Empowering Economic and Social Development through Culture

General Secretary Xi Jinping, when participating in the deliberation of the Jiangsu delegation at the Third Session of the 14th National People's Congress, pointed out: "We must deepen urban and rural cultural-ethical progress, optimize the supply of cultural products and services, and empower economic and social development through culture." Empowering economic and social development through culture, and continuously stimulating cultural innovation and creativity, will surely provide strong support for high-quality economic and social development and for meeting the people's needs for a better life.

习近平总书记在参加十四届全国人大三次会议江苏代表团审议时指出：“要深化城乡精神文明建设，优化文化产品和服务供给，以文化赋能经济社会发展。”以文化赋能经济社会发展，不断激发文化创新创造活力，必将为经济社会高质量发展、满足人民对美好生活的需要提供强有力支撑。

I. Deeply Grasping the Relationship between Economy and Culture

一、深刻把握经济和文化的关系

In the long course of human history, economy and culture have never existed in isolation. A country's economic development often promotes cultural development and prosperity; culture, in turn, "moistens things silently" [1]1 "Moistens things silently" (润物细无声) is a phrase from a Tang Dynasty poem by Du Fu, often used metaphorically to describe the subtle and pervasive influence of something, such as culture. as it integrates into economic life, providing impetus and support for economic development. Culture and economy are like the two wheels of a chariot or the two wings of a bird in the development of human society, influencing and interacting with each other, jointly driving the progress of human society.

在人类发展历史长河中，经济和文化从来都不是孤立存在的。一个国家的经济发展往往会推动文化发展和繁荣；文化也会“润物细无声”地融入经济生活中，为经济发展提供动力和支撑。文化与经济如同人类社会发展的车之两轮、鸟之双翼，相互影响、相互作用，共同推动人类社会发展进步。

Economic development determines cultural development. From the general laws of human social development, economic development determines cultural development, providing ample and rich material foundations for cultural development. General Secretary Xi Jinping points out, "Fundamentally, culture is determined by the economy; economic forces provide the material platform for cultural forces to exert their effectiveness." The economy, as the most fundamental activity of human survival and development, emerged and developed simultaneously with the emergence and development of humanity; culture emerged and developed alongside human economic activities and is constrained by the level of development of the productive forces. In ancient China, periods of economic strength were also periods of great cultural development. The Silk Road was not only an important channel for trade between East and West but also a bridge for civilizational exchange and mutual learning. During the Western Han, Sui, and Tang dynasties, the export of Chinese silk, porcelain, tea, and other goods, as well as the dissemination of cultural technologies such as papermaking and printing, promoted economic and cultural exchanges across the Eurasian continent. During the Industrial Revolution, machine-based mass production not only brought a leap in productive forces but also gave rise to new cultural forms. Technological innovation and institutional change in the process of industrialization promoted the development of modern scientific culture, forming a unique cultural landscape of industrial civilization. In recent years, along with the effective qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth of China's economy, the development of new cultural business forms has been strongly promoted, opening up new spaces for "culture+" development. Many cultural enterprises use advanced technology to empower the development of the cultural industry and reshape its development model.

经济发展决定文化发展。从人类社会发展一般规律看，经济发展决定文化发展，为文化发展提供充裕、丰富的物质基础。习近平总书记指出，“从根本上说，文化是由经济决定的，经济力量为文化力量提供发挥效能的物质平台”。经济作为人类生存发展最基础的活动，是与人类的产生、发展同时产生和发展的；文化是伴随人类社会经济活动而产生和发展的，并且受生产力发展水平的制约。在我国古代，经济强大时期也是文化大发展时期。丝绸之路不仅是东西方贸易往来的重要通道，更是文明交流互鉴的桥梁。西汉和隋唐时期，中国的丝绸、瓷器、茶叶等商品输出，以及造纸术、印刷术等文化科技的传播，推动了欧亚大陆的经济文化交流。在工业革命时期，机器大生产不仅带来生产力的飞跃，也催生了新的文化形态。工业化进程中的技术创新与制度变革，推动了现代科学文化的发展，形成工业文明特有的文化景观。近年来，伴随我国经济发展质的有效提升和量的合理增长，有力推动文化新业态发展，开拓了“文化+”发展的新空间。许多文化企业运用先进科技赋能文化产业发展，重塑文化产业发展模式。

Culture is the "booster" of economic development. Marxist historical materialism holds that social consciousness has its own forms and laws of development, exerts a dynamic counter-effect on social being, and can, under certain conditions, transform into a material force that influences the course of social development. Cultural construction reacts upon the contradictory movement of productive forces and relations of production, not only improving the quality of economic development but also transforming its mode. Comrade Xi Jinping, in *Zhejiang, A New Chapter* [2]2 *Zhejiang, A New Chapter* (之江新语) is a collection of short, pointed out: "The power of culture, or what we call the cultural soft power that constitutes comprehensive competitiveness, always 'moistens things silently' as it integrates into economic forces, political forces, and social forces, becoming the 'booster' of economic development, the 'navigation light' of political civilization, and the 'adhesive' of social harmony." Culture promotes economic development mainly through the long-term cultivation of moral and value concepts, achieving the transformation of people through culture and enhancing the cultural support for high-quality economic development. Culture endows economic development with profound humanistic value. Once advanced culture combines with the most active factor in the productive forces—human beings—it greatly improves the quality of the labor force, expands the breadth and depth of the objects of labor, and enhances humanity's ability to transform nature and create wealth. For example, Duanmu Ci [3]3 The 20th National Congress of the CPC was held in October 2022., a disciple of Confucius, always remembered Confucius's teaching in his business dealings: "A gentleman loves wealth but acquires it through proper means." Later generations called his benevolent and honest business philosophy the "Legacy of Duanmu." Influenced by this, over thousands of years, China formed commercial groups with regional cultural characteristics, such as the Lu, Hui, Jin, Zhe, and Min merchants [4], reflecting the role of culture in promoting economic prosperity. Since the New Era, the practice of deep integration between culture and economy in China has increasingly expanded, forming a vivid pattern where flourishing humanities and economic prosperity complement each other. The millennium-old capital Beijing, taking the opportunity of the Central Axis's World Heritage application, innovatively implemented the "Cultural Exploration Road" project, allowing humanities and economy to blend and interact, and the charm of the ancient capital to merge with modern civilization. The ancient city of Suzhou, which values both culture and education and excels in craftsmanship and commerce, insists on walking on "two legs" of humanities and economy, using the meticulous "double-sided embroidery" to depict a modern version of the "Prosperous Suzhou" where ancient and present coexist. The West Lake cultural landscape in Hangzhou and the digital economy complement each other, with economic development and cultural preservation and prosperity advancing simultaneously. Many "cultural business cards" have become well-known "economic brands" and new "humanistic symbols." These innovative practices vividly demonstrate that when cultural genes are integrated into the economic bloodstream, a synergistic effect of "1+1>2" can be unleashed.

文化是经济发展的“助推器”。马克思主义唯物史观认为，社会意识具有自身的发展形式和发展规律，对社会存在具有能动的反作用，在一定条件下会转化为物质力量从而影响社会发展进程。文化建设反作用于生产力和生产关系的矛盾运动，不仅提升经济发展的质量，而且改造经济发展的方式。习近平同志在《之江新语》中指出：“文化的力量，或者我们称之为构成综合竞争力的文化软实力，总是‘润物细无声’地融入经济力量、政治力量、社会力量之中，成为经济发展的‘助推器’、政治文明的‘导航灯’、社会和谐的‘黏合剂’。”文化促进经济发展主要体现在通过道德观、价值观等方面的长期涵养，实现以文化人，增强经济高质量发展的文化支撑力。文化赋予经济发展以深厚的人文价值，先进文化与生产力中最活跃的人的因素一旦结合，就会极大提高劳动力素质，拓展劳动对象的广度和深度，提升人类改造自然、创造财富的能力。例如，孔子的学生端木赐在经商过程中始终铭记孔子的教导“君子爱财，取之有道”。后世把他仁义、诚信的经商理念称为“端木遗风”。受其影响，千百年来，我国形成了鲁商、徽商、晋商、浙商、闽商等带有区域文化特点的商业群体，体现了文化对经济繁荣的促进作用。新时代以来，我国文化与经济深度融合的实践日益拓展，形成人文鼎盛与经济繁荣交相辉映的生动格局。千年古都北京以中轴线申遗为契机，创新实施“文化探访路”工程，让人文与经济交融互动、古都风韵与现代文明交融；古城苏州既厚文崇教又精工重商，坚持人文和经济“两条腿”走路，用精益求精的“双面绣”描绘古今同框的现代版“姑苏繁华图”；杭州西湖文化景观与数字经济交相辉映，经济发展与文化保护、繁荣同步提升，诸多“文化名片”成为知名的“经济品牌”和新的“人文标识”。这些创新实践生动诠释出，当文化基因融入经济血脉，就能激发出“1+1>2”的协同效应。

II. Culture is an Important Fulcrum for Promoting High-Quality Development

二、文化是推动高质量发展的重要支点

As China's economic development shifts from high-speed growth to high-quality development, the role of culture in the economy and society is becoming increasingly prominent, and the "fulcrum" and "lever" roles played by culture are becoming more significant. General Secretary Xi Jinping points out: "To promote high-quality development, culture is an important fulcrum." Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has elevated cultural construction to a new historical height, making cultural construction an important part of the coordinated advancement of the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan and the coordinated promotion of the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy, further highlighting the important role of culture in empowering economic and social development.

随着我国经济发展由高速增长转向高质量发展，文化在经济社会中的作用越来越突出，文化所扮演的“支点”作用和“杠杆”角色越来越显著。习近平总书记指出：“推动高质量发展，文化是重要支点。”党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央把文化建设提升到一个新的历史高度，将文化建设作为统筹推进“五位一体”总体布局、协调推进“四个全面”战略布局的重要内容，进一步凸显了文化赋能经济社会发展的重要作用。

Enriching the spiritual life of the people. General Secretary Xi Jinping points out: "The biggest difference between human society and the animal kingdom is that people have spiritual needs; the people's need for spiritual and cultural life exists at all times." Spiritual needs are higher-level needs of people after material needs are met. Culture cultivates sentiment, enlightens the mind, and warms the soul, providing a continuous source of spiritual nourishment for economic and social development. In the long course of historical development, culture becomes the gene of a nation, shaping its spiritual temperament, nurturing people's spiritual world, and strengthening their spiritual strength. Material abundance and spiritual prosperity are the fundamental requirements of socialist modernization. Advancing Chinese-path modernization requires not only building a solid material foundation and continuously consolidating the material conditions for the people's happy life but also vigorously developing advanced socialist culture, enriching the people's spiritual and cultural life, and promoting the comprehensive development of the individual.

丰富人民群众精神生活。习近平总书记指出：“人类社会与动物界的最大区别就是人是有精神需求的，人民对精神文化生活的需求时时刻刻都存在。”精神需求是人在物质需求得到满足的基础上更高层次的需求。文化陶冶情操、启迪心智、温润心灵，能够为经济社会发展提供源源不断的精神滋养。在长期历史发展进程中，文化成为一个民族的基因，塑造着这个民族的精神气质，涵育人们的精神世界，增强人们的精神力量。物质富足、精神富有是社会主义现代化的根本要求。推进中国式现代化，不仅需要厚植物质基础，不断夯实人民幸福生活的物质条件。同时，还需要大力发展社会主义先进文化，丰富人民群众精神文化生活，促进人的全面发展。

Cultural products improve the quality of life of the people. The principal contradiction in Chinese society has been transformed into the contradiction between the people's ever-growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development. The supply problem faced in the cultural field is no longer a matter of whether there is enough or not, but a matter of whether it is good or refined. General Secretary Xi Jinping points out, "To meet the people's ever-growing needs for a better life, culture is an important factor." China's per capita GDP has exceeded 12,000 US dollars, accompanied by the people's more vigorous, higher-level, and more diverse spiritual and cultural needs. The people's requirements for the quality, taste, and style of cultural products have also become higher. This objectively requires expanding the supply of high-quality culture, forming a new balance where demand drives supply and supply creates demand. Flourishing and developing cultural undertakings and the cultural industry, expanding the supply of high-quality cultural products, using culture to invigorate industries and empower development, can promote the optimization and upgrading of the economic structure, and meet the people's diverse, multi-level, and multifaceted needs for a better life through high-quality development.

文化产品提升人民群众生活品质。我国社会主要矛盾已经转化为人民日益增长的美好生活需要和不平衡不充分的发展之间的矛盾。文化领域所面临的供给问题已经不是缺不缺、够不够的问题，而是好不好、精不精的问题。习近平总书记指出，“满足人民日益增长的美好生活需要，文化是重要因素”。我国人均GDP已超过1.2万美元，与之相伴随的是人民群众更加旺盛、更高层次、更加多样的精神文化需求，人民群众对文化产品的质量、品位、风格等的要求也更高了。这就客观上要求扩大优质文化供给，形成需求牵引供给、供给创造需求的新平衡。繁荣发展文化事业和文化产业，扩大优质文化产品供给，以文兴业、以文赋能，能够促进经济结构优化升级，以高质量发展来满足人民群众多样化、多层次、多方面的美好生活需要。

Culture stimulates the vitality of innovation and creation. Innovation is the primary driving force behind development. Practice has repeatedly proven that any breakthrough in innovative practice is rooted in a cultural soil that esteems creation and encourages exploration. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the National Science and Technology Conference

文化激发创新创造的活力。创新是推动发展的第一动力。实践反复证明，任何突破性创新实践都根植于崇尚创造、激励探索的文化土壤之中。习近平总书记在全国科技大会、国家科学技术奖励大会、两院院士大会上强调：“坚持培育创新文化，传承中华优秀传统文化的创新基因，营造鼓励探索、宽容失败的良好环境，使崇尚科学、追求创新在全社会蔚然成风。”文化作为创新创造力的源头活水，为经济社会发展提供丰富的创新资源，推动科技、艺术、设计和其他领域的发展。而创新创造所产生的巨大价值，又会进一步激发全社会创新创造的积极性与主动性，形成良性循环。因此，推动创新一个必不可少的条件便是形成良好的创新文化与创新氛围。只有在全社会营造尊重劳动、尊重知识、尊重人才、尊重创造的良好环境，营造鼓励探索、宽容失败的良好氛围，才能不断培养创新思维和创造力，让创新活力竞相迸发，为经济转型升级提供不竭动力。当创新文化深度融入社会肌理，创新活力必将如春潮涌动，汇聚成推动高质量发展的磅礴力量。

III. Innovating and Exploring Effective Pathways for Culture to Empower Economic and Social Development

三、创新和探索文化赋能经济社会发展的有效路径

Empowering economic and social development through culture is a long-term, systematic task. General Secretary Xi Jinping has set forth requirements in areas such as deepening

以文化赋能经济社会发展是一项长期的、系统性工作。习近平总书记从深化城乡精神文明建设、优化文化产品和服务供给等方面提出要求，强调以文化赋能经济社会发展。我们应准确把握文化繁荣发展的关键着力点，加强整体布局，因地制宜挖掘人文底蕴，更好赋能经济社会高质量发展。

Deepen the integrated development of urban and rural cultural-ethical progress. The 20th National Congress of the CPC made “promoting the integrated development of urban and rural cultural-ethical progress” an important element of raising the level of civility across society. [n] To advance the integrated development of urban and rural cultural-ethical progress, we must take the integrated development of urban and rural production and living as a prerequisite. Through the integration of urban and rural platforms, institutions and mechanisms for cultural-ethical progress, we promote cultural fusion and complementarity between city and countryside, ultimately gradually narrowing the differences in concepts and perceptions between urban and rural residents, achieving balanced development of the spiritual outlook of all members of society, and shaping a new type of urban-rural relationship that shares civility. We must adhere to the guidance of the core socialist values, coordinate the cultivation of civility, practice of civility, and creation of civility, innovate forms of civility practice, enrich mass-oriented activities for the creation of cultural-ethical progress, set benchmarks for cultural-ethical progress, enhance the vitality of urban and rural cultural-ethical progress, and continuously raise the people’s ideological awareness, moral standards, cultural attainment, and the level of civility across society. We must smooth the flow of factors for urban and rural cultural-ethical progress, push the center of gravity of public cultural services downward and resources to the grassroots, encourage superior urban cultural resources to nourish rural cultural development, and promote effective articulation between urban and rural cultural-ethical progress and rural revitalization. We must give full play to the advantages of rural areas in inheriting traditional culture, mutual assistance among neighbors, building self-governing organizations, moral evaluation and edification, and selecting and promoting advanced models, and promote the two-way exchange of high-quality resource factors “going to the countryside” and “entering the city,” so that the practices of urban and rural cultural-ethical progress promote and advance each other.

深化城乡精神文明建设。党的二十大把“推进城乡精神文明建设融合发展”，作为提高全社会文明程度的重要内容。推进城乡精神文明建设融合发展，必须坚持以城乡生产、生活融合发展为前提，通过城市与乡村在精神文明建设平台、体制机制方面的融合，促进城乡文化融合与互补，最终促使城乡居民观念和认知差异逐渐缩小，社会全体成员精神风貌得到均衡发展，塑造文明共享的新型城乡关系。坚持以社会主义核心价值观为引领，统筹文明培育、文明实践、文明创建，创新文明实践形式、丰富群众性精神文明创建活动，树立精神文明建设标杆，提高城乡精神文明建设活力，不断提升人民思想觉悟、道德水准、文明素养和全社会文明程度。畅通城乡精神文明建设要素流动，推动公共文化服务重心下移、资源下沉，推动城市优势文化资源反哺农村文化发展，促进城乡精神文明建设与乡村振兴的有效衔接。充分发挥乡村在传统文化传承、邻里守望相助、自治组织建设、道德评议教化、先进典型推选等方面的优势，推动优质资源要素“下乡”与“进城”双向交流，让城乡精神文明建设实践互促共进。

Optimize the supply of cultural products and services. Optimizing the supply of cultural products and services can improve the structure of the cultural industry and raise the overall competitiveness of the cultural industry, using innovative development of the cultural industry to assist high-quality economic development; it can stimulate the vitality of innovation and creation in the cultural field, and promote the interweaving, interaction and integrated development of economy and culture. At present, the people’s demand for spiritual culture exhibits characteristics of diversification, individualization and high quality. New demand stimulates new supply. We must adhere to the unity of meeting the people’s cultural needs and strengthening the people’s spiritual strength, focus on cultivating roots and souls, enlightening wisdom and nourishing hearts, create cultural products that reflect the call of the times, display the people’s struggle, invigorate the national spirit, and cultivate noble sentiments, and enhance people’s sense of cultural gain and happiness with high-quality cultural supply. We must improve the modern cultural industry system and market system, promote the development and growth of various types of cultural business entities, cultivate new types of cultural business forms and cultural consumption models, further increase the added value of the cultural industry, and form more new growth points for the cultural industry. We must explore effective mechanisms for the integration of culture and technology, use technology to empower and enhance the cultural industry’s technological support capacity and cultural communication capacity, employ digital-intelligent technology to reshape the pattern of the cultural industry, promote changes in the mode of cultural production, and innovate in the tools of production. We must adhere to using culture to shape tourism and using tourism to highlight culture, promote the integrated development of culture and tourism, launch new products and services that have both cultural and tourism characteristics, and provide new engines for the development of culture and tourism.

优化文化产品和服务供给。优化文化产品和服务供给，能够优化文化产业结构、提高文化产业的整体竞争力，以文化产业创新发展助力经济高质量发展；能够激发文化领域的创新创造活力，推动经济与文化交融互动、融合发展。当前，人民群众对于精神文化的需求呈现出多元化、个性化和高品质的特征。新的需求激发新的供给。坚持满足人民文化需求和增强人民精神力量相统一，注重培根铸魂、启智润心，打造反映时代呼声、展现人民奋斗、振奋民族精神、陶冶高尚情操的文化产品，以高质量文化供给增强人们的文化获得感、幸福感。健全现代文化产业体系和市场体系，推动各类文化经营主体发展壮大，培育新型文化业态和文化消费模式，进一步提升文化产业附加值，形成更多新的文化产业增长点。探索文化和科技融合的有效机制，以科技赋能增强文化产业的科技支撑力、文化传播力，运用数智技术重塑文化产业格局、推动文化生产方式变革、生产工具创新。坚持以文塑旅、以旅彰文，推动文化和旅游融合发展，推出兼具文化和旅游特色的新产品新服务，为文化和旅游发展提供新引擎。

(The author is an associate research librarian at the Newspaper and Periodical Agency of the Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC [National Academy of Governance], and a researcher at the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era of the Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC [National Academy of Governance].)

（作者系中央党校〔国家行政学院〕报刊社副研究馆员，中央党校〔国家行政学院〕习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心研究员）

Online editor: Ma Jingren

网络编辑：马京仁