The "new quality productivity" proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping provides important guidance for us to build a new engine for economic development, enhance new momentum for development and build new national advantages in the new development stage. In the context of the digital economy becoming a major trend and the mainland building a Chinese-style modernization in an all-round way, the new quality of productivity has new connotations and characteristics. Vigorously developing new productive forces is a strategic choice for the mainland to build a new competitive advantage for the country in the new stage of development, and it is necessary to take comprehensive measures to address the key and difficult problems in the current development of the mainland's productive forces and find a development path suitable for Chinese characteristics.
One
What is New Qualitative Productivity?
The new quality of productivity is relative to the traditional productive forces, and the technical support and tools relied on for the development of productive forces in different historical stages of human society are different. The new quality productivity is driven by the deepening application of new technologies and characterized by the rapid emergence of new industries, new forms of business and new models, and then constructs a new type of social production relations and social system of productivity. The emergence and development of new quality productive forces is the fundamental driving force for the progress of human civilization.
(1) The "techno-economic" logic of productivity and social development
Economist Carlota Perez has systematically articulated the "techno-economic paradigm" that drives social development. In her view, there have been five technological revolutions in human history, and each technological revolution has brought about the development of new technologies, new key factors of production, new infrastructure and emerging industries. The process of technological revolution driving economic development is the "techno-economic" paradigm, and every great tide of historical development can be seen as the replacement of the old paradigm by the new paradigm. In this process, the new paradigm should break through the obstacles and constraints of the original social system, absorb the new paradigm of the technological revolution in the subversion of the original social system, and people will gradually abandon the previous paradigm and accept the new organizational principles, and the new paradigm will be recoupled with the newly formed social institutional framework. In addition to achieving breakthroughs in innovation clusters in a short period of time, the technological revolution also has two conditions: first, these technological breakthroughs transcend the boundaries of the industries in which they were originally developed and spread to a wider range; second, the potential of the old paradigm is exhausted, and "only when the wealth creation potential of the information revolution is close to the limit, can the new technological revolution be more likely."
The emergence of new quality productive forces not only means changes in the productive forces and social and economic levels, but also profound changes in the production relations and social systems. Marx once analyzed the role of technological progress in promoting the development of productive forces through the descriptions of "steam engine", "Jenny spindle worsted machine", "hand mill" and "steam mill", and explained the internal mechanism of the change of social relations caused by the innovation of productive forces. That is to say, on the one hand, the reason why technology can trigger changes in productivity lies in its transformation of production factors and labor processes, and the construction of new production methods. On the other hand, social relations of production and social systems will also react on the development of productive forces, and the production relations and social systems that are compatible with the level of development of productive forces can become "accelerators" for the application of technological innovation and the rapid improvement of the level of social productive forces; otherwise, they may become "shackles" for the application of new technologies and the development of productive forces. Technological innovation and social system reform will also influence and interact with each other to promote the continuous development of society.
(2) The connotation and main characteristics of the new quality productive forces
The new quality productivity in the era of digital economy is supported by new technologies of digitalization, networking and intelligence, with scientific and technological innovation as the core driving force, and deepening the application of high technology as the main characteristics.
First, the new quality productivity is supported by new technologies of digitalization, networking, and intelligence. Global scientific and technological innovation has entered an intensive and active period, and a new generation of disruptive technologies in the fields of information, biology, energy, and materials are emerging, showing a development trend of deep cross-integration, high complexity, and multi-point breakthroughs. At the same time, the infrastructure that supports social development has also been further expanded and extended under the role of new technologies, forming a new type of digital and intelligent infrastructure.
Second, the new quality productivity uses data as the key factor of production. Under the path of "the birth of new technologies, changes in key factors of production, adaptive changes in infrastructure, industry, production organization forms, business models, institutional frameworks, etc., and social and economic changes", there is a periodic coupling between scientific and technological revolution and economic change. Data elements stored and flowed in digital form can promote the continuous optimization and upgrading of production tools and equipment, production methods, and resource allocation methods due to their unique characteristics of low marginal cost, strong permeability and integration, and promote the innovation of material productivity.
Third, the new quality of productivity takes scientific and technological innovation as the core driving force. In the past industrialization process, it was more driven by factors and investment. In the new stage of development and under the new situation, the drawbacks of the extensive development mode characterized by relying on large-scale investment of resources are more prominent, and in order to coordinate the two major events of development and security, it is necessary to find new methods and new paths from scientific and technological innovation, and provide strong support for the development of new quality productive forces with high-level scientific and technological self-improvement and self-reliance.
Fourth, the new quality productive forces are mainly characterized by deepening the application of high and new technologies. On the one hand, strategic emerging industries and future industries have become the main front for cultivating and developing new quality productive forces, and they are also a new track for seizing the commanding heights of future competition and building new national competitive advantages. On the other hand, it is also necessary to provide a solid foundation for the development of emerging industries by forming new quality productive forces and using new achievements and new technologies to transform and upgrade traditional industries.
Fifth, the economic and social impact of the new quality productive forces is extensive and revolutionary. Under the joint action of a new generation of technology and data elements, new forms of business and new models are emerging, and the reshaping and transformation of traditional industries continues to advance, which will not only have a revolutionary impact on the field of natural science, economic development and productivity, but also on the labor mode, production organization mode, social organization operation and social system of human society.
Two
Why accelerate the formation of new qualitative productivity?
Speeding up the formation of new quality productive forces is not only an important strategic opportunity, but also an inevitable requirement for promoting Chinese-style modernization.
(1) The development of new quality productive forces is an inevitable choice for the mainland to conform to the trend of new technological revolution and industrial transformation
From the perspective of technology and economy, the new round of scientific and technological and industrial revolution presents the following characteristics: first, the deep cross-integration of cross-domain technologies, technological innovation presents a trend of multi-point breakthroughs and mass breakthroughs, and constantly opens up new huge growth space; second, the iterative acceleration of technological application and innovation has given birth to a number of emerging industries and leading industries with great influence, which have rapidly penetrated into the fields of traditional industries, driving an all-round leap in the level of social productivity; third, data has become an important factor of production, which has and will continue to reconstruct the production and lifestyle and social governance structure of human society, and the social system will be profoundly adjusted; fourth, the scientific and technological revolution and industry are more closely linkedThe development trend of industrial digitalization, intelligence and greening has been established, and the reconstruction of the modern industrial system has been accelerated.
(2) The development of new quality productive forces is a strategic choice for the mainland to build a new competitive advantage and win the initiative in development
The world is undergoing upheaval. First, there has been a headwind to economic globalization. The world economy is relatively sluggish, with global economic growth expected to average about 3% from 2021 to 2035, while the growth rate of advanced economies is likely to slow further, with an overall growth rate of about 2%, which is lower than the average growth rate of the past 50 years. International trade and investment have shrunk, and trade protectionism and unilateralism have risen. The restructuring of the global industrial system and industrial chain and supply chain system has accelerated, showing an accelerated development trend of diversification, regionalization, greening, and digitalization. Second, the global competition for the commanding heights of science and technology is becoming increasingly fierce, the role of new production factors such as technology, data, knowledge, and human capital is prominent, and the competition between countries around key technologies, data, and industries is becoming more intense. Third, major changes have taken place in the international balance of power, and there has been a trend of "rising in the east and falling in the west" and "new rising and old falling". The traditional international division of labor system has undergone fundamental changes, and emerging markets and developing countries have risen en masse, increasingly becoming important participants in R&D and high-end fields.
(3) The development of new quality productive forces is a practical response to the requirements of Chinese-style modernization
After entering a new stage of development, "the people's need for a better life" is embodied in many aspects such as material life, spiritual life, ecological environment, and cultural experience, and puts forward higher requirements for the country's economic development, social and public services, environmental quality, and rule of law construction. Chinese-style modernization must be supported by a highly developed social productive forces and a solid material foundation, and accelerating the formation of new quality productive forces is a top priority. Since the reform and opening up, the level of social productivity on the mainland has been greatly improved, and a complete, independent and complete modern industrial system has been built, and a good foundation for high-quality development has been established. However, for a long time, the economic growth model driven by low-cost labor, external markets and resources is facing increasing challenges, and the lack of independent innovation has led to a "bottleneck" crisis in some key areas.
Three
How to speed up the formation of new quality productivity?
(1) Mobilize the strength of the whole country to achieve breakthroughs in key technology fields
Advanced science and technology are the internal driving force for the generation of new quality productivity. First, it is necessary to increase investment in the field of basic research, continue to strengthen basic research and cutting-edge technology research and development, comprehensively improve the industrial capacity including basic components (components), basic materials, basic software, high-end chips, industrial software, etc., and vigorously improve the independent supply capacity and original innovation ability of underlying technologies and key core technologies. The second is to optimize the coordination of scientific and technological resources, and build a scientific and technological innovation system with the participation of national laboratories, high-level scientific research institutes, and efficient and innovative leading enterprises. Third, it is necessary to deploy the innovation chain around the industrial chain, give full play to the driving role of scientific and technological innovation in industrial development, and for those products and industrial chains that are facing foreign suppression and blockade, we must not only enhance the supply and supporting capacity of our own industries in various industrial chains, but also increase innovation efforts to promote the industry to continue to move towards the middle and high end of the global value chain.
(2) Vigorously develop strategic emerging industries and future industries
First, we should pay close attention to the development of cutting-edge technologies. It is necessary to cultivate and develop strategic emerging industries and future industries with forward-looking technological innovation and application, empower the modern industrial system with hard technology, and accumulate strength for the sustainable development of new quality productivity. Second, it is necessary to explore and cultivate a number of advantageous enterprises and related research institutions in key directions such as general artificial intelligence, metaverse, humanoid robots, and brain-computer interfaces, and accelerate the application of new technologies and new products. Third, it is necessary to adhere to the innovative status of the main body of enterprises, accelerate the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and industrial technological innovation, plan and lay out a large number of high-tech industries, create original innovation and industrial innovation, cultivate and develop emerging industrial clusters, and lead the formation of new quality productive forces with the development of emerging industries. Fourth, we must continue to optimize the innovation ecology and further stimulate the innovation vitality of various social entities by deepening the reform of the scientific and technological system and mechanism.
(3) Comprehensively deepen the integration of digital technology and the real economy
The first is to vigorously develop the advanced manufacturing industry, use artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, big data and other new generation of information technology to expand the boundaries of production and manufacturing, and comprehensively improve the efficiency of resource allocation, industry innovation and competitiveness. The second is to smooth the cycle of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, and improve the level of transformation of scientific and technological achievements. Explore the construction of a platform system of "industrial innovation + enterprise innovation" to provide innovation and entrepreneurship services covering the whole life cycle for technology-based start-ups. Third, it is necessary to improve the resilience and safety of the industrial chain, and take effective measures to supplement and strengthen the chain in view of the incomplete industrial chain in some internationally competitive fields.
(4) Vigorously cultivate innovative and interdisciplinary digital talents
The first is to deepen the reform of the talent system and institutional mechanism, especially for the scarce talents in the field of cutting-edge technology, and explore the establishment of a differentiated, long-term, and diversified professional talent evaluation system. Second, it is necessary to deepen the cooperation between universities, vocational colleges and enterprises, and open up the "interface" of scientific research and innovation, transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and industrial innovation. Third, it is necessary to use technology to transform and upgrade the traditional talent training system in data, informatization, intelligence and digitalization.
(5) Comprehensively deepen reform and innovation to escort the formation of new quality productivity
First, it is necessary to properly handle the relationship between the government and the market, in the field of basic research, the frontier and major technological innovations related to the future industry are facing great risks and uncertainties, and give full play to the advantages of the government in mobilizing, organizing, and coordinating the forces of the whole society; and in the implementation and transformation of scientific and technological achievements, it is necessary to give better play to the role of the market mechanism. Second, by deepening the reform of key areas and key links, we will break down the institutional barriers that hinder private enterprises from participating in market competition, support private leading enterprises to form innovation alliances and innovation consortia, and create a dynamic innovation environment with fair competition, loose fault tolerance, and vitality. Third, we will continue to deepen the reform of the basic system of the market economy, such as intellectual property protection, fair competition, market access, and social credit, and deepen the market-oriented reform of data elements.
Source | New Economic Tribune Issue 10, 2023