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You may have been wondering: Why is China talking about New Quality Productive Forces? As it embarks on a transformative journey, the world is watching closely. Let’s look at “3 Whats”: What is it? What are we doing about it? And what are we going to do?
So, what is the concept of New Quality Productive Forces? It encompasses emerging industries, including new materials, green industry, and high-end equipment. It also covers future-oriented industries such as the meta-verse, brain-computer interfaces, and humanoid robots.
With innovation playing the leading role, New Quality Productive Forces represent advanced productivity freed from traditional economic growth models, characterized by high-tech application, high efficiency, and high quality.
China is shifting from a traditional labor-intensive to an innovation-driven economy, and New Quality Productive Forces are on the rise. To leverage the momentum of innovation, both traditional and high-tech industries will make strides. We will take solid steps to boost industrial innovation through technologies, speed up the upgrading of traditional industries, and foster emerging industries.
(caption: Bionic humanoid robot provides consultation services for the guests, Beijing)
What are we doing now? Here are a few numbers. China’s spending on R&D reached 3.3 trillion yuan (454.8 billion dollars) in 2023, an 8.1 percent increase, accounting for 2.64 percent of its GDP. Efforts are being made to focus on indigenous innovation to achieve breakthroughs in core and key technologies. Funding for basic research was continuously strengthened, accounting for 6.65 percent of all R&D expenditures.
According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, China is a global innovation leader, ranking 12th in the Global Innovation Index 2023. By the end of 2023, it had 24 of the top 100 science and technology clusters globally, ranking first in the world for the first time.
In recent months, China has introduced policies to attract foreign investment and is committed to promoting high-quality development driven by New Quality Productive Forces. This will facilitate the transition of the country from “Made in China” to “Created by China.”
(caption: The world’s first driverless Cloud Bus officially opened in Bishan, Chongqing)
So, what are we going to do next? Investors are always looking for markets at the forefront of innovation and rapid progress. China is one such market. As it continues to lift market access restrictions in the manufacturing sector, it will create more trade and investment opportunities for foreign investors. Businesses in China are rapidly adopting new technologies to maintain their competitive edge in various markets, often surpassing the pace of their counterparts elsewhere. This makes China a highly dynamic market.
Nurturing New Quality Productive Forces is set to inject fresh impetus into not only China’s high-quality development but also global economic recovery. It will create immense market demand for new technologies, products, and services, offering enormous business opportunities for investors both at home and abroad.
The world needs to cooperate with China, and China also needs to embrace the world. Foreign companies can play a significant role in supporting China’s transformation in areas such as decarbonization, automation, and the digitalization of industrial and supply chains. New Quality Productive Forces will generate fresh growth points for multinational corporations, making the global economy and supply chains even greener and more diversified.
The author, Bao Shujun, is the Researcher at International Cooperation Center of National Development and Reform Commission