To promote high-quality development, prevent "new wine in old bottles"

On January 31, 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out during the eleventh collective study session of the Political Bureau of the 20th Central Committee that factors constraining high-quality development still exist in large numbers, and that some leading cadres hold outdated concepts, claiming to promote high-quality development while in fact practicing "new wine in old bottles." These problems must be taken seriously and effectively resolved.

2024年1月31日，习近平总书记在二十届中央政治局第十一次集体学习时指出，制约高质量发展因素还大量存在，有的领导干部观念陈旧，名曰推动高质量发展、实际上“新瓶装旧酒”。对这些问题，要高度重视，切实解决。

"New wine in old bottles" refers to presenting old content in a new form. General Secretary Xi Jinping used the metaphor of "new wine in old bottles" to describe problems in promoting high-quality development, pointing out that some localities ostensibly introduce new policies, launch new projects, apply new technologies, or develop new models to focus on high-quality development, but in reality continue traditional development methods, habitual thinking patterns, outdated management concepts, and technological means. This not only affects sustainable economic development but also misses opportunities for development.

“新瓶装旧酒”是指用新的形式表现旧的内容。习近平总书记用“新瓶装旧酒”比喻推动高质量发展工作中存在的问题，指出一些地方表面上聚焦高质量发展出台新政策、上马新项目、应用新技术或开发新模式等，实则仍为延续传统发展方式、惯性思维模式、陈旧管理理念和技术手段，不仅会影响经济可持续发展，而且会贻误发展时机。

Entering the new development stage, we implement the new development concept, accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, and have opened up a new situation for high-quality economic development. In terms of development positioning, high-quality development is the primary task of comprehensively building a modern socialist country; in terms of development mode, high-quality economic development means that the economic growth mode will shift from extensive to intensive, paying more attention to innovation as the first driving force; in terms of development goals, it is necessary to achieve development that is of higher quality, more efficient, more equitable, more sustainable, and more secure; in terms of development outcomes, the fruits of reform and development must benefit all people more and more fairly. At present, the key to high-quality development lies in "quality," the focus is on "quantity," and it is grounded in "development," that is, to better coordinate the effective improvement of quality with reasonable growth of quantity. This means that outdated concepts, old methods, and following old paths are bound to be unworkable and unsustainable on the road of high-quality development.

进入新发展阶段，我们贯彻新发展理念，加快构建新发展格局，开创了经济高质量发展的新局面。从发展定位来看，高质量发展是全面建设社会主义现代化国家的首要任务；从发展方式来看，经济高质量发展意味着经济增长方式将由粗放型转向集约型，更加注重创新是第一动力；从发展目标来看，要实现更高质量、更有效率、更加公平、更可持续、更为安全的发展；从发展结果来看，要让改革发展成果更多更公平惠及全体人民。当前，高质量发展关键在“质”，重点在“量”，落脚于“发展”，即要更好统筹推进质的有效提升和量的合理增长。这就意味着，守旧观念、用旧方法、走老路子必然在高质量发展道路上行不通、走不远。

"New wine in old bottles" does not conform to the requirements of Marxist dialectical materialism, nor to the essential characteristics of high-quality development, nor to China's actual development situation. Only by breaking the old and establishing the new, discarding the old and embracing the new, establishing first and then breaking, adapting measures to local conditions, and using "new bottles for new wine" can we truly achieve high-quality development. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, "High-quality development requires new theories of productive forces to guide it; new quality productive forces have already formed in practice and demonstrated strong impetus and support for high-quality development, which requires us to summarize and generalize theoretically to guide new development practice." Developing new quality productive forces is the internal requirement and key focus for promoting high-quality development, just like "new wine" that can be put into new bottles. On the one hand, new quality productive forces are characterized by "high technology, high efficiency, and high quality." Developing new quality productive forces aligns with the goal of promoting the transformation of the development mode and can fundamentally prevent the erroneous tendency of "innovating" for the sake of "innovation." On the other hand, striving to build relations of production that are compatible with the productive forces can better leverage the important role of the contradictory movement between productive forces and relations of production in improving development quality and efficiency.

“新瓶装旧酒”既不符合马克思主义唯物辩证法的要求，也不符合高质量发展的本质特征，更不符合我国的发展实际。只有破旧立新、革故鼎新，先立后破、因地制宜，用“新瓶装新酒”，才能真正实现高质量发展。习近平总书记指出，“高质量发展需要新的生产力理论来指导，而新质生产力已经在实践中形成并展示出对高质量发展的强劲推动力、支撑力，需要我们从理论上进行总结、概括，用以指导新的发展实践”。发展新质生产力是推动高质量发展的内在要求和重要着力点，就如同可以装入新瓶的“新酒”。一方面，新质生产力以“高技术、高效能、高质量”为基本特征，发展新质生产力与推动发展方式转型的目标相契合，能够从根本上防止为了“创新”而“创新”的错误倾向。另一方面，着力构建与生产力相适应的生产关系，能够更好发挥生产力与生产关系的矛盾运动对提升发展质量和效益的重要作用。

At present, further deepening reform comprehensively injects strong endogenous impetus and vitality into high-quality development. To prevent the situation of "filling old wine" in high-quality development, it is also necessary to prevent the emergence of "old wine" through reform. Reform measures may be given new names but their content remains unchanged; if what should be reformed is not changed, then it naturally becomes impossible to form a system and mechanism that guarantees high-quality development. For example, some localities, in the name of strengthening patient capital and cultivating emerging industries, follow the trend and set up large-scale government guidance funds, but in practice it is "the same medicine with a different name"[1]1 "The same medicine with a different name" is a Chinese idiom meaning to change only the form but not the substance.; they fail to fully understand the dual attributes of patient capital, which are both "policy-oriented" and "market-oriented," resulting in waste of fiscal funds and human and material resources. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC specially devoted one chapter to emphasizing the improvement of systems and mechanisms for promoting high-quality economic development, fully demonstrating the determination of the Party Central Committee to remove institutional and mechanism obstacles that constrain high-quality economic development. Currently, reform has entered a critical period. We must actively adapt to changes in the principal contradiction in Chinese society, respond to the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, and deeply understand that economic system reform is the "ox nose"[2]2 "Ox nose" is a Chinese metaphor for the key point or the most important link in a chain of tasks. that guides the comprehensive deepening of reform. At the same time, coordinate other reforms in all aspects; reform what should and can be reformed well and thoroughly, and resolutely not reform what should not and cannot be reformed; continuously improve the ability and capability to promote high-quality development, and bravely take new paths with a spirit of historical initiative.

当前，进一步全面深化改革为推动高质量发展注入强劲内生动力和活力。要防止高质量发展中出现“装旧酒”的情况，也必须从改革上防止“旧酒”出现。改革举措冠以新名但内涵不变，没有把该改的改掉，自然就不能形成保障高质量发展的体制机制。例如，一些地方名曰壮大耐心资本、培育新兴产业，跟风设立大规模政府引导基金，实则“换汤不换药”，对耐心资本兼具“政策导向”和“市场运作”的双重属性认识不到位，造成财政资金和人力物力的浪费。党的二十届三中全会专门列出一章强调健全推动经济高质量发展体制机制，充分彰显了党中央破除掣肘经济高质量发展体制机制障碍的决心。当前改革进入攻坚期，要积极适应我国社会主要矛盾变化、顺应新一轮科技革命和产业变革，深刻认识经济体制改革是牵引进一步全面深化改革的“牛鼻子”。同时，统筹其他各方面改革，该改的、能改的改好、改到位，不该改的、不能改的坚决不改，不断提高推动高质量发展的能力和本领，以历史主动精神勇走新路。

Without examining the situation of the world, it is difficult to handle the affairs of the world. Preventing "new wine in old bottles" requires pursuing fresh thinking, updated methods, and innovative practice. The more we climb slopes and cross hurdles, tackle difficulties and overcome obstacles, the more we must respect development laws, master scientific methods, and improve work initiative. We must proceed from reality, accurately recognize changes, respond scientifically, take the initiative to change, courageously eliminate "old forms" and "old content" that are unsuitable for high-quality development, creatively present new content in new forms, make steady progress, work in a down-to-earth manner, let "new bottles be filled with new wine," and continuously create new prospects for promoting high-quality development.

不审天下之势，难应天下之务。防止“新瓶装旧酒”，要追求思维常新、方法革新、实践创新，越是爬坡过坎、攻坚克难，越要尊重发展规律、掌握科学方法、提高工作主动。要从实际出发，准确识变、科学应变、主动求变，勇于破除不适应高质量发展的“旧形式”“旧内容”，创造性地用新的形式呈现新的内容，稳扎稳打、干在实处，让“新瓶装上新酒”，不断开创推动高质量发展工作新局面。

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧