Explainer | China puts high expectations on ‘new productive forces’ in search for sustainable growth engines
- The term ‘new productive forces’ has been employed more frequently in reference to methods to boost China’s growth and recovery
- Technology and services, particularly home-grown innovations, could both enhance existing industries and generate new, reliable sources of activity
In recent communications, China’s leaders and media have frequently used the phrase “new productive forces” when discussing how to revitalise and transform the economy – itself a hot topic in a period where growth has slowed and officials have been struggling to find momentum.
The expression took on greater prominence after President Xi Jinping referred to the concept as a “leading factor” for “promoting high-quality development” of the Chinese economy.
In traditional political economy, “productive forces” describes the union of necessary infrastructure with the capacity of the labour force – the essential base elements for production. What, then, are the “new productive forces”, and what does this change of rhetoric look like in practice?
Why does China need ‘new productive forces’?
But the past year has been especially difficult for China’s economy, which has been heavily dependent on the manufacturing and real estate sectors.
What will ‘new productive forces’ look like?
