"Tailored Development": He Lifeng Outlines China's Strategy for "New Quality Productive Forces" as a Pillar of the 15th Five-Year Plan

He Lifeng, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Vice Premier of the State Council, published a significant article in the People's Daily titled "Developing New Quality Productive Forces Based on Local Conditions" (因地制宜发展新质生产力). This piece serves as a key strategic deployment following the adoption of the "CPC Central Committee's Recommendations for the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development" at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee.

Part I: The Strategic Significance of New Quality Productive Forces (NQPF)

The article asserts that General Secretary Xi Jinping's important discourses on developing the NQPF reflect a profound understanding of the general laws of productive force development and the phased characteristics of China's current development. These insights innovate and advance Marxist productive force theory, enriching Xi Jinping's Economic Thought and providing scientific guidance for high-quality development and Chinese modernization. He Lifeng emphasizes that the 15th Five-Year Plan period is crucial for consolidating the foundation of socialist modernization, making the area-specific development of NQPF profoundly significant both theoretically and practically.

1. Historical Logic: NQPF represents the most active, technologically advanced, and broadly influential component of productive forces, marking the direction of their evolution. Historically, from the mechanization of the 18th century to the electrification of the mid-19th century and the information age of the 1960s, each new wave of productive forces introduced new general-purpose technologies that dramatically boosted overall societal productivity. Since the reform and opening-up, particularly since the 18th CPC National Congress, China has successfully leveraged the development of NQPF to catch up with the times.

2. Theoretical Logic (Socialist Advantage): Developing NQPF is considered a centralized embodiment of the socialist system's advantages, which overcomes the contradiction between large-scale socialized production and private ownership inherent in capitalism. By implementing the Innovation-Driven Development Strategy, China has made significant technological strides. In 2024, the added value of new industries and business models accounted for 18% of China's GDP, showcasing world-leading R&D and manufacturing capabilities in areas like New Energy Vehicles (NEVs), 5G mobile communications, and clean energy. This necessitates deepening comprehensive reform to form production relations more compatible with the NQPF.

3. Practical Logic (Global Competition): Developing NQPF is an inherent requirement for promoting high-quality development and securing strategic initiative in great power competition. The core of this competition lies in productive forces. China must proactively accelerate the formation of more landmark, original, and disruptive technological and industrial innovations to gain a strategic advantage. The article clarifies that NQPF is defined not merely by sector but by the dominant role of innovation and the introduction of entirely new factor combinations, covering traditional sectors like agriculture, industry, and services through technological empowerment.

Part II: Key Strategic Tasks and Measures

The 15th Five-Year Plan and beyond require a robust set of actions:

1. Strengthen Technology Innovation as the Core Driver: By:

   • Enhancing Basic Research and Original Innovation: Increasing investment and achieving more "from 0 to 1" breakthroughs.

   • Tackling Key Core Technologies: Improving the new national system for pooling resources to make decisive breakthroughs in priority areas.

   • Promoting Deep Integration of Tech and Industry: Accelerating the efficient commercialization of major scientific achievements and concentrating innovation resources in enterprises.

2. Advance Industrial Structure Optimization and Upgrading: This is the main pathway for developing NQPF, including:

   • Upgrading Traditional Industries: Accelerating the application of digital, intelligent, and green technologies.

   • Fostering Emerging Industries: Implementing industrial innovation projects and the "AI Plus" Action to empower various sectors.

   • Forward-looking Planning for Future Industries: Establishing investment growth and risk-sharing mechanisms for prospective industries.

   • Promoting High-Quality Service Sector Development: Expanding high-quality services and their integration with advanced manufacturing and modern agriculture.

3. Promote Comprehensive Green Transformation: NQPF is inherently Green Productive Force. This involves:

   • Accelerating the formation of green production and lifestyles and building efficient, eco-friendly industrial clusters.

   • Expediting the construction of a new energy system: Increasing the share of clean energy and safely and orderly replacing fossil fuels.

   • Actively and prudently promoting Carbon Peaking: Expanding the coverage of the national carbon emission trading market.

4. Build a Strong Domestic Market: Leveraging China’s huge market advantage to create application scenarios and support innovation. This includes:

   • Boosting Consumption: Vigorously developing new consumption types like digital consumption and expanding service consumption.

   • Expanding Effective Investment: Guiding capital towards new infrastructure and supporting corporate equipment renewal and technological transformation.

   • Enhancing Macroeconomic Governance: Strengthening policy coordination (fiscal and monetary) to foster demand-driven, endogenous growth.

5. Achieve Common Prosperity and All-Round Human Development: The ultimate goal is to meet the people’s aspirations. Investment in People is vital:

   • Cultivating High-Quality Laborers: Training strategic scientists, leading tech talent, and skilled craftsmen.

   • Promoting High-Quality Population Development: Focusing on the "elderly and children" and building a life-cycle population service system.

   • Reducing Income Disparity: Increasing the share of labor compensation in primary distribution to form an olive-shaped distribution structure.

6. Accelerate the Formation of More Compatible Production Relations (Institutional Guarantee): By:

   • Integrating Education, Science, and Talent Development: Enhancing coordination in planning and resource allocation.

   • Improving Factor Market Allocation Mechanisms: Activating production factors like labor, capital, data, and technology, and building an integrated data market.

   • Deepening Fiscal and Financial System Reform: Developing tech finance and strengthening capital market functions to guide funds toward innovation and the real economy.

Part III: Fundamental Requirements for Area-Specific Development

Developing NQPF is a long-term, systemic task requiring an "all-hands-on-deck" approach and localized implementation:

1. Adhere to the "National Chessboard" (全国一盘棋): Strengthen central planning to coordinate major productive force layouts, preventing duplicate construction and firmly opposing "involutionary competition" to enhance overall efficiency across the unified national market.

2. Leverage Regional Comparative Advantages: Provinces must identify their functional roles based on resources and industrial foundations.

   • Tech-rich regions: Should focus on cultivating new industries and seizing the global innovation high ground.

   • Regions with strong traditional manufacturing: Must accelerate digital and green transformation and strive to move up the value chain.

   • Resource-rich regions: Should develop new resource utilization models for triple gains (economic, environmental, and social).

   • Enhance industrial collaboration within and between city clusters.

3. Implement Sector-Specific Policies: Policies must be tailored to the varying stages, technology cycles, and market conditions of different industries, using New Demand to guide New Supply.

4. Strengthen the Role of Enterprises: Enterprises are the main force. State-Owned Central Enterprises must shoulder the responsibility of the "national team" in strategic development, while private enterprises must be vigorously supported to become globally competitive innovators.

5. Expand High-Level Opening-Up: Leveraging the domestic and international markets and resources to enhance the global allocation of innovation factors. The commitment to mutual benefit and win-win outcomes ensures that China shares its NQPF opportunities with other nations for shared global prosperity.