Correctly Grasping the Connotation and Practical Pathways of New Quality Productive Forces

New quality productive forces have taken shape in China’s modernization practice and have demonstrated a powerful driving and supporting force for high-quality development. This requires us to summarize and conceptualize them theoretically, so as to guide new development practice. We must deeply understand new quality productive forces and construct a new theory of productive forces that conforms to the new development philosophy, thereby fulfilling the primary task of high-quality development.

新质生产力在我国现代化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。我们要深刻理解新质生产力，构建符合新发展理念的新的生产力理论，从而实现高质量发展这一首要任务。

Production, productive capacity, and productive forces

生产、生产能力和生产力

Marx pointed out in the *Introduction to a Critique of Political Economy*: “The object before us, to begin with, is material production.” [1]1 Karl Marx, *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, “Introduction,” in *Marx-Engels Collected Works*, vol. 28 (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1986), p. 17. The development of human society is first and foremost the development of production. The entire production process includes several basic links: production, consumption, distribution, and exchange, which together form a closed-loop system of production. Within this closed-loop system, production is decisive. As the foundation of human social existence, production first of all requires labor.

马克思在《政治经济学批判〈导言〉》中指出：“摆在面前的对象，首先是物质生产。”人类社会的发展首先就是生产的发展。整个生产过程，包括生产、消费、分配、交换这样几个基本的环节，这也成为生产的闭环系统。在这个闭环系统中，生产是决定性的。生产作为人类社会存在的基础，首先需要的就是劳动。

Labor is the first activity through which human beings achieve survival. It initially uses human beings’ own activities to regulate and control the material transformation process between humans and nature. This autonomous human labor process is the production process. According to Marx, this process requires a series of elements to be completed together, namely the simple elements of the labor process: purposeful activity, or labor itself, the subject of labor, and the instruments of labor. [2]2 Karl Marx, *Capital*, vol. 1, in *Marx-Engels Collected Works*, vol. 35 (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1996), p. 188. Of course, besides these three elements, population, cooperation and division of labor, means of transportation, science and technology, and so forth also belong to the elements of the process. Or, as Marx said, “It is not what is made but how, and with what instruments of labor, that distinguishes different economic epochs.” [3]3 Marx, *Capital*, vol. 1, p. 188. The instruments of labor are not only the measure of the development of human labor power, but also the indicator of the social relations under which labor is carried out. The process by which laborers use the instruments of labor to process the subject of labor is the embodiment of productive capacity.

劳动是人类实现生存的第一个活动，它首先以人自身的活动来调整、控制人和自然界之间的物质变换的过程。这个人类自主的劳动过程就是生产过程。按照马克思的说法，这个过程需要一系列的要素来共同完成，即劳动过程的简单要素：有目的的活动或劳动本身、劳动对象和劳动资料。当然，除了这三个要素之外，人口、协作和分工、交通运输工具、科学技术等，也都属于过程的要素。或如马克思所说，各种经济时代的区别，不在于生产什么，而在于怎样生产、用什么劳动资料生产。劳动资料不仅是人类劳动力发展的测量器，而且是劳动借以进行的社会关系的指示器。劳动者运用劳动资料对劳动对象进行加工的过程，就是生产能力的体现。

In a letter to Pavel Vasilyevich Annenkov on December 28, 1846, Marx wrote: “Men are not free to choose their productive forces — which are the basis of all their history — for every productive force is an acquired force, the product of former activity. Thus productive forces are the result of man’s practical energy, but this energy is itself conditioned by the circumstances in which men find themselves, by the productive forces already acquired, by the social forms which exist before they are created, which are not the product of this generation but of the preceding one.” [4]4 Karl Marx, “Letter to P. V. Annenkov, December 28, 1846,” in *Marx-Engels Collected Works*, vol. 38 (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1982), p. 96. In the *Grundrisse* (1857–1858), Marx stated even more clearly that productive forces are “all the progress of civilization, or in other words, all the growth of the social productive forces, or, what amounts to the same thing, all the growth of the productive forces of labor itself, such as the results of science, inventions, the division and combination of labor, the improvement of means of communication, the opening up of the world market, machinery, etc.” [5]5 Karl Marx, *Grundrisse*, in *Marx-Engels Collected Works*, vol. 29 (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1987), p. 92. This important assertion indicates that productive forces are the result of laborers using various instruments of labor to process the subject of labor; they are an acquired force. That is to say, they are all the wealth obtained by the productive capacity of the whole society, whether this wealth is manifested in the form of products or in the form of scientific and technological achievements.

马克思在1846年12月28日给帕维尔•瓦西里耶维奇•安年科夫的信中又写道：“人们不能自由选择自己的生产力——这是他们的全部历史的基础，因为任何生产力都是一种既得的力量，是以往的活动的产物。可见，生产力是人们应用能力的结果，但是这种能力本身决定于人们所处的条件，决定于先前已经获得的生产力，决定于在他们以前已经存在、不是由他们创立而是由前一代人创立的社会形式。”在《1857—1858年经济学手稿》中，马克思更为明确地指出，生产力就是“文明的一切进步，或者换句话说，社会生产力的一切增长，也可以说劳动本身的生产力的一切增长，如科学、发明、劳动的分工和结合、交通工具的改善、世界市场的开辟、机器等等所产生的结果”。这一重要的论断表明，生产力是劳动者运用各种劳动资料对劳动对象进行加工的结果，是既得的力量。也就是说，是全社会生产能力获得的全部财富，无论这种财富是以产品的形式还是以科学技术成果为表现。

Scientific and technological innovation is the core element for developing new quality productive forces

科技创新是发展新质生产力的核心要素

General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “Scientific and technological innovation can give rise to new industries, new models, and new drivers of growth; it is the core element for developing new quality productive forces.” [6]6 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the 20th Collective Study Session of the Politburo of the 20th CPC Central Committee,” January 31, 2024. Marx once said that productive forces are, of course, always the productive forces of useful, concrete labor; they in fact determine only the efficiency of purposeful productive activity within a given period of time. [7]7 Marx, *Capital*, vol. 1, p. 53.

习近平总书记指出：“科技创新能够催生新产业、新模式、新动能，是发展新质生产力的核心要素。”马克思曾经说到，生产力当然始终是有用的、具体的劳动的生产力，它事实上只决定有目的的生产活动在一定时间内的效率。

The history of the development of productive forces in human society shows that the development and application of science and technology have played a crucial role in promoting the improvement of production process efficiency. The first scientific and technological revolution and its accompanying industrial revolution rapidly established the system of machinery, greatly changed the mode of production, increased labor productivity, and achieved the first qualitative leap in the production process. At the same time, it brought about drastic changes in relations of production, forming the capitalist relations of production in which capital employs wage labor. In the latter half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, the second and third scientific and technological revolutions, and the industrial revolutions that followed, further advanced the production process, whose main content was the system of machinery, to electrification and automation. The third scientific and technological revolution, which began in the 1940s, with the application of atomic energy, electronic computers, and space technology, not only changed the power system of production but, more importantly, greatly enhanced humanity’s ability to process information. It also achieved large-scale storage and high-speed transmission of information, making artificial intelligence the core of production and daily life, thereby accelerating the transmission and processing of information, closely integrating the intermediate links of production, and increasing labor productivity. As the third scientific and technological revolution developed in depth, the fourth new scientific and technological revolution and industrial revolution brought new breakthroughs in the field of information technology. With the integration of information technology and traditional industries, the level of intelligence in the production process has continuously increased. Scientific and technological development has become a truly independent “production sector,” enabling human society to gradually transition to the information age and progressively realize informatization and networking.

人类社会生产力发展的历程表明，在促进生产过程效率提升的过程中，科学技术的发展和应用起到了至关重要的作用。第一次科技革命及其产业革命，迅速建立起机器体系，极大地改变了生产方式，提高了劳动生产率，实现了生产过程的第一次质的提升，同时带来了生产关系的剧烈变化，形成了资本雇佣劳动的资本主义生产关系。在19世纪后半叶和20世纪前半叶，先后发生的第二次科技革命和第三次科技革命以及由此发生的产业革命，是机器体系为主要内容的生产过程进一步达到了电气化和自动化。始于20世纪40年代的第三次科技革命，随着原子能、电子计算机和空间技术的应用，不仅使得生产的动力系统发生了变化，更重要的是使人类处理信息的能力大大增强，而且实现了信息的大规模存储、高速传输，人工智能成为生产和生活中的核心，从而加速了信息的传递、处理，将生产的中间环节紧密地结合在一起，提高了劳动生产率。随着第三次科技革命向纵深发展，第四次新科技革命和产业革命带来了信息技术领域的新突破。随着信息技术与传统产业的融合，生产过程的智能化水平不断增强。科技开发成为真正独立的“生产部门”，使人类社会逐渐过渡到信息时代，逐步实现信息化、网络化。

The modern scientific and technological revolution has changed the connotation of the production process, directly manifested in changes to the constituent elements of the labor process. The modern scientific and technological revolution has also changed the connotation of the structure of productive forces; changes in the structure of productive forces are directly manifested in changes to the constituent elements of productive forces. The development of science and technology has strengthened the trend of the labor force structure evolving towards non-physical, intelligent forms. In developed countries, the growth in the number of mental laborers, such as scientific researchers and engineering technicians, has far exceeded that of laborers primarily engaged in physical labor. Modern instruments of production are increasingly infused with scientific and technological factors, transforming from mechanization towards intelligence and automation. The machine system, traditionally composed of the working machine, the motive machine, and the transmission mechanism, has been augmented with the control machine, causing a great transformation in the instruments of production and a rapid rise in labor productivity. Clearly, the modern scientific revolution and the modern technological revolution are profoundly changing the face of human society, greatly enriching and enhancing humanity’s material civilization and cultural-ethical progress, and promoting the development of the entire society. Marx pointed out: “Science, which is an independent force opposed to labor and serving capital, generally falls under the category of the conditions of production which are independent of labor and opposed to it. And it is precisely this separation and independence of science (which initially benefits only capital) that also becomes the condition for the development of the potential of science and knowledge.” [8]8 Karl Marx, *Grundrisse*, in *Marx-Engels Collected Works*, vol. 29, p. 91.

现代科技革命改变了生产过程的内涵，直接地表现在劳动过程构成要素的变化上。现代科技革命也改变了生产力结构的内涵，生产力结构的变化直接地表现在生产力构成要素的变化上。科学技术的发展使劳动力结构向非体力的智能化演变的趋势加强，发达国家科研人员、工程技术人员等脑力劳动者人数的增长大大超过了以体力劳动为主的劳动者；现代化的生产工具越来越多地注入科技因素，在机械化基础上向智能化、自动化转变，在传统的工作机、动力机和传动机组成的机器体系中又增添了控制机，引起了生产工具的巨大变革，使劳动生产率急速上升。显然，现代科学革命和现代技术革命正在深刻地改变着人类社会的面貌，极大地丰富和提高着人类的物质文明和精神文明，推动着整个社会的发展。马克思指出：“科学成为与劳动相对立的、服务于资本的独立力量，一般说来属于生产条件成为与劳动相对立的独立力量这一范畴。并且正是科学的这种分离和独立（最初只是对资本有利），同时成为发展科学和知识的潜力的条件。”

Unleash innovation-driven momentum to lead the development of new quality productive forces

释放创新动能 引领新质生产力发展

From a theoretical logic, the labor process (production process) is the foundation of human survival and development, and the optimization and upgrading of each element of the labor process are the key factors in the development of productive forces. From a practical logic, in the progress of the labor process (production process), the development of science and technology has, to a considerable extent, become the decisive factor in the development of productive forces. Therefore, new quality productive forces are precisely the modernization of the labor process or production process. They not only conform to the general laws of the development of productive forces but also represent a new qualitative state with Chinese characteristics in the process of Chinese-path modernization, and are also a dynamic process of constant development and change. From the perspective of science and technology, new quality productive forces are manifested as the digital economy and artificial intelligence. From the perspective of the labor process, new quality productive forces are the modernization of the labor process, and the three elements of the labor process — “purposeful activity, or labor itself, the subject of labor, and the instruments of labor” — are the content to be upgraded. Therefore, overcoming various obstacles that affect the qualitative leap in productive forces is the key task of development and reform.

从理论逻辑上说，劳动过程（生产过程）是人类生存和发展的基础，劳动过程各要素的优化和提升是生产力发展的关键因素；从实践逻辑上说，在劳动过程（生产过程）的进步中，科学技术的发展在相当大的程度上成为了生产力发展的决定性因素。因此，新质生产力就是劳动过程或生产过程的现代化，它既符合生产力发展的一般规律，又是中国式现代化进程中一种新的有中国特色的质态，也是一个动态的不断发展变化的过程。从科学技术的角度看，新质生产力表现为数字经济、人工智能；从劳动过程的角度看，新质生产力是劳动过程的现代化，而劳动过程的三个要素，即“有目的的活动或劳动本身，劳动对象和劳动资料”就是实现跃升的内容。因此，克服影响生产力跃升的各种障碍，就是发展和改革的重点任务。

General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “Caused by revolutionary breakthroughs in technology, innovative allocation of production factors, and deep industrial transformation and upgrading, with the qualitative leap of laborers, instruments of labor, subjects of labor and their optimized combination as the basic connotation, and with a substantial increase in total factor productivity as the core symbol, its characteristic is innovation, the key is high quality, and the essence is advanced productive forces.” [9]9 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the 20th Collective Study Session of the Politburo of the 20th CPC Central Committee,” January 31, 2024. This assertion conforms to the general laws of the development of productive forces and represents the inheritance and creative development of Marx’s views on productive forces. Therefore, we must accomplish the following points: accelerate the formation of a corresponding new type of relations of production, unleash innovation-driven momentum, and lead the development of new quality productive forces.

习近平总书记指出：“由技术革命性突破、生产要素创新性配置、产业深度转型升级而催生，以劳动者、劳动资料、劳动对象及其优化组合的跃升为基本内涵，以全要素生产率大幅提升为核心标志，特点是创新，关键在质优，本质是先进生产力。”这一论断符合生产力发展的一般规律，是对马克思关于生产力观点的继承和创造性发展。因此我们要做到以下几点，加快形成相适应的新型生产关系，释放创新动能引领新质生产力发展。

First, we must attach great importance to workers, cultivate workers, and protect workers. Talent is the primary resource, science and technology is the primary productive force, and innovation is the primary driving force. Building a strong educational system, a strong scientific and technological system, and a strong talent system have inherent consistency and mutual support; these three must be organically combined and advanced as an integrated whole, forming a multiplier effect that promotes high-quality development. To develop new quality productive forces, we must attach great importance to the main body of new quality productive forces, that is, the modern workers who master and create new quality productive forces. This requires the whole society to further form a system and mechanism for cultivating talent, respecting talent, and scientifically utilizing talent, always placing education, identification, selection, and employment of people in a priority position in work, so that the development of new quality productive forces has sustained talent support. At the same time, when developing new quality productive forces, we must avoid the phenomenon of "seeing only technology but not people," develop new quality productive forces according to local conditions, and place equal emphasis on cultivating high-tech talent and traditional production talent, without attending to one thing and neglecting another.

首先，要高度重视劳动者，培养劳动者，保护劳动者。人才是第一资源，科技是第一生产力，创新是第一动力。建设教育强国、科技强国、人才强国具有内在一致性和相互支撑性，要把三者有机结合起来、一体统筹推进，形成推动高质量发展的倍增效应。发展新质生产力，就必须高度重视新质生产力的主体，即掌握和创造新质生产力的现代劳动者。这就需要全社会进一步形成培养人才、尊重人才、科学使用人才的体制机制，始终把育人、识人、选人、用人放在工作的优先位置，使新质生产力的发展拥有持续的人才支撑。同时，发展新质生产力，切勿避免“只见科技不见人”的现象，要因地制宜发展新质生产力，培养高科技人才和传统生产人才要并重，不能顾此失彼。

Second, we must accelerate the formation of new-type relations of production, forming a benign interaction between new quality productive forces and new-type relations of production. Currently, the blockages and choke points that constrain the development of new quality productive forces are mainly manifested in the economic system, science and technology system, management system, etc., formed under the traditional mode of economic growth. To form new-type relations of production, we must, in accordance with the requirements for the development of new quality productive forces, deepen systemic reform, define the status and role of each element in the labor process (production process) around the formation of new distribution relations, so that the relevant elements in the labor process can realize their element value under the high-level socialist market economy system.

其次，要加快形成新型生产关系，形成新质生产力和新型生产关系的良性互动。当前，束缚新质生产力发展的堵点和卡点，主要表现在传统经济增长方式下形成的经济体制、科技体制、管理体制等方面。要形成新型生产关系，必须按照新质生产力发展要求，通过深化体制改革，围绕形成新的分配关系来界定劳动过程（生产过程）各要素的地位和作用，使劳动过程中的相关要素能够在高水平社会主义市场经济制度下实现要素价值。

Finally, we must attach great importance to stimulating the pioneering spirit of the whole society, and through various policies and measures, mobilize the vitality of all factors of production. Developing new quality productive forces is by no means the affair of any single individual, any single department, or any single region, but is the common responsibility of the whole society. Developing new quality productive forces is also by no means the affair of any single enterprise, any single research institution, or any single university, but is the common task of all links in the production process. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the mechanism for factors to participate in income distribution, stimulate the vitality of production factors such as labor, knowledge, technology, management, capital, and data, better reflect the market value of knowledge, technology, and talent, and create a good atmosphere that encourages innovation and tolerates failure.

最后，要高度重视激发全社会的首创精神，通过各种政策措施，调动一切生产要素的活力。发展新质生产力，绝不是哪一个人、哪一个部门、哪一个地区的事情，而是全社会的共同责任。发展新质生产力，也绝不是某一个企业、某一个研究机构、某一所大学的事情，而是生产过程所有环节的共同任务。因此，要健全要素参与收入分配机制，激发劳动、知识、技术、管理、资本和数据等生产要素活力，更好体现知识、技术、人才的市场价值，营造鼓励创新、宽容失败的良好氛围。

Online Editor: Paul

网络编辑：保罗