A group of primary school students enjoy a performance put on by a robotic dog at the AI exploration hall of iFLYTEK Co., Ltd. in Hefei, the capital city of Anhui Province, on August 4, 2024.

China’s new buzzword – new quality productive forces – was born last September when President Xi Jinping mentioned it during a tour in the northeast. Since then, it has spread abroad as well. With high-quality development being the first and foremost task of China’s modernization, new quality productive forces are playing a vital role in creating new growth drivers. 

They represent advanced productivity, feature high technology, high efficiency, and high quality, and are not restricted by the parameters of the traditional growth model. They are driven by revolutionary technological breakthroughs, innovative allocation of production factors, and deep industrial transformation and upgrading. The third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in July gave pointers for improving China’s institutions and mechanisms so that new quality productive forces can be fostered in accordance with local conditions. 

This issue’s Special Report seeks to show how new quality productive forces are bolstering China’s high-quality development. We analyze the concept and its implication for the outside world, and bring you stories of how these forces are upgrading traditional industries, spearheading new technology and development, and creating more opportunities for foreign firms.