The Innovative Development of the Marxist Theory of Productive Forces in Contemporary China

The theory of productive forces is an important cornerstone of Marxist theory. Lenin profoundly pointed out, “Only by reducing social relations to relations of production, and relations of production to the level of productive forces, can we have a reliable basis for regarding the development of social formations as a natural-historical process. Needless to say, without such a view, there would be no social science.” [1]1 V. I. Lenin, “What the ‘Friends of the People’ Are and How They Fight the Social-Democrats,” *Collected Works*, Vol. 1. This fundamental view has laid a scientific foundation for our correct understanding of the laws of development of human society and for grasping the basic features and direction of social development. The Communist Party of China has always attached great importance to liberating and developing the productive forces, persistently applying the Marxist theory of productive forces to guide practice, continuously deepening its understanding of the laws governing the development of productive forces, and striving to promote the innovative development of the Marxist theory of productive forces.

生产力理论是马克思主义理论的重要基石。列宁深刻指出，“只有把社会关系归结于生产关系，把生产关系归结于生产力的水平，才能有可靠的根据把社会形态的发展看作自然历史过程。不言而喻，没有这种观点，也就不会有社会科学”。这一根本观点，为我们正确认识人类社会的发展规律、把握社会的基本面貌和发展方向奠定了科学基础。中国共产党始终高度重视解放和发展生产力，坚持运用马克思主义生产力理论指导实践，不断深化对生产力发展规律的认识，努力推动马克思主义生产力理论的创新发展。

Entering the New Era, the changes unseen in a century are accelerating, a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is deepening, and China has entered a new stage of promoting high-quality development and comprehensively advancing Chinese-path modernization. The development of social productive forces is undergoing an unprecedented great leap and great enhancement, and the decisive role of the development of productive forces is becoming more prominent. How to adapt to the situation, seize opportunities, meet challenges, and open up a broader path for the liberation and development of productive forces has become a major issue that must be addressed. Focusing on this major issue, General Secretary Xi Jinping has put forward a series of important expositions and creatively proposed the development of new quality productive forces. This is another major theoretical achievement of Xi Jinping’s economic thought, which has elevated our Party’s understanding of the laws governing the development of productive forces to a new height, greatly enriched and developed the Marxist theory of productive forces, and opened up a new realm of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times in the theory of productive forces. It is an important original and fundamental theoretical achievement of contemporary Chinese Marxist political economy.

进入新时代，世界百年未有之大变局加速演进，新一轮科技革命和产业变革深入发展，我国进入推动高质量发展、全面推进中国式现代化新阶段，社会生产力的发展正在经历前所未有的大飞跃、大提高，生产力发展的决定性作用更加凸显。如何适应形势、抓住机遇、迎接挑战，为生产力的解放和发展打开更加广阔的通途，成为摆在我们面前必须回答的重大课题。围绕这一重大课题，习近平总书记作出一系列重要论述，创造性地提出发展新质生产力，这是习近平经济思想的又一重大理论成果，使我们党对生产力发展的规律性认识达到新的高度，极大丰富和发展了马克思主义生产力理论，开拓了马克思主义生产力理论中国化时代化新境界，是当代中国马克思主义政治经济学重要的原创性和原理性理论成果。

Productive forces are the fundamental driving force of human social development, and the development of productive forces is the fundamental standard for measuring social development.

生产力是人类社会发展的根本动力，生产力发展是衡量社会发展的带有根本性的标准

Based on the decisive role of productive forces in social development, Marxism has established the fundamental standard for judging social development and progress, namely, the standard of productive forces. Lenin pointed out that the development of productive forces is “the main criterion of the whole social development” and “the highest criterion of social progress.” [2]2 V. I. Lenin, “The Agrarian Question and the ‘Critics of Marx’,” *Collected Works*, Vol. 5. During the period of the New Democratic Revolution, Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out, “The effect, good or bad, big or small, of the policies and practices of all China’s political parties on the Chinese people is ultimately determined by whether they help to develop the productive forces of the Chinese people and by how much help they give, and whether they fetter or liberate the productive forces.” [3]3 Mao Zedong, “On Coalition Government,” *Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung*, Vol. III. After the establishment of the socialist system, he further pointed out, “According to the requirements of the rapid development of productive forces, continuous reform of the relations of production and the superstructure opens up a broad path for the continuous development of productive forces.” [4]4 Mao Zedong, “On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People,” *Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung*, Vol. V. After reform and opening up, our Party established the basic line centered on economic construction, clearly taking whether it is conducive to the development of productive forces as the starting point for considering all problems and the fundamental standard for testing all work. Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out that judging the merits and demerits of reform and all work should ultimately be based on the standard of “whether it is conducive to developing the productive forces of the socialist society, whether it is conducive to enhancing the comprehensive national strength of the socialist country, and whether it is conducive to improving the people’s living standards.” [5]5 Deng Xiaoping, “Excerpts from Talks Given in Wuchang, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shanghai,” *Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping*, Vol. III. This is known as the “three favorable” (三个有利于) standard.

基于生产力在社会发展中的决定性作用，马克思主义确立了判断社会发展和进步的根本标准，这就是生产力标准。列宁指出，生产力的发展是“整个社会发展的主要标准”，是“社会进步的最高标准”。在新民主主义革命时期，毛泽东同志就指出，“中国一切政党的政策及其实践在中国人民中所表现的作用的好坏、大小，归根到底，看它对于中国人民的生产力的发展是否有帮助及其帮助之大小，看它是束缚生产力的，还是解放生产力的”。社会主义制度建立后，他又指出，“根据生产力迅速发展的要求，对生产关系和上层建筑进行不断的改革，就为生产力的不断发展开辟了广阔道路”。改革开放后，我们党确立了以经济建设为中心的基本路线，明确将是否有利于发展生产力作为我们考虑一切问题的出发点和检验一切工作的根本标准。邓小平同志指出，判断改革和各方面工作的是非得失，归根到底要以“是否有利于发展社会主义社会的生产力，是否有利于增强社会主义国家的综合国力，是否有利于提高人民的生活水平”为标准。

In the great practice of upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping, based on the overall strategic situation of the Party’s and the country’s undertakings, adhering to the world outlook and methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, has profoundly expounded the fundamental view of the decisive role of productive forces and its practical requirements: emphasizing that material productive forces are the material premise of all social life, that productive forces are the most active and most revolutionary factor driving social progress, and that the development of productive forces is the fundamental standard for measuring social development; emphasizing the need to actively study the laws of development of social productive forces in the primary stage of socialism and the laws of adaptation of relations of production to the development of productive forces, so as to enhance the consciousness and initiative in liberating and developing social productive forces; emphasizing that taking economic construction as the central task is the key to rejuvenating the country, and that development is the Party’s top priority in governing and rejuvenating the country, and is the foundation and key to solving all China’s problems; emphasizing the need to constantly adjust the relations of production to adapt to the development of social productive forces, and to constantly improve the superstructure to adapt to the economic base. Only by closely centering on development, this top priority, to deploy reforms in all aspects, and by using the liberation and development of social productive forces to provide a strong driving force for reform, can we better promote the adaptation of relations of production to productive forces and the superstructure to the economic base. These important expositions are creative interpretations of the basic principles of historical materialism under new historical conditions, profoundly clarifying the great significance and practical requirements of adhering to the standard of productive forces, and deepening and developing the understanding of the decisive role of productive forces.

在新时代坚持和发展中国特色社会主义的伟大实践中，习近平总书记立足党和国家事业发展的战略全局，坚持辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义世界观方法论，对生产力的决定性作用的根本观点及其实践要求进行了深刻阐释：强调物质生产力是全部社会生活的物质前提，生产力是推动社会进步的最活跃、最革命的要素，生产力发展是衡量社会发展的带有根本性的标准；强调要主动研究社会主义初级阶段社会生产力发展规律、生产关系适应生产力发展的规律，提高解放和发展社会生产力的自觉性、主动性；强调以经济建设为中心是兴国之要，发展是党执政兴国的第一要务，是解决我国一切问题的基础和关键；强调必须不断适应社会生产力发展调整生产关系，不断适应经济基础发展完善上层建筑。只有紧紧围绕发展这个第一要务来部署各方面改革，以解放和发展社会生产力为改革提供强大牵引，才能更好推动生产关系与生产力、上层建筑与经济基础相适应。这些重要论述，是在新的历史条件下对历史唯物主义基本原理作出的创造性阐释，深刻阐明坚持生产力标准的重大意义和实践要求，深化和发展了对生产力决定性作用的认识。

Liberating and developing the productive forces is the essential requirement of socialism, and the fundamental purpose of developing productive forces is to meet the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life.

解放和发展生产力是社会主义的本质要求，生产力发展的根本目的是满足人民日益增长的美好生活需要

Marx pointed out that the liberation of the masses and the fundamental improvement of the people’s lives depend not only on the development of productive forces but also on whether the productive forces belong to the people. Under the capitalist system, all means of developing production become means of dominating and exploiting the producers, the fruits of the development of productive forces are monopolized by a minority, and the contradiction of polarization intensifies. In stark contrast, Marx pointed out that in the future society, the development of social productive forces will be so rapid that production will aim at the prosperity of all people. [6]6 Karl Marx, “Economic Manuscripts of 1857–58,” *Grundrisse*. Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out, “The so-called superiority of socialist relations of production over those of the old era in being more capable of adapting to the nature of the development of productive forces means that they allow the productive forces to develop at a speed impossible under the old society, thereby continuously expanding production and gradually meeting the ever-growing needs of the people.” [7]7 Mao Zedong, “On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People,” *Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung*, Vol. V. Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out, “The superiority of socialism is ultimately reflected in its productive forces developing faster and at a higher level than under capitalism, and on the basis of developing productive forces, continuously improving the people’s material and cultural life.” [8]8 Deng Xiaoping, “Excerpts from Talks Given in Wuchang, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shanghai,” *Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping*, Vol. III.

马克思指出，人民群众得到解放、人民群众的生活得到根本改善，不仅仅决定于生产力的发展，而且还决定于生产力是否归人民所有。在资本主义制度下，一切发展生产的手段都变成统治和剥削生产者的手段，生产力的发展成果被少数人垄断占有，两极分化的矛盾日益加剧。与此形成鲜明对照，马克思指出，在未来社会，社会生产力的发展将如此迅速，生产将以所有的人富裕为目的。毛泽东同志指出，“所谓社会主义生产关系比较旧时代生产关系更能够适合生产力发展的性质，就是指能够容许生产力以旧社会所没有的速度迅速发展，因而生产不断扩大，因而使人民不断增长的需要能够逐步得到满足的这样一种情况”。邓小平同志指出，“社会主义的优越性归根到底要体现在它的生产力比资本主义发展得更快一些、更高一些，并且在发展生产力的基础上不断改善人民的物质文化生活”。

Focusing on how to better realize the purpose of socialist production in the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping creatively put forward the people-centered development thought, emphasizing that liberating and developing social productive forces and enhancing the comprehensive national strength of the socialist country are the essential requirements and fundamental tasks of socialism; emphasizing that our Party’s governance is to lead the people of all ethnic groups across the country to continuously liberate and develop social productive forces and constantly improve the people’s lives; emphasizing the need to adapt to changes in the people’s needs, strive to run various livelihood undertakings well, and make the people’s lives better and better, which is the fundamental purpose of socialist production; emphasizing the need to take enhancing the people’s well-being, promoting the all-round development of people, and steadily advancing towards common prosperity as the starting point and落脚点 [9]9 落脚点 (luòjiǎodiǎn): literally “point where the foot lands”; in political discourse, it means the ultimate goal or point of implementation. of economic development; emphasizing that the ultimate goal of modernization is to realize the free and all-round development of people; emphasizing the need to take meeting the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life as the starting point and落脚点, continuously transform development achievements into quality of life, and constantly enhance the people’s sense of gain, happiness, and security. These important expositions have further clarified the fundamental tasks of socialism, profoundly elucidated the fundamental purpose and institutional superiority of the development of productive forces under socialist conditions, and deepened and developed the understanding of the essence of socialism.

围绕新时代如何更好实现社会主义生产目的，习近平总书记创造性地提出了坚持以人民为中心的发展思想，强调解放和发展社会生产力，增强社会主义国家的综合国力，是社会主义的本质要求和根本任务；强调我们党执政，就是要带领全国各族人民持续解放和发展社会生产力，不断改善人民生活；强调适应人民群众需求变化，努力办好各项民生事业，让老百姓的日子越过越好，是社会主义生产的根本目的；强调把增进人民福祉、促进人的全面发展、朝着共同富裕方向稳步前进作为经济发展的出发点和落脚点；强调现代化的最终目标是实现人自由而全面的发展；强调必须以满足人民日益增长的美好生活需要为出发点和落脚点，把发展成果不断转化为生活品质，不断增强人民群众的获得感、幸福感、安全感。这些重要论述，进一步明确了社会主义的根本任务，深刻阐明了社会主义条件下生产力发展的根本目的和制度优越性，深化和发展了对社会主义本质的认识。

New quality productive forces take the leap in workers, means of labor, subjects of labor, and their optimized combination as their basic connotation.

新质生产力以劳动者、劳动资料、劳动对象及其优化组合的跃升为基本内涵

Marx pointed out that “productive forces, i.e., the development of productive capacity and its elements.” The development of productive forces is essentially the development of human productive capacity, and it is concretely manifested in the development of the elements of production. Marx summarized the simple elements of the labor process, including: purposeful activity or labor itself, the object of labor, and the instruments of labor. These three elements boil down to the human element and the material element, i.e., the laborer and the means of production. The labor of the laborer is the living source of all social wealth and “the true soul of production.” Marx also pointed out that space is an element of all production and all human activity, and that the most powerful productive force is the revolutionary class itself. The productivity of labor is determined by many circumstances, including: the average degree of skill of the workers, the level of development of science and the degree of its technological application, the social combination of the production process, the scale and effectiveness of the means of production, and natural conditions. These are all concrete manifestations of the development of productive forces.

马克思指出，“生产力，即生产能力及其要素的发展”。生产力的发展本质上是人的生产能力的发展，并在生产要素的发展中具体表现出来。马克思概括了劳动过程的简单要素，包括：有目的的活动或劳动本身、劳动对象和劳动资料。这三个要素归结起来，就是人的要素和物的要素，即劳动者和生产资料。劳动者的劳动是一切社会财富的活的源泉和“生产的真正灵魂”。马克思还指出，空间是一切生产和一切人类活动的要素，最强大的一种生产力是革命阶级本身。劳动生产力是由多种情况决定的，其中包括：工人的平均熟练程度，科学的发展水平和它在工艺上应用的程度，生产过程的社会结合，生产资料的规模和效能，以及自然条件。这些都是生产力发展的具体表现。

In today’s world, with the profound transformation of productive forces and relations of production, the connotation of the elements of productive forces has undergone important changes, urgently requiring new theoretical generalizations and summaries. General Secretary Xi Jinping, deeply summarizing the development trends of the world’s productive forces and the practice of China’s productive forces development, has made systematic generalizations and summaries of the new developments in productive forces and their elements. He emphasizes that new quality productive forces take the leap in laborers, means of labor, objects of labor, and their optimized combination as their basic connotation; he emphasizes that labor is the essential activity of human beings, the source of wealth, and the fundamental force driving the progress of human society; he emphasizes that capital is an important bond driving the agglomeration and allocation of various production factors and an important force promoting the development of social productive forces; he emphasizes stimulating the vitality of production factors such as labor, knowledge, technology, management, capital, and data, to better reflect the market value of knowledge, technology, and talent; he emphasizes that information resources are increasingly becoming important production factors and social wealth, and the amount of information mastered has become an important indicator of a country’s soft power and competitiveness; he emphasizes that in the era of the internet economy, data is a new production factor, a basic resource and a strategic resource, and also an important productive force. These important expositions profoundly clarify the basic connotation of new quality productive forces and the status, role, and characteristics of the development and change of various production factors under new historical conditions, deepening and developing the understanding of the laws of development of productive forces and their elements.

当今世界，随着生产力和生产关系的深刻变革，生产力要素的内涵发生了重要变化，迫切需要在理论上作出新的概括总结。习近平总书记深入总结世界生产力发展趋势和我国生产力发展实践，对生产力及其要素的新发展作出系统的概括总结，强调新质生产力以劳动者、劳动资料、劳动对象及其优化组合的跃升为基本内涵；强调劳动是人类的本质活动，是财富的源泉，是推动人类社会进步的根本力量；强调资本是带动各类生产要素集聚配置的重要纽带，是促进社会生产力发展的重要力量；强调激发劳动、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；强调信息资源日益成为重要生产要素和社会财富，信息掌握的多寡成为国家软实力和竞争力的重要标志；强调在互联网经济时代，数据是新的生产要素，是基础性资源和战略性资源，也是重要生产力。这些重要论述，深刻阐明了新质生产力的基本内涵和新的历史条件下各类生产要素的地位、作用及其发展变化的特点，深化和发展了对生产力及其要素发展规律的认识。

The deepening of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation brings a qualitative leap in the development of productive forces

新一轮科技革命和产业变革深入发展，带来生产力发展质的飞跃

Productive forces are constantly developing. When the development of productive forces accumulates to a certain stage, it will change from quantitative to qualitative, from gradual to abrupt, undergo revolutionary changes, and achieve leapfrog development. Marx deeply examined the history of machine-based large-scale industry and its revolutionary consequences, and pointed out that relying on the industrial revolution, “the bourgeoisie, during its rule of scarce one hundred years, has created more massive and more colossal productive forces than have all preceding generations together.” Marx made a scientific prediction of the prospect of the immense development of productive forces and the great abundance of material wealth in future society: the worker will no longer be the main agent in the production process but will stand beside it; direct forms of labor will no longer be the great source of wealth; general intellect will increasingly become the decisive factor in the development of productive forces; and all the springs of social wealth will flow forth abundantly.

生产力是不断发展的。生产力发展积累到一定阶段后，就会从量变到质变、从渐变到突变，发生革命性变化，获得飞跃性发展。马克思深入考察了机器大工业的发展历史及其革命性后果，并指出依靠工业革命，“资产阶级在它的不到一百年的阶级统治中所创造的生产力，比过去一切世代创造的全部生产力还要多，还要大”。马克思对未来社会生产力极大发展、物质财富极大丰富的前景进行了科学预测：工人不再是生产过程的主要当事者，而是站在生产过程旁边，直接形式的劳动不再是财富的巨大源泉，一般智力日益成为生产力发展的决定因素，社会财富的一切源泉都充分涌流出来。

In today’s world, human society is undergoing a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation. General Secretary Xi Jinping has systematically summarized and assessed the characteristics and trends of previous industrial revolutions, pointing out that previous industrial revolutions all share some common features: first, they are based on new scientific theories; second, corresponding new tools of production emerge; third, a large number of new investment hotspots and job positions are formed; fourth, the economic structure and development mode undergo major adjustments and form new economies of scale; fifth, there are important new changes in the mode of social production and life. These elements are currently accelerating in accumulation and maturation. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasizes that humanity has experienced the agricultural revolution and the industrial revolution and is now experiencing the information revolution; the information revolution has enhanced human brainpower, bringing another qualitative leap in productive forces; information technology has triggered the third industrial revolution, transforming social production and consumption from industrialization to automation and intelligence, greatly improving social productive forces again and achieving another great leap in labor productivity; he emphasizes that digital technology and the digital economy are the vanguard of the world’s technological revolution and industrial transformation, and developing the digital economy is a strategic choice to seize the new opportunities of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation; artificial intelligence is a strategic technology leading this round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, with a strong “lead goose” effect of spillover and driving force; quantum technology is developing rapidly, becoming a frontier field of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation; he emphasizes that some major disruptive technological innovations are creating new industries and new business forms; information technology, biotechnology, manufacturing technology, new material technology, and new energy technology are widely penetrating almost all fields, driving group major technological changes characterized by green, intelligent, and ubiquitous features. These important expositions profoundly reveal the general direction of scientific and technological progress and the general trend of the leap in productive forces, providing scientific guidance for us to scientifically understand the main characteristics and trends of the evolution and development of the world’s productive forces today and to focus on implementing the innovation-driven development strategy, deepening and developing the understanding of the revolution and development laws of productive forces.

当今世界，人类社会正在经历着新一轮科技革命和产业变革。习近平总书记对历次产业革命的特点和趋势作了系统总结和研判，指出历次产业革命都有一些共同特点：一是有新的科学理论作基础，二是有相应的新生产工具出现，三是形成大量新的投资热点和就业岗位，四是经济结构和发展方式发生重大调整并形成新的规模化经济效益，五是社会生产生活方式有新的重要变革。这些要素，目前都在加快积累和成熟中。习近平总书记强调人类经历了农业革命、工业革命，正在经历信息革命，信息革命增强了人类脑力，带来生产力又一次质的飞跃，信息技术引发了第三次产业革命，使社会生产和消费从工业化向自动化、智能化转变，社会生产力再次大提高，劳动生产率再次大飞跃；强调数字技术、数字经济是世界科技革命和产业变革的先机，发展数字经济是把握新一轮科技革命和产业变革新机遇的战略选择，人工智能是引领这一轮科技革命和产业变革的战略性技术，具有溢出带动性很强的“头雁”效应，量子科技发展突飞猛进，成为新一轮科技革命和产业变革的前沿领域；强调一些重大颠覆性技术创新正在创造新产业新业态，信息技术、生物技术、制造技术、新材料技术、新能源技术广泛渗透到几乎所有领域，带动了以绿色、智能、泛在为特征的群体性重大技术变革。这些重要论述，深刻揭示了科技进步的大方向、生产力飞跃的大趋势，为我们科学认识当今世界生产力演变发展的主要特点和走向、着力实施创新驱动发展战略提供了科学指引，深化和发展了对生产力革命和发展规律的认识。

Innovation is the primary driving force leading development; scientific and technological innovation is the core element for developing new quality productive forces

创新是引领发展的第一动力，科技创新是发展新质生产力的核心要素

Marx attached great importance to the development of science and its application in production, explicitly stating that “productive forces include science” and “the social productive forces of labor are, first of all, the power of science.” Marx pointed out that with the development of society, knowledge increasingly functions as a direct productive force, and social production is increasingly “controlled by general intellect and transformed according to it”; the development of productive forces increasingly depends on the application of science and technology. Our Party has always attached importance to the important role of science and technology. After the founding of New China, Comrade Mao Zedong put forward the slogan “March toward science.” After reform and opening up, Comrade Deng Xiaoping put forward the important thesis that “science and technology are the primary productive forces,” and our Party launched and implemented the strategy of rejuvenating the country through science and education and the innovation-driven development strategy.

马克思十分重视科学的发展及其在生产中的应用，明确提出“生产力中也包括科学”“社会的劳动生产力，首先是科学的力量”。马克思指出，随着社会的发展，知识日益作为直接的生产力而发生作用，社会生产越来越“受到一般智力的控制，并按照这种智力得到改造”，生产力的发展越来越多取决于科学技术的运用。我们党一贯重视科学技术的重要作用。新中国成立后，毛泽东同志提出“向科学进军”的口号。改革开放后，邓小平同志提出“科学技术是第一生产力”的重要论断，我们党推出并实施了科教兴国战略、创新驱动发展战略。

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has published a series of important expositions on promoting scientific and technological innovation, profoundly elaborating on the leading role of scientific and technological innovation in the development of productive forces. He emphasizes that the development of social productive forces and the improvement of comprehensive national strength ultimately depend on scientific and technological innovation; he emphasizes that innovation is the primary driving force leading development, and scientific and technological innovation can give rise to new industries, new models, and new drivers of growth, and is the core element for developing new quality productive forces; he emphasizes that scientific and technological innovation is the strategic support for improving social productive forces and comprehensive national strength and must be placed at the core of the overall national development; he emphasizes that the decisive factor in dominating a country’s destiny is the development of social productive forces and the improvement of labor productivity; only by continuously promoting scientific and technological innovation, continuously liberating and developing social productive forces, and continuously improving labor productivity can sustained and healthy economic and social development be achieved; he emphasizes that in today’s world, the role of science and technology as the primary productive force is becoming increasingly prominent, and the leading role of engineering and technological progress and innovation in economic and social development is more prominent; it has not only become a decisive factor in promoting the development of social productive forces and the improvement of labor productivity but also an important force driving the development of education, culture, sports, health, art, and other undertakings. These important expositions grasp the “ox nose” [10]10 “Ox nose” (牛鼻子) is a Chinese idiom referring to the key link or crucial point that, once grasped, allows one to control the entire situation. that affects the overall situation of productive forces development, clarify the core and key of developing productive forces, and deepen and develop the understanding of the fundamental driving force of productive forces development.

党的十八大以来，习近平总书记围绕推进科技创新发表了一系列重要论述，深刻阐述了科技创新在生产力发展中的主导作用，强调社会生产力发展和综合国力提高，最终取决于科技创新；强调创新是引领发展的第一动力，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；强调科技创新是提高社会生产力和综合国力的战略支撑，必须摆在国家发展全局的核心位置；强调主导国家命运的决定性因素是社会生产力发展和劳动生产率提高，只有不断推进科技创新，不断解放和发展社会生产力，不断提高劳动生产率，才能实现经济社会持续健康发展；强调当今世界，科学技术作为第一生产力的作用愈益凸显，工程科技进步和创新对经济社会发展的主导作用更加突出，不仅成为推动社会生产力发展和劳动生产率提升的决定性因素，而且成为推动教育、文化、体育、卫生、艺术等事业发展的重要力量。这些重要论述，抓住了牵动生产力发展全局的“牛鼻子”，明确了发展生产力的核心和关键，深化和发展了对生产力发展根本动力的认识。

Protecting the ecological environment means protecting productive forces; improving the ecological environment means developing productive forces

保护生态环境就是保护生产力，改善生态环境就是发展生产力

Marx pointed out that “labour is, first of all, a process between man and nature, a process by which man, through his own actions, mediates, regulates and controls the metabolism between himself and nature” and that “all productive forces are reduced to nature.” Social productive forces are, in the final analysis, the capacity of human beings to carry out material exchange with nature in order to produce useful goods. Through the cognition, exploitation and utilisation of labourers, natural elements such as land, mineral deposits, wind, water, light and steam are subordinated on a large scale to the direct production process, incorporated into the actual production process, and thereby natural forces are transformed into productive forces. Marx pointed out that under future communist conditions, “the associated producers, rationally regulating their interchange with Nature, bringing it under their common control, instead of being ruled by it as by the blind forces of Nature; and achieving this with the least expenditure of energy and under conditions most favourable to, and worthy of, their human nature.” Regulating the relationship between man and nature in accordance with the common interests of society is an inevitable requirement for the development of the productive forces and an essential requirement of socialism.

马克思指出，“劳动首先是人和自然之间的过程，是人以自身的活动来引起、调整和控制人和自然之间的物质变换的过程”“一切生产力都归结为自然界”。社会生产力归根结底是人与自然进行物质变换以生产有用物品的能力。经过劳动者的认识、开发和利用，土地、矿藏、风、水、光、蒸汽等自然要素大规模地从属于直接的生产过程，将其并入现实的生产过程之中，使自然力转化为生产力。马克思指出，在未来共产主义条件下，“社会化的人，联合起来的生产者，将合理地调节他们和自然之间的物质变换，把它置于他们的共同控制之下，而不让它作为盲目的力量来统治自己；靠消耗最小的力量，在最无愧于和最适合于他们的人类本性的条件下来进行这种物质变换”。按照社会的共同利益合理调节人与自然的关系，是生产力发展的必然要求，也是社会主义的本质要求。

General Secretary Xi Jinping has combined Marxist thought on the relationship between man and nature with the practice of the New Era, creatively putting forward the thought on ecological civilisation, the concept of green development and the concept of green productive forces. He emphasises that green development focuses on solving the problem of harmony between man and nature, that man and nature are a community of life, and that humanity must revere nature, respect nature, conform to nature and protect nature; he emphasises correctly handling the relationship between economic development and ecological environmental protection, and firmly establishing the concept that protecting the ecological environment means protecting productive forces and improving the ecological environment means developing productive forces. Ecological environmental protection and economic development are not a contradictory and antagonistic relationship but a dialectical and unified one; only by protecting the ecology well and giving full play to ecological advantages can high-quality development be achieved; he emphasises that green development is the defining feature of high-quality development, and that new quality productive forces are themselves green productive forces; he emphasises firmly establishing and practising the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, unswervingly taking the path of ecological priority and green development, and building a modernisation in which man and nature coexist in harmony. These important expositions endow productive forces with a distinct green connotation, transforming Marx’s view that the associated producers will rationally regulate their material interchange with nature into systematic theory and vivid practice, deepening and developing the understanding of the natural attributes and laws of development of productive forces.

习近平总书记把马克思主义关于人与自然关系的思想与新时代的实践相结合，创造性地提出生态文明思想、绿色发展理念和绿色生产力概念，强调绿色发展注重的是解决人与自然和谐问题，人与自然是生命共同体，人类必须敬畏自然、尊重自然、顺应自然、保护自然；强调正确处理好经济发展同生态环境保护的关系，牢固树立保护生态环境就是保护生产力、改善生态环境就是发展生产力的理念。生态环境保护和经济发展不是矛盾对立的关系，而是辩证统一的关系，把生态保护好，把生态优势发挥出来，才能实现高质量发展；强调绿色发展是高质量发展的底色，新质生产力本身就是绿色生产力；强调牢固树立和践行绿水青山就是金山银山的理念，坚定不移走生态优先、绿色发展之路，建设人与自然和谐共生的现代化。这些重要论述，赋予了生产力以鲜明的绿色内涵，把马克思关于联合起来的生产者将合理地调节他们和自然之间物质变换的观点转变为了系统化的理论和生动实践，深化和发展了对生产力自然属性和发展规律的认识。

Promote the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation, and assist in the development of new quality productive forces

推动科技创新和产业创新深度融合，助力发展新质生产力

Marx and Engels pointed out that “the level of development of the productive forces of a nation is most clearly revealed in the degree of development of its division of labour. Any new productive force, insofar as it is not merely a quantitative extension of productive forces already known (for instance, the bringing into cultivation of new land), causes a further development of the division of labour.” The qualitative improvement of productive forces is concentratedly manifested in the development of the division of labour in breadth and depth, and the development of the division of labour is in turn manifested in the innovation of products and industries and the diversification, complication and upgrading of the industrial structure. At present, China possesses the most complete industrial system and industrial chain in the world; this is a powerful proof that the level of development of China’s productive forces is moving to the forefront of the world. At the current stage in China, the process of formation and development of new quality productive forces is precisely the process of the economy evolving towards a higher form, a more complex division of labour, and a more rational structure.

马克思恩格斯指出，“一个民族的生产力发展的水平，最明显地表现于该民族分工的发展程度。任何新的生产力，只要它不是迄今已知的生产力单纯的量的扩大(例如，开垦土地)，都会引起分工的进一步发展”。生产力的质的提高集中体现为分工在广度和深度上的发展，而分工的发展又体现为产品和产业的创新以及产业结构的多样化、复杂化、高级化。目前我国拥有世界上最为完整的工业体系和产业链，这是我国生产力发展水平正在走向世界前列的有力证明。我国现阶段，新质生产力的形成和发展过程，就是经济向形态更高级、分工更复杂、结构更合理的阶段演化的过程。

General Secretary Xi Jinping has profoundly grasped the historical trend of the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, systematically expounding the important role and practical path of industrial innovation in promoting the development of productive forces. He emphasises that the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is advancing rapidly, and that we must firmly grasp the general trend of industrial revolution and truly implement scientific and technological innovation in industrial development; he emphasises that the transformation of scientific and technological achievements into actual productive forces takes the form of spawning new industries and promoting the deep transformation and upgrading of industries. It is necessary to promptly apply the achievements of scientific and technological innovation to specific industries and industrial chains, transform and upgrade traditional industries, cultivate and strengthen emerging industries, plan and build future industries, and perfect the modern industrial system; he emphasises relying on China’s super-large market and complete industrial system to create unique advantages conducive to the rapid large-scale application and iterative upgrading of new technologies, accelerate the transformation of scientific and technological achievements into actual productive forces, raise the level of industrial chains, and safeguard the security of industrial chains; he emphasises grasping the wave of new technological revolutions such as artificial intelligence, adapting to the requirements of harmonious coexistence between man and nature, maintaining and strengthening the advantages of a complete industrial system and strong supporting capabilities, efficiently gathering global innovation factors, promoting the intelligent, green and integrated development of industries, and building a modern industrial system with completeness, advanced nature and security; he emphasises adhering to the path of a new type of industrialisation, informatisation, urbanisation and agricultural modernisation with Chinese characteristics, and promoting the synchronous development of industrialisation, informatisation, urbanisation and agricultural modernisation. These important expositions clarify the important role of industrial innovation and the modern industrial system in developing new quality productive forces, define the realistic path for the development of new quality productive forces, and deepen and develop the understanding of the specific pathways and industrial carriers for the development of productive forces.

习近平总书记深刻把握新一轮科技革命和产业变革的历史潮流，对产业创新在推进生产力发展中的重要作用和实践路径作出系统阐述，强调新一轮科技革命和产业变革突飞猛进，要牢牢把握产业革命大趋势，把科技创新真正落到产业发展上；强调科技成果转化为现实生产力，表现形式为催生新产业、推动产业深度转型升级。要及时将科技创新成果应用到具体产业和产业链上，改造提升传统产业，培育壮大新兴产业，布局建设未来产业，完善现代化产业体系；强调依托我国超大规模市场和完备产业体系，创造有利于新技术快速大规模应用和迭代升级的独特优势，加速科技成果向现实生产力转化，提升产业链水平，维护产业链安全；强调把握人工智能等新科技革命浪潮，适应人与自然和谐共生的要求，保持并增强产业体系完备和配套能力强的优势，高效集聚全球创新要素，推进产业智能化、绿色化、融合化，建设具有完整性、先进性、安全性的现代化产业体系；强调坚持走中国特色新型工业化、信息化、城镇化、农业现代化道路，促进工业化、信息化、城镇化、农业现代化同步发展。这些重要论述，阐明了产业创新和现代化产业体系在发展新质生产力中的重要作用，明确了新质生产力发展的现实路径，深化和发展了对生产力发展的具体途径和产业载体的认识。

Through continuous reform and innovation, fully manifest the significant advantage of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics in constantly liberating and developing social productive forces

通过不断改革创新，把中国特色社会主义制度不断解放和发展社会生产力的显著优势充分体现出来

Relations of production must adapt to the requirements of the development of productive forces, and at the same time exert an important counter-effect on the development of productive forces; the superstructure must adapt to the requirements of the economic base, and at the same time exert an important counter-effect on the economic base. At each historical stage of socialist society, reforms need to be carried out in accordance with the requirements of economic and social development, so that relations of production adapt to the development of productive forces, and the superstructure adapts to the development of the economic base. Under the leadership of the Party, the active role of socialist relations of production and the socialist superstructure should be consciously brought into play, the superiority of the socialist system should be fully utilised, and powerful impetus should be provided for promoting the development of productive forces.

生产关系必须适应生产力发展的要求，同时对生产力的发展具有重要的反作用；上层建筑必须适应经济基础的要求，同时对经济基础具有重要反作用。在社会主义社会各个历史阶段，都需要根据经济社会发展的要求进行改革，使生产关系适应生产力的发展，使上层建筑适应经济基础的发展，在党的领导下，自觉发挥社会主义生产关系和社会主义上层建筑的能动作用，充分发挥社会主义制度的优越性，为促进生产力的发展提供强大动力。

General Secretary Xi Jinping has profoundly pointed out that there are very complex relationships between productive forces and relations of production, and between the economic base and the superstructure, involving a real process of action and counter-action. When observing social development, one must pay attention to this organic connection of determination and being determined, action and counter-action. He emphasises that the socialist system with Chinese characteristics can concentrate resources to accomplish major tasks, effectively promoting the liberation and development of social productive forces, promoting various undertakings of modernisation, and continuously raising the quality and standard of living of the people; he emphasises that China’s basic socialist economic system has the significant advantage of organically combining the socialist system with the market economy, constantly liberating and developing social productive forces. A key factor in the great success of China’s economic development is that we have given play to both the strengths of the market economy and the superiority of the socialist system; he emphasises that through continuous reform and innovation, socialism with Chinese characteristics should be more efficient than the capitalist system in liberating and developing social productive forces, liberating and enhancing social vitality, and promoting the all-round development of people, and should be better able to stimulate the initiative, enthusiasm and creativity of all the people, better able to provide favourable conditions for social development, better able to win comparative advantage in competition, and fully manifest the superiority of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics; he emphasises that to develop new quality productive forces, it is necessary to further comprehensively deepen reform, form relations of production that are compatible with them, focus on removing the blockages and bottlenecks that constrain the development of new quality productive forces, and enable all kinds of advanced and high-quality production factors to flow smoothly towards the development of new quality productive forces; he emphasises the need to give full play to the advantages of the new nationwide system for mobilising resources [11]11 The “new nationwide system for mobilising resources” (新型举国体制) refers to a state-led mechanism for concentrating resources on strategic scientific and technological breakthroughs, updated from the earlier planned-economy model to operate within a market economy framework., and accelerate the achievement of high-level self-reliance and self-strengthening in science and technology. These important expositions profoundly clarify the active role of relations of production on productive forces and of the superstructure on the economic base under socialist conditions, profoundly clarify the significant role of deepening reform in promoting the development of productive forces, and deepen and develop the understanding of the dialectical relationship between productive forces and relations of production under socialist conditions.

习近平总书记深刻指出，生产力和生产关系、经济基础和上层建筑之间有着十分复杂的关系，有着作用和反作用的现实过程，在观察社会发展时，一定要注意这种决定和被决定、作用和反作用的有机联系。强调中国特色社会主义制度能够集中力量办大事，有效促进社会生产力解放和发展，促进现代化建设各项事业，促进人民生活质量和水平不断提高；强调我国社会主义基本经济制度具有把社会主义制度和市场经济有机结合起来，不断解放和发展社会生产力的显著优势。我国经济发展获得巨大成功的一个关键因素，就是我们既发挥了市场经济的长处，又发挥了社会主义制度的优越性；强调要通过不断改革创新，使中国特色社会主义在解放和发展社会生产力、解放和增强社会活力、促进人的全面发展上比资本主义制度更有效率，更能激发全体人民的积极性、主动性、创造性，更能为社会发展提供有利条件，更能在竞争中赢得比较优势，把中国特色社会主义制度的优越性充分体现出来；强调发展新质生产力，必须进一步全面深化改革，形成与之相适应的生产关系，着力打通束缚新质生产力发展的堵点卡点，让各类先进优质生产要素向发展新质生产力顺畅流动；强调要充分发挥新型举国体制优势，加快推进高水平科技自立自强。这些重要论述，深刻阐明了社会主义条件下生产关系对生产力、上层建筑对经济基础的能动作用，深刻阐明了深化改革对于推动生产力发展的重大作用，深化和发展了对社会主义条件下生产力和生产关系辩证关系的认识。

New quality productive forces are, in essence, advanced productive forces

新质生产力本质是先进生产力

Marxism holds that the development of human society is a historical process in which advanced productive forces continuously replace backward productive forces. The proletariat represents advanced productive forces, and socialism and communism are built on the basis of highly developed productive forces. When the Communist Party of China was founded, it stepped onto the historical stage as the representative of China’s advanced productive forces. Consistently representing the developmental demands of China’s advanced productive forces and vigorously promoting their development is the fundamental embodiment and requirement for our Party to stand at the forefront of the times and maintain its advanced nature.

马克思主义认为，人类社会的发展是先进生产力不断取代落后生产力的历史进程。无产阶级代表先进生产力，社会主义和共产主义是建立在高度发达的生产力基础上的。中国共产党建立时就是以中国先进生产力的代表走上历史舞台的。始终代表中国先进生产力的发展要求，大力促进先进生产力的发展，是我们党站在时代前列、保持先进性的根本体现和根本要求。

Advanced productive forces are not abstract and immutable but concrete and historically developing; they are “things that can be indicated with the precision of natural science.” What constitutes the advanced productive forces of contemporary China? General Secretary Xi Jinping points out that new quality productive forces are “an advanced state of productive forces that conforms to the new development philosophy,” and that new quality productive forces are essentially advanced productive forces. To understand and grasp new quality productive forces, the key lies in understanding and grasping their advanced nature.

先进生产力不是抽象的固定不变的，而是具体的历史发展的，是“可以用自然科学的精确性指明的”。什么是当代中国的先进生产力？习近平总书记指出新质生产力是“符合新发展理念的先进生产力质态”，新质生产力本质是先进生产力。认识和把握新质生产力，关键在于认识和把握新质生产力的先进性。

First, new quality productive forces are a new state of productive forces created by the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation. Focusing on seizing the opportunities of the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation for strategic planning and theoretical generalization is the profound and distinct historical background for the formation and development of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourse on new quality productive forces. It is precisely in the developmental practice of the deepening new round of global scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation that new quality productive forces have emerged and continuously grown, demonstrating new developmental potential and trends.

第一，新质生产力是新一轮科技革命和产业变革所造就的生产力的新质态。着眼于抓住新一轮科技革命和产业变革的机遇进行战略谋划、进行理论概括，是习近平总书记关于新质生产力的重要论述形成和发展的深刻而鲜明的时代背景。正是在世界新一轮科技革命和产业变革深入推进的发展实践中，新质生产力应运而生并不断发展壮大，表现出新的发展潜力和发展态势。

Second, new quality productive forces are the advanced productive forces of the information, digital, and intelligent era. Marx pointed out that the distinction between different economic epochs lies not in what is produced, but in how it is produced, and by what means of labor it is produced. Historically, means of labor such as the steam engine, the electric motor, and the computer have all played epoch-making roles. Promoting the deep integration of the internet, big data, and artificial intelligence with the real economy, and vigorously developing intelligent manufacturing, are the main indicators of new quality productive forces as an epoch-making state of productive forces.

第二，新质生产力是信息化、数字化、智能化时代的先进生产力。马克思指出，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。从历史看，蒸汽机、电动机、计算机等劳动资料都起到过划时代的作用。推动互联网、大数据、人工智能同实体经济的深度融合，大力发展智能化制造，是新质生产力作为一种划时代生产力质态的主要标志。

Third, the development of new quality productive forces, guided by informatization, digitalization, and intelligence, achieves a leap in the productive factors of labor, means of labor, and subjects of labor, as well as their optimized combination. The platform economy is an important form of innovative allocation of productive factors, conducive to improving the efficiency of resource allocation across society, driving technological and industrial transformation to accelerate in the direction of informatization, digitalization, and intelligence, and helping to connect all links in the national economic cycle.

第三，新质生产力的发展，以信息化、数字化、智能化为主导，实现劳动者、劳动资料、劳动对象等生产要素及其优化组合的跃升。平台经济是生产要素创新配置的重要形式，有利于提高全社会资源配置的效率，推动技术和产业变革朝着信息化、数字化、智能化方向加速演进，有助于贯通国民经济循环各环节。

Fourth, new quality productive forces are an important material and technological foundation for comprehensively advancing Chinese-path modernization and promoting high-quality development. The report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC points out: “Without a solid material and technological foundation, it is impossible to build a great modern socialist country in all respects.” [12]12 The 20th National Congress of the CPC was held in October 2022. The report referred to is Xi Jinping’s report to the congress, titled “Hold High the Great Banner of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and Strive in Unity to Build a Modern Socialist Country in All Respects.” Economic modernization is the economic base of modernization, while the modernization of productive forces is the fundamental hallmark of modernization. To comprehensively advance Chinese-path modernization, high-quality development is the primary task, and high-quality development, in essence, is development primarily supported by new quality productive forces. It means using more advanced productive forces as the material and technological foundation to better meet the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life and to better embody the requirements of the new development philosophy.

第四，新质生产力是全面推进中国式现代化、推进高质量发展的重要物质技术基础。党的二十大报告指出：“没有坚实的物质技术基础，就不可能全面建成社会主义现代化强国。”经济现代化是现代化的经济基础，生产力的现代化则是现代化的根本标志。全面推进中国式现代化，高质量发展是首要任务，而高质量发展从本质上来说就是以新质生产力为主要支撑的发展，就是要以更加先进的生产力为物质技术基础，很好满足人民日益增长的美好生活需要，更好体现新发展理念的要求。

(The author is Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Qiushi Journal)

（作者系求是杂志社副总编辑）

Online Editor: Zhang Jian

网络编辑：张剑