China’s Two Sessions have further enhanced the strategic importance of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Chinese policymakers announced numerous new structural reforms to give a new dimension, dynamic and developmental platform to the BRI. The announcement of new initiatives such as “Quality Productive Forces,” “AI-Plus,” “Qualitative Industrialization,” “Green Transformation,” “Digitalization,” “Modernization,” and last but not least, further “Opening-up” would be vital for the trans-regional recognition of the BRI in the days to come.
China’s pursuit of new Quality Productive Forces (QPFs) rightly places the main focus on innovation and technological self-reliance which would be essential for China’s transformation from old growth drivers to sustainable ones, negating the global geo-economic and growing increasingly complex characterized by the US’ relentless technological crackdowns and growing protectionism. Thus developing new QPFs is important for China’s sustainable, high-quality development.
Xi termed high-quality development as a top priority urging integrated efforts to step up innovation, accelerate emerging industries, adopt forward-thinking plans to develop future-oriented industries and improve the modernized industrial system. He stressed the development of new QPFs according to local conditions which is commendable.
While attending the 2 Sessions of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the top political advisory body Xi called on political advisors and all people in the science and technology sector to strengthen basic research and apply basic research, strive to achieve breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields, and create new drivers to develop new quality productive forces. Thus China’s drive to accelerate the development of new QPFs has provided rare opportunities for the development of strategic capabilities in emerging areas.
Developing new QPFs is the first giant step towards greater economic, industrial and social development in the country. It is indeed a new roadmap for the economy’s high-quality development path. The QPFs comprises innovation-led, advanced means and productive channels that are freed from traditional economic growth mode/model and productivity development paths, is high-tech, high efficiency and high quality, and is in line with the new development philosophy. So, persuasions of the QPFs would also be supplemental for the further development of BRI 2.0.
The Central Economic Work Conference in December 2023 chalked out top economic policy priorities for 2024 and also showcased the development of new QPFs. The QPFs also became the subject of the first group study session held by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee this year which vividly reflected its strategic importance and future central role in the socio-economic, geo-political and geostrategic growth of China in the future.
The Government Work Report 2024 also underlined numerous efforts to develop new QPFs. According to the report, China will strive to modernize its industrial system and develop QPFs at a faster pace. It also said that China will step up research on disruptive and frontier technologies, and will launch an AI Plus initiative.
Definitely, Xi’s important remarks on new QPFs have offered scientific guidance for opening up new development tracks and shaping new development momentum in which high-end equipment, biomedicine, new energy industries, AI-Plus and digitalization would create new engines of stable and sustainable economic growth. It is a good omen that sci-tech innovation and the development of new growth drivers China has already made great strides.
Despite various emerging and chronic problems pertaining to “China’s Containment”, “China’s encircling” and China’s so-called “Collapse Economy” including the US’ relentless crackdown campaign against the Chinese firms, it has already become an innovation power. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) China remained the leader in international patent applications, followed by the US, Japan, South Korea, and Germany.
At the end of 2023, the number of high-value invention patents held in China had exceeded 1.66 million, an increase of 25.7 percent year-on-year, and the number of effective high-value invention patents acquired in strategic emerging industries had reached 1.17 million, accounting for 70 percent of the total.
It also highlights the steady progress in and importance of forming new growth drivers is the fact that the shift in China’s three most popular exports. In the past, the three most popular items China exported were clothes, furniture, and home alliances, which were relatively low-value and labor-intensive; however, new-energy vehicles, solar batteries, and lithium-ion batteries have become China’s tech-intensive and green new three with a combined export value of 1.06 trillion Yuan ($150 billion) in 2023, jumping 29.9 percent year-on-year.
Moving forward, the development of new QPFs has great potential in China, as its huge marketplace ensures full testing, application, and evolution of new technologies and new business models.
Emphasizing on such policy support, the central government has promised to allocate 370.8 billion Yuan ($51.51 billion) for science and technology in 2024, an increase of 10 percent, with a focus on basic research, applied basic research, and national strategic tasks in science and technology, according to the budget adopted at the two sessions.
Critical analysis reveals that new QPFs are the ability of humans to adapt to and utilize nature, a capacity that follows the principles of symbiosis and harmony between humans and nature, continuously advancing civilization and enhancing public welfare.
The QPFs emphasize the reliance on scientific breakthroughs and technological innovations to achieve resource recycling and conservation, optimize resource management, and effectively promote the development of productivity in the process of transitioning to ecological civilization.
In summary, the new concept of QPFs is poised to inject more vitality to China’s economic progress, while contributing to the global development and connectivity through the BRI and CPEC.
It is great news that China’s independently developed third generation superconducting quantum computer has completed some 160,000 quantum computing tasks for global users since it became operational on January 6, 2024 with remote access exceeding 2 million times from more than 100 countries.
The Chinese developed AI weather forecast system Fengwu became the world’s first large-scale meteorological model that can push global weather forecasts beyond 10 days. China’s total number of technology contracts signed 950,000 with a total turnover of 6.15 trillion Yuan and a yearly increase of 28.6 percent.
It is suggested that the policy makers of China should initiate a national drive to upgrade traditional industries in the country, transforming these into strategic emerging industries. Sincere efforts should be started to further increase the role and share of the strategic emerging industries in China’s GDP from 13 percent in 2022 to 17 percent by 2025.
More focus should be given to pursue and implement the Green BRI and CPEC and early completion of all mega projects of the green energies in the member countries in the days to come.
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