Advancing Chinese-Path Modernization through Building a Quality Powerhouse

General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out the need to “accelerate the building of a manufacturing powerhouse, a quality powerhouse, a space powerhouse, a transportation powerhouse, a cyber powerhouse, and a digital China.” In February 2023, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the *Outline for Building a Quality Powerhouse* (hereinafter referred to as the *Outline*). This is an overall plan, based on the objective requirements of comprehensively building a modern socialist country, to promote the construction of a quality powerhouse in all respects, formulated by the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. It is a key move to implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC and achieve high-quality development, providing the fundamental guidance and strategic direction for China to advance Chinese-path modernization through building a quality powerhouse.

习近平总书记指出，要“加快建设制造强国、质量强国、航天强国、交通强国、网络强国、数字中国”。2023年2月，中共中央、国务院印发了《质量强国建设纲要》（以下简称《纲要》），这是以习近平同志为核心的党中央基于全面建设社会主义现代化国家的客观要求，全方位推动质量强国建设的总体部署，是贯彻落实党的二十大精神、实现高质量发展的关键之举，为我国以质量强国建设推进中国式现代化提供了基本遵循和战略指引。

1. Building a Quality Powerhouse Lays a Solid Foundation for Chinese-Path Modernization

1.质量强国建设为中国式现代化奠定良好基础

Building a quality powerhouse is a major strategic decision made based on the new historical juncture of China’s development. In the process of accelerating the construction of a quality powerhouse, achieving industrial innovation and industrial transformation and upgrading, promoting the formation of a modern industrial system, and realizing high-quality development can lay a solid development foundation for Chinese-path modernization.

质量强国建设是立足我国发展新的历史方位作出的重大战略决策，在加快建设质量强国的过程中，实现产业创新和产业转型升级，推动形成现代化产业体系，实现高质量发展，能够为中国式现代化奠定良好发展基础。

Promoting high-quality development is an essential requirement for realizing Chinese-path modernization. Accelerating the construction of a quality powerhouse and improving the level and competitiveness of China’s quality development is a strategic choice to promote and realize high-quality development. General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized the importance of promoting high-quality development, stressing that “we must better coordinate the effective improvement of quality and the reasonable growth of quantity, always adhere to quality first and efficiency priority, vigorously enhance quality awareness, regard quality as life, and pursue high quality.” [1]1 Xi Jinping’s emphasis on “quality first, efficiency priority” and “regarding quality as life” reflects the core principle of China’s high-quality development strategy, often reiterated in official documents and speeches since the 19th National Congress of the CPC in 2017. This shows that quality is the foundation of an industry and the strategy for a strong nation, and is a key element and necessary condition for China to achieve high-quality development. The quality issue is both a livelihood issue and a development issue, concerning the vital interests of the people and the overall situation of economic and social development. We must firmly grasp the core link of building a quality powerhouse, promote high-quality development, and thereby consolidate the quality foundation of Chinese-path modernization.

推动高质量发展是实现中国式现代化的本质要求。加快建设质量强国，提高我国质量发展水平和竞争力，是推动实现高质量发展的战略选择。习近平总书记多次提到推动高质量发展的重要性，强调“必须更好统筹质的有效提升和量的合理增长，始终坚持质量第一、效益优先，大力增强质量意识，视质量为生命，以高质量为追求”。由此可见，质量是立业之本、强国之策，是我国实现高质量发展的关键要素和必要条件。质量问题既是民生问题又是发展问题，关系人民群众切身利益，关乎经济社会发展全局。必须牢牢抓住质量强国建设这一核心环节，推动实现高质量发展，并以此筑牢中国式现代化的质量根基。

Adhering to the people-centered development philosophy is a major principle that must be firmly grasped in advancing and realizing Chinese-path modernization. Building a quality powerhouse takes meeting the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life as its starting point and ultimate goal, embodying the people-centered development philosophy. On the path of Chinese-path modernization, continuously improving the quality of products and services most directly concerning the people, such as education, medical care, and housing, and promoting high-quality development, can enable the fruits of modernization to benefit all the people more and in a fairer way. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Quality is an important guarantee for human production and life. In the course of human social development, every change and innovation in the quality field has promoted progress in production technology and improved the quality of people’s lives.” [2]2 This quotation is from Xi Jinping’s speech at the opening ceremony of the China Quality (Beijing) Conference in September 2019, highlighting the historical and contemporary significance of quality in human development. China’s quality cause is not only related to economic and social development but also closely linked to the people’s daily necessities, food, clothing, housing, and transportation. The *Outline* focuses on people’s wellbeing, taking “accelerating the upgrading of product quality” and “increasing the supply of high-quality services” as key areas for building a quality powerhouse at the current stage, effectively solving the product and service quality issues that concern the people, strengthening quality development to benefit the people, which is completely consistent with the people-centered development philosophy of Chinese-path modernization.

坚持以人民为中心的发展思想是推进和实现中国式现代化必须牢牢把握的重大原则。质量强国建设以满足人民日益增长的美好生活需要为出发点和落脚点，体现了以人民为中心的发展思想。在中国式现代化道路上，不断提升教育、医疗、住房等人民最关心最直接的产品和服务质量，促进高质量发展，能够让现代化建设成果更多更公平惠及全体人民。习近平总书记指出：“质量是人类生产生活的重要保障。人类社会发展历程中，每一次质量领域变革创新都促进了生产技术进步、增进了人民生活品质。”我国的质量事业既关系经济社会发展，又与人民群众的衣食住行息息相关。《纲要》聚焦民生福祉，将“加快产品质量提档升级”“增加优质服务供给”作为现阶段质量强国建设的重点领域，切实解决人民群众关心的产品、服务质量问题，强化质量发展利民惠民，与中国式现代化坚持以人民为中心的发展思想是完全一致的。

2. Building a Quality Powerhouse to Advance Chinese-Path Modernization Faces New Situations and New Tasks

2.以质量强国建设推进中国式现代化面临新形势新任务

Under the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, our Party deeply understands and grasps the new situations and new tasks facing quality work, promotes quality transformation through efficiency transformation and driving force transformation, and integrates the construction of a quality powerhouse into all aspects, links, and the entire process of the practice of Chinese-path modernization. Since the New Era, the cause of the Party and the state has achieved historic accomplishments and undergone historic transformations. The contribution of quality construction to advancing Chinese-path modernization has become increasingly prominent, and the people’s sense of quality gain has been significantly enhanced. Overall, the quality competitiveness of China’s industries and regions has continued to improve, quality management and brand development capabilities have been significantly enhanced, the overall level of product, engineering, and service quality has steadily improved, and the quality of a number of major technical equipment, major projects, important consumer goods, and high-tech products in emerging fields has reached the international advanced level, with remarkable results in industrial quality improvement and efficiency enhancement.

在习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的科学指引下，我们党深刻认识和把握质量工作面临的新形势新任务，以效率变革、动力变革促进质量变革，将质量强国建设贯穿中国式现代化实践的各方面各环节全过程。新时代以来，党和国家事业取得历史性成就、发生历史性变革，质量建设对推进中国式现代化的贡献日益凸显，人民群众的质量获得感显著增强。总体看，我国的产业和区域质量竞争力持续提升，质量管理和品牌发展能力明显增强，产品、工程、服务质量总体水平稳步提升，一批重大技术装备、重大工程、重要消费品、新兴领域高技术产品的质量达到国际先进水平，产业提质增效成果显著。

In advancing Chinese-path modernization through building a quality powerhouse, China has the advantages of both the socialist market economy and the ultra-large-scale market. Under the socialist market economy system, fully leveraging the decisive role of the market in resource allocation and better playing the role of the government can effectively allocate resources from the perspective of the overall and long-term interests of society, continuously advancing Chinese-path modernization on the basis of doing a good job in quality work. In the ultra-large-scale market, diversified and personalized market demands provide rich application scenarios for various quality innovations and transformations, which can stimulate enterprises to increase investment in quality technology innovation, accelerate variety development and quality upgrading through the large-scale application and iterative upgrading of new technologies, new materials, and new processes.

以质量强国建设推进中国式现代化，我国具有社会主义市场经济和超大规模市场两方面的优势。在社会主义市场经济体制下，充分发挥市场在资源配置中的决定性作用，更好发挥政府作用，能够从社会整体和长远利益出发有效配置资源，在抓好质量工作的基础上不断推进中国式现代化。在超大规模市场中，多样化、个性化的市场需求为各类质量创新和变革提供了丰富应用场景，能够激发企业加大质量技术创新投入，通过新技术、新材料、新工艺的大规模应用和迭代升级，加速品种开发和品质升级。

At the same time, China also faces new environments and challenges in the process of advancing Chinese-path modernization through building a quality powerhouse. Domestically, with the intensification of the aging population trend, China’s traditional development model of relying on the demographic dividend to achieve rapid economic growth is unsustainable. It is urgent to shape a talent dividend, drive innovation with talent, accelerate the conversion of old and new growth drivers, and thereby improve the quality and efficiency of economic development. At the same time, with the continuous improvement of residents’ income and living standards, the consumption structure is continuously optimized and upgraded, showing trends of personalization, diversification, and quality. However, a supply system that matches the potential of domestic demand has not yet been fully formed, with problems such as insufficient supply of mid-to-high-end products, few internationally renowned brands, and a low level of industrial chain modernization. In addition, the problem of unbalanced regional development quality still exists in China, with the pace of structural adjustment in the eastern region faster than that in the western region, and the quality and efficiency of development better than in the west. Internationally, global technological innovation has entered an unprecedentedly intensive and active period, a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is accelerating, and international competition is becoming increasingly fierce. Accelerating the modernization transformation of the industrial system is the key for China to grasp the initiative in future development and is also a strategic decision for China to build long-term competitive advantages. However, China’s industrial chain is still generally in the low-to-mid end of the international division of labor system, the quality support of the industrial foundation is relatively weak, and brand reputation needs to be improved. In addition, facing the global challenge of climate change, countries around the world have successively proposed carbon neutrality goals, accelerating energy conservation and carbon reduction work. Compared with developed countries, China is still in the stage of industrial development, and achieving the carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals is tight in time, heavy in task, and difficult. It is necessary to grasp key areas and critical links, and through the synergistic role of quality infrastructure such as metrology, standards, certification and accreditation, and inspection and testing, provide technical support for the “dual carbon” work [3]3 “Dual carbon” work refers to China’s goals of achieving a carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, as announced by Xi Jinping at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2020. in various industries in China.

与此同时，我国在以质量强国建设推进中国式现代化的过程中也面临新的环境和挑战。从国内看，随着人口老龄化趋势加剧，我国传统的依靠人口红利实现经济高速增长的发展模式难以为继，亟须塑造人才红利，以人才驱动创新，加快新旧动能转换，进而提高经济发展的质量效益。同时，随着居民收入和生活水平不断提高，消费结构持续优化升级，呈现个性化、多元化、品质化趋势，而与国内需求潜力相适配的供给体系尚未完全形成，存在中高端产品供给不足、国际知名品牌不多、产业链现代化水平不高等问题。此外，我国的区域发展质量不平衡的问题依旧存在，东部地区结构调整步伐快于西部，发展质量和效益优于西部。从国际看，全球科技创新进入空前密集活跃的时期，新一轮科技革命和产业变革加速推进，国际竞争日益激烈。加快实现产业体系的现代化转型，是我国把握未来发展主动权的关键，也是我国构筑长期竞争优势的战略决策。然而，我国产业链整体上仍处于国际分工体系中低端，产业基础质量支撑比较薄弱，品牌美誉度有待提升。此外，面对气候变化的全球性挑战，世界各国相继提出碳中和目标，加快推进节能降碳工作。与发达国家相比，我国尚处于工业化发展阶段，实现碳达峰碳中和时间紧、任务重、难度大，必须抓住重点领域和关键环节，通过计量、标准、认证认可、检验检测等质量基础设施的协同作用，为我国各行业“双碳”工作提供技术支撑。

3. Practical Paths for Advancing Chinese-Path Modernization through Building a Quality Powerhouse

3.以质量强国建设推进中国式现代化的实践路径

Facing multiple challenges, to accelerate the process of advancing Chinese-path modernization through building a quality powerhouse, we should focus on the following aspects, making overall plans and implementing precise policies.

面对多重挑战，加快以质量强国建设推进中国式现代化的进程，应着重从以下方面入手，统筹谋划，精准施策。

First, release the innovation momentum of quality development, cultivate new quality productive forces, and inject new impetus into Chinese-path modernization. To maximize the vitality and potential of quality innovation, basic innovation and applied development in the quality field should be promoted synergistically. On the one hand, strengthen original basic research in the quality field “from 0 to 1,” focusing on key strategic areas such as high-end manufacturing, new materials, information technology, and biomedicine, strengthen the research and development and quality improvement of important components, key core technologies, and major equipment, and consolidate the technical support for new quality productive forces; on the other hand, accelerate the transformation and implementation of quality innovation achievements “from 1 to N,” comprehensively build a quality innovation system integrating government, industry, academia, research, and application, form an open innovation ecosystem with deep integration of innovation chain, industrial chain, capital chain, and talent chain, optimize the effective allocation of innovation elements such as talent, technology, capital, and data through market demand, help accelerate the transformation of scientific and technological innovation achievements into new quality productive forces, thereby promoting the construction of a modern industrial system and laying a solid material foundation for Chinese-path modernization.

一是释放质量发展创新动能，培育新质生产力，为中国式现代化注入新动力。为最大限度激发质量创新的活力和潜能，应协同推进质量领域的基础创新与应用开发。一方面，加强“从0到1”的质量领域原创性基础研究，聚焦高端制造、新材料、信息技术、生物医药等重点战略领域，加强重要零部件、关键核心技术、重大设备研发和质量攻关，夯实新质生产力的技术支撑；另一方面，加快“从1到N”的质量创新成果转化落地，全面构建政产学研用多元融合的质量创新体系，形成创新链、产业链、资金链、人才链深度融合的开放创新生态，通过市场需求优化人才、技术、资本、数据等创新要素有效配置，助力科技创新成果加速转化为新质生产力，进而推动构建现代化产业体系，为中国式现代化奠定强大物质基础。

Second, promote the modernization of quality governance, do a good job of top-level design, and provide a fundamental guarantee for Chinese-path modernization. As an important part of the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, the modernization of quality governance is a basic prerequisite for building a quality powerhouse and is also a key factor and necessary condition for realizing Chinese-path modernization. To comprehensively promote the modernization of quality governance, we should accelerate the revision and formulation of laws and regulations in areas such as product safety, product liability, and quality infrastructure, and severely crack down on quality-related illegal and irregular acts through measures such as the punitive damages system in civil public interest litigation and the linkage between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice. Within the framework of laws and regulations, innovate quality supervision tools, combine digital and intelligent technologies to build a quality supervision cloud platform and big data, and promote the digital, networked, and intelligent upgrading of quality governance. In addition, fully leverage the role of multiple entities in the modernization of quality governance, and build a pattern of quality co-governance featuring market entity self-discipline, industry self-regulation, social supervision, and government regulation.

二是推动质量治理现代化，做好顶层设计，为中国式现代化提供根本保障。作为国家治理体系和治理能力现代化的重要一环，质量治理现代化是质量强国建设的基本前提，也是实现中国式现代化的关键因素和必要条件。为全面推动质量治理现代化，应加快产品安全、产品责任、质量基础设施等领域法律法规制修订，通过民事公益诉讼惩罚性赔偿制度、行政执法与刑事司法衔接等措施，严厉打击质量违法违规行为。在法律法规框架下创新质量监管工具，结合数智技术搭建质量监管云平台和大数据，推动质量治理的数字化、网络化、智能化升级。此外，充分发挥多元主体在质量治理现代化中的作用，构建市场主体自治、行业自律、社会监督、政府监管的质量共治格局。

Third, form a pattern of coordinated regional quality development to promote complementary advantages. Based on quality policies, adhere to adapting measures to local conditions and guiding according to circumstances, promote the adaptation of regional quality development to regional characteristics such as distinctive natural resources, industrial foundations, cultural traditions, and locational advantages, establish and improve regional quality cooperation and mutual assistance mechanisms, and achieve industrial quality upgrading and efficiency improvement in each region. In addition, under the guidance of the government, leverage the role of enterprises as market entities, explore and improve the regional brand co-building model involving the participation of multiple entities such as enterprises, governments, industrial alliances, and industry associations, strengthen coordination in aspects such as quality standards, trademark logos, and certification and accreditation, and establish and improve regional brand quality standards, certification, and traceability systems, thereby creating distinctive regional brand images and promoting coordinated regional quality development.

三是形成区域质量协同发展格局，促进优势互补。立足质量政策，坚持因地制宜、因势利导，促进区域质量发展与特色自然资源、产业基础、文化传统和区位优势等区域特征相适应，建立健全区域质量合作互助机制，实现各区域产业质量升级和效益提升。此外，应在政府引导下，发挥企业市场主体作用，探索完善企业、政府、产业联盟、行业协会等多元主体参与的区域品牌共建模式，在质量标准、商标标识、认证认可等方面加强协调，建立健全区域品牌质量标准、认证和追溯体系，从而打造各具特色的区域品牌形象，推进区域质量协调发展。

Fourth, strengthen quality development to benefit and enrich the people, adhere to a people-centered approach, and highlight the livelihood-oriented foundation of Chinese-path modernization. To effectively translate the achievements of quality development into improvements in the quality and level of people's lives, we should focus on improving product and service quality, promote high-quality development of new types of consumption through quality improvement and capacity expansion, and better meet the people's constantly upgrading and iterating consumer demands. On the one hand, focusing on product and service areas of public concern such as food, medicine, elderly care, and education, establish and improve quality grading standard rules, vigorously promote the quality grading of products and services, establish a number of product and service quality benchmarks in key industries and fields, cultivate a number of high-quality product and service brands, and thereby drive regions, industries, and enterprises to carry out benchmarking and improvement actions; on the other hand, promote the integrated application of new-generation information technology with various consumption fields, while accelerating the digital transformation of traditional consumption, promote innovation in new business forms and models, create new intelligent and immersive consumption scenarios and experiences, improve the precision of matching supply and demand information through digital and intelligent technologies, and fully unleash the potential of new types of consumption.

四是强化质量发展利民惠民，坚持以人为本，凸显中国式现代化的民生底色。为推动质量发展成果切实转化为人民生活品质和水平的提升，应聚焦产品和服务质量提升，通过提质扩容促进新型消费高质量发展，更好满足人民群众不断升级和迭代的消费需求。一方面，着眼于食品、药品、养老、教育等民众关切的产品和服务领域，建立健全质量分级标准规则，大力推进产品、服务的质量分级工作，在各重点行业领域树立一批产品和服务优质标杆，培育一批产品和服务品牌精品，进而带动区域、行业、企业开展对标提升行动；另一方面，推动新一代信息技术与各类消费领域融合应用，在加快传统消费数字化转型的同时，推动新业态新模式创新，打造智能化沉浸式消费新场景新体验，通过数智技术提高供需信息匹配精准度，充分释放新型消费潜力。

Fifth, revolve around the green orientation of quality development, assist in reducing pollution and carbon emissions, and realize a Chinese-path modernization featuring harmony between humanity and nature. Promoting green development is a systematic project; the changes in green development concepts, mechanisms, and practices should be run through all links of the industrial chain and supply chain, starting from both the supply side and the demand side, to build a green and low-carbon quality development framework covering the whole process, all elements, and all scenarios. At the supply level, focusing on key industries and products such as steel, petrochemicals and chemicals, non-ferrous metals, and building materials, build a unified green product standard, certification, and labeling system, accelerate the construction of a carbon peak and carbon neutrality standard measurement system, use digital technologies such as big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things to accelerate the sharing and exchange of green emission reduction data among enterprises, industries, and regions, and fully leverage the key role of quality infrastructure in industrial energy conservation, carbon reduction, and upgrading. At the demand level, fully leverage the positive effect of low-carbon consumption behavior in driving supply-side carbon reduction and emission reduction, establish and improve quantitative standards for carbon emission reduction on the consumption side, promote carbon inclusion mechanisms and platforms, thereby promoting the whole people to practice green and low-carbon actions and form a new civilized trend of green and low-carbon living.

五是围绕质量发展绿色导向，助力减污降碳，实现人与自然和谐共生的中国式现代化。推动绿色发展是一项系统工程，应将绿色发展理念、机制、实践的变革贯穿产业链供应链上下游的各个环节，从供给侧和需求侧入手，搭建全过程、全要素、全场景的绿色低碳质量发展框架。在供给层面，应围绕钢铁、石化化工、有色金属、建材等重点行业和产品，建设统一的绿色产品标准、认证与标识体系，加快构建碳达峰碳中和标准计量体系，借助大数据、云计算、人工智能、物联网等数字技术加速企业、产业、区域绿色减排数据的互通共享，充分发挥质量基础设施在产业节能降碳升级中的关键作用。在需求层面，应充分发挥低碳消费行为推动供给端降碳减排的积极效应，建立健全消费端碳减排量化标准，推广碳普惠机制和平台，从而促进全民践行绿色低碳行动，形成绿色低碳新文明风尚。

Online editor: Paul

网络编辑：保罗