the potential to undermine our traditional manufacturing and way of life and represent a new manufacturing force that is completely different from all previous technological forms. The iteration of productivity is the endogenous engine of the development of human civilization. By taking advantage of the opportunities offered by transformation and productivity improvement, we can better understand and manage time.
In China, at this moment, new quality production forces are taking shape and showing a strong driving force for the development of high quality. Today, almost half of the world's installed photovoltaic power generation capacity is located in China, more than half of all electric vehicles in the world are driven in China, China's digital payment accounts for almost half of the world's share, China's high-speed rail operating mileage exceeds the total of all other countries in to the world, while China's domestically produced large passenger plane, the C919, was put into commercial use. The launch operation of the Shenzhou 17 spacecraft was a complete success, the "three new products" - electric vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products performed well, and innovative achievements in cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence and quantum technology continued to achieve. New quality production power becomes a new engine for China to fully promote its high-quality development.
China will strengthen technological innovation and application of its achievements, consolidate and expand its leading advantages in industries such as the production of smart energy vehicles, accelerate the development of cutting-edge emerging industries such as hydrogen energy, new materials and innovative medicines, and actively create new growth in bio-manufacturing, commercial aviation and the "low altitude economy". Next, China will open up new paths such as quantum technology and life sciences, further promote the innovative development of the digital economy, and provide an inexhaustible driving force for the development of new quality manufacturing forces. At the same time, China will accelerate the green transformation of its development model and help achieve carbon neutrality, accelerate green technological innovation and the promotion and application of advanced green technologies, strengthen green manufacturing, develop green service industries, expand green energy industries, develop green and low-carbon industries and chains supply, build a green and low-carbon circular economy system, and create efficient ecological industrial clusters.
In contrast to separation and disconnection, the development of new quality productive forces and open connectivity complement each other. China will expand its high-level opening to the outside world, continue to build a market-oriented, legal and international first-class business environment, create new advantages for a higher-level open economy, and create a good international environment for the development of new productive forces. I believe that China will continue to achieve results in the development of new quality production forces. China's "news"-oriented economy will also provide new vitality and bring new opportunities to global economic development, thereby making a greater contribution to building a community with a shared future for mankind.
The author is the ambassador of the Republic of China in Montenegro
Bonus video:
