Grasping the Dialectics of “Investing in Things” and “Investing in People”

Promoting the coordinated development of “people” and “things” is a core issue in the process of Chinese-path modernization. On May 5, 2023, at the first meeting of the 20th Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized closely combining “investing in things” with “investing in people.” The “Proposal of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development,” reviewed and approved at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC, explicitly states: “Adhere to the strategic foundation of expanding domestic demand, closely combine benefiting people’s livelihoods with promoting consumption, and investing in things with investing in people, use new demand to lead new supply, use new supply to create new demand, promote positive interaction between consumption and investment, supply and demand, and enhance the endogenous driving force and reliability of the domestic economic cycle.” [1]1 The “15th Five-Year Plan” refers to the period 2026–2030, the next five-year plan for China’s national economic and social development. The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC was held in 2025. The 2025 Central Economic Work Conference listed “must adhere to the close integration of investing in things and investing in people” as one of the new understandings and insights for doing economic work well under the new circumstances. On January 20, 2026, at the opening ceremony of a special seminar for provincial and ministerial-level leading cadres on studying and implementing the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee, General Secretary Xi Jinping further emphasized “adhering to the close integration of benefiting people’s livelihoods with promoting consumption, and investing in things with investing in people.” These important expositions and major deployments point the way for solving development difficulties, enhancing development momentum, and consolidating development advantages under the new circumstances.

推动“人”与“物”的协同发展，是中国式现代化进程中的核心课题。2023年5月5日，习近平总书记在二十届中央财经委员会第一次会议上强调，把“投资于物”同“投资于人”紧密结合起来。党的二十届四中全会审议通过的《中共中央关于制定国民经济和社会发展第十五个五年规划的建议》明确提出，“坚持扩大内需这个战略基点，坚持惠民生和促消费、投资于物和投资于人紧密结合，以新需求引领新供给，以新供给创造新需求，促进消费和投资、供给和需求良性互动，增强国内大循环内生动力和可靠性”。2025年中央经济工作会议将“必须坚持投资于物和投资于人紧密结合”列为做好新形势下经济工作新的认识和体会之一。2026年1月20日，习近平总书记在省部级主要领导干部学习贯彻党的二十届四中全会精神专题研讨班开班式上进一步强调，“坚持惠民生和促消费、投资于物和投资于人紧密结合”。这些重要论述和重大部署，为新形势下破解发展难题、增强发展动力、厚植发展优势指明了方向。

I

一

“Adhering to the close integration of investing in things and investing in people” is both a development concept and a development strategy, embodying our Party’s strategic wisdom, based on national conditions and facing the future, in promoting the comprehensive development of people and the overall progress of society through Chinese-path modernization.

“坚持投资于物和投资于人紧密结合”，既是一种发展理念，也是一种发展策略，体现了我们党立足国情、面向未来，以中国式现代化促进人的全面发展和社会全面进步的战略智慧。

“Investing in things” means using funds and resources to enhance material production capacity and the level of living infrastructure, achieving improvements in productive forces, expansion of economic scale, and betterment of living conditions through investment. Its main manifestation is the continuous input into material production factors such as means of production, infrastructure, science and technology, and product reserves, with the primary goal of achieving an increase in production capacity and the expansion of the scale system of “things.” Under socialist conditions, “investing in things” is essentially a conscious means of serving the growth of society’s overall material wealth and meeting the needs of the people.

“投资于物”，就是将资金、资源用于提升物质生产能力和生活基础设施水平，通过投资获得生产力的提升、经济规模的扩大、生活条件的改善。其主要表现为对生产资料、基础设施、科学技术、产品储备等物质生产要素的持续性投入，主要目标在于实现生产能力的提升、“物”的规模体系的扩大。在社会主义条件下，“投资于物”本质上是服务于社会整体物质财富增长和着眼满足人民群众需要的自觉手段。

“Investing in people” means using funds and resources to enhance people’s knowledge and skills, practical abilities, health levels, cultural literacy, moral cultivation, and other fields that promote the free and comprehensive development of people, with the goal of promoting people’s comprehensive development and driving social development and prosperity. Under socialist conditions, the value destination of “investing in people” lies in overcoming the one-sidedness of people and moving towards comprehensive development marked by “free individuality” [2]2 “Free individuality” (自由个性) is a concept from Marx’s theory of human development, referring to the third stage of human social formations, where individuals achieve full, self-determined development beyond dependence on others or on material relations. — that is, not only cultivating more creative laborers but also cultivating social subjects with higher spiritual realms and cultural cultivation.

“投资于人”，就是将资金、资源用于提升人的知识技能、实践能力、健康水平、文化素养、道德修养以及促进人自由全面发展的其他领域，目标是促进人的全面发展、驱动社会发展繁荣。在社会主义条件下，“投资于人”的价值归宿在于克服人的片面化，迈向以“自由个性”为标志的全面发展，即不仅培养更具创造力的劳动者，也培养具有更高精神境界和文化修养的社会主体。

“Investing in things” and “investing in people” are a unity of opposites. The opposition is manifested in the competitiveness of resource allocation and the difference in return cycles. For example, from the perspective of competitiveness in resource allocation, under conditions of limited resources, “investing in things” will crowd out some resources for “investing in people,” and vice versa. The unity is manifested in their mutual dependence and mutual promotion, constituting the “two wheels of a cart, two wings of a bird” of social and historical development. “Investing in things” is a means to promote people’s development, providing an indispensable material foundation for “investing in people,” while “investing in people” provides practical dynamic support and a source of wisdom for “investing in things.” “Things” are the means, “people” are the end, and the ultimate value destination of combining the two is to make economic operation truly serve the “confirmation of people’s essential powers.” [3]3 “Confirmation of people’s essential powers” (人的本质力量的确证) is a phrase from Marx’s early writings, notably the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, where he argues that through practical, transformative activity (labor), humans objectify their inner capacities and confirm their species-being. Adhering to the close integration of investing in things and investing in people is not only an important manifestation of the superiority of the socialist system but also an inevitable requirement for advancing Chinese-path modernization. It not only emphasizes building a solid material civilization foundation for modernization but also highlights a social development orientation centered on people’s modernization, achieving a historical unity between social development and progress and the free and comprehensive development of people.

“投资于物”和“投资于人”是对立统一的。对立性体现为资源分配的竞争性、收益周期的差异性。例如，从资源分配的竞争性看，在资源有限的条件下，“投资于物”会挤占“投资于人”的部分资源，反之亦然。统一性则体现为二者相互依存、相互促进，构成社会历史发展的“车之两轮、鸟之两翼”。“投资于物”是推动人的发展的手段，可以为“投资于人”提供不可或缺的物质基础，“投资于人”则为“投资于物”提供实践的动力支撑和智慧源泉。“物”是手段，“人”是目的，二者结合的最终价值归宿是使经济运行真正服务于“人的本质力量的确证”。坚持投资于物与投资于人紧密结合，既是社会主义制度优越性的重要体现，也是推进中国式现代化的必然要求，其不仅强调筑牢现代化建设的物质文明根基，更彰显了以人的现代化为核心的社会发展取向，实现了社会发展进步与人的自由全面发展的历史性统一。

II

二

The important thesis of “adhering to the close integration of investing in things and investing in people” profoundly reflects our Party’s deepening understanding of the laws of economic development, enrichment of the understanding of the laws of social development, expansion of the understanding of the laws of Chinese-path modernization construction, and sublimation of the understanding of the laws of human development under the new circumstances.

“坚持投资于物与投资于人紧密结合”的重要论断，深刻反映了我们党对经济发展规律认识的深化、对社会发展规律认识的丰富、对中国式现代化建设规律认识的拓展，以及对新形势下人的发展规律认识的升华。

As the most dynamic and creative element, people are the source of technological innovation, industrial upgrading, and management optimization. The fundamental driving force for sustainable growth lies in people, and the core is “investing in people.” If one relies solely on the input of material factors, it will inevitably lead to diminishing marginal returns on investment. Currently, China’s economy is transitioning to high-quality development, and talent has become a key resource. Adhering to the close integration of investing in things and investing in people essentially follows the law of transformation of economic growth drivers. This means that under the new circumstances, economic operation must shift from scale-speed-type extensive growth to quality-efficiency-type intensive development, and from relying on traditional factor dividends to stimulating talent dividends and innovation dividends.

人作为最具能动性和创造性的要素，是科技创新、产业升级、管理优化的源泉。可持续增长的根本动力在于人，核心是“投资于人”。若单纯依赖物质要素投入，势必会造成投资的边际效益递减。当前，我国经济转向高质量发展，人才成为关键资源。坚持投资于物与投资于人紧密结合，实质上遵循了经济增长动力转换规律。这意味着新形势下经济运行要实现从规模速度型粗放增长转向质量效益型集约发展，从依赖传统要素红利转向激发人才红利和创新红利。

From the perspective of historical materialism, social development has two scales: the scale of productive forces and the scale of human development. Our Party’s emphasis on “adhering to the close integration of investing in things and investing in people” reflects the inherent unity between material production, changes in social relations, and the process of people’s free and comprehensive development. Economic and social development must not only improve material production and living conditions through “investing in things” but also improve many guarantees related to the development of social members’ abilities, opportunity acquisition, and value realization through “investing in people.” This combination can not only promote material prosperity but also drive society to achieve fairness and justice, vitality and order, and sustainable and inclusive development at a higher level.

唯物史观视域下，社会发展有两个尺度，即生产力尺度和人的发展尺度。我们党对“坚持投资于物与投资于人紧密结合”的强调，体现了物质生产与社会关系变革、人的自由全面发展历程具有的内在统一性。经济社会发展不仅要通过“投资于物”提升物质生产生活条件，而且要通过“投资于人”改善关乎社会成员能力发展、机会获得、价值实现的诸多保障。这种结合既能促进物质繁荣，又能推动社会在更高水平上实现公平正义、活力有序与可持续包容发展。

Chinese-path modernization is a modernization in which material civilization and cultural-ethical progress are coordinated. This unique attribute determines that we cannot copy the Western modernization path centered on capital and characterized by materialist expansion. A strong material and technological foundation is the hardware support for modernization construction, while achieving common prosperity and promoting the comprehensive development of people and the overall progress of society are inherent requirements of Chinese-path modernization. Adhering to the close integration of investing in things and investing in people reflects that under the new circumstances, our Party’s understanding of the essential connotation of Chinese-path modernization has become deeper and more comprehensive, and its understanding of the laws of Chinese-path modernization construction is continuously deepening and expanding.

中国式现代化是物质文明和精神文明相协调的现代化，这一独特属性决定了我们不能复制西方以资本为中心、物质主义膨胀的现代化老路。强大的物质技术基础是现代化建设的硬件支撑，实现共同富裕、促进人的全面发展和社会全面进步是中国式现代化的内在要求。坚持投资于物与投资于人紧密结合，体现了新形势下我们党对中国式现代化的本质内涵的理解更加深刻全面，对中国式现代化建设规律认识不断深化拓展。

Adhering to the close integration of investing in things and investing in people objectively requires regarding “people” as the fundamental purpose, core resource, and ultimate value of development, rather than as instrumental elements in the production process. This means both respecting and exerting people’s subjectivity, developing people’s practical potential, and safeguarding people’s legitimate rights and interests, meeting people’s multi-level and diverse needs; pursuing both the growth of things and emphasizing the progress of people, so that economic and social development is always filled with humanistic care and value warmth.

坚持投资于物与投资于人紧密结合，客观上要求将“人”视为发展的根本目的、核心资源和终极价值，而非生产过程中的工具性要素。这意味着既要尊重发挥人的主体性，开发人的实践潜能，又要保障人的合法权益，满足人的多层次、多样化需求；既追求物的增长，又强调实现人的进步，使经济社会发展始终充盈着人文关怀和价值温度。

III

三

“Adhering to the close integration of investing in things and investing in people” is not only an important part of building a strong domestic market and accelerating the construction of a new development pattern during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period but also an inherent requirement for promoting the high-quality development of China’s economy and society. On the new journey, we must, on the basis of deeply grasping the dialectics of “investing in things” and “investing in people,” scientifically advance the integrated deployment of “investing in things” and “investing in people.”

“坚持投资于物与投资于人紧密结合”既是“十五五”时期建设强大国内市场、加快构建新发展格局的重要内容，也是推动我国经济社会高质量发展的内在要求。新征程上，我们要在深入把握“投资于物”与“投资于人”的辩证法基础上，科学推进“投资于物”与“投资于人”一体化部署。

Adhere to the unity of deepening supply and creating demand, and better promote the balance of supply and demand in the positive interaction of coordinating the expansion of domestic demand and deepening supply-side structural reform. Economic development is a process of continuous upgrading through the mutual influence of supply and demand. The upgrading of “people’s” demand guides the direction of investment in things, and the innovation in the supply of “things” further elevates people’s consumption levels. Currently, the key to solving the structural imbalance of strong production and weak consumption lies in establishing a positive interaction mechanism between releasing consumption potential and creating effective demand. On the one hand, adhere to investing in people, increase residents’ income through investment in education, medical care and elderly care, and enhancing human capital, so that residents dare to spend and enhance their consumption capacity. On the other hand, create potential demand and new-quality demand through investing in things, ultimately achieving a dynamic balance between supply and demand in the positive interaction of economic development and improvement of people’s livelihoods.

坚持深化供给与创造需求相统一，在统筹扩大内需和深化供给侧结构性改革的良性互动中更好推进供需平衡。经济发展是供求相互影响不断升级的过程。“人”的需求升级牵引物的投资方向，“物”的供给创新又进一步提升人的消费层次。当前，破解生产强、消费弱的结构性失衡，关键在于构建释放消费潜能与创造有效需求之间的良性互动机制。一方面，坚持投资于人，通过投资教育、医疗养老、提升人力资本等增加居民收入，让居民敢花钱，增强消费能力。另一方面，通过投资于物创造潜在需求、新质需求，最终在经济发展和民生改善的良性互动中实现供需动态平衡。

Adhere to the combination of the talent factor and the industrial factor, and better consolidate the foundation for development in the benign interaction between reform of the talent cultivation system and industrial upgrading. The benign interaction between industrial upgrading and reform of the talent cultivation system inherently requires the simultaneous mapping and rational matching of the “talent map” and the “industrial map.” According to the development plan of the “industrial map,” guide the directional adjustment of the talent cultivation system to achieve “determining talent by industry.” Through the “talent map,” assess regional skill advantages and innovation potential, provide human capital support for industrial upgrading and emerging layouts, and achieve “promoting industry through talent.” Thus, “investing in things” should be based on the strategic depiction of regional industrial structure, key clusters, technological pathways, and spatial layout by the “industrial map,” clarifying the industrial development layout; “investing in people” should be based on the systematic portrayal of the existing talent scale, structure, skill distribution, and educational supply capacity by the “talent map,” optimizing the supply of human resources.

坚持人才因素与产业因素相结合，在人才培养体系改革与产业升级的良性互动中更好夯实发展根基。产业升级与人才培养体系改革的良性互动，内在要求实现“人才地图”与“产业地图”的同步绘制与合理匹配。依据“产业地图”的发展规划，引导人才培养体系定向调整，实现“以产定才”。通过“人才地图”评估区域技能优势与创新潜力，为产业升级与新兴布局提供人力资本支撑，实现“以才促产”。由此，“投资于物”要基于“产业地图”对区域产业结构、重点集群、技术路径及空间布局的战略性描绘，明确产业发展布局；“投资于人”要基于“人才地图”对现有人才规模、结构、技能分布及教育供给能力的系统性刻画，优化人力资源供给。

Adhere to the unity of systematic planning and dynamic adjustment, and better optimize the investment structure in the benign interaction between overall coordination and specific allocation. On the one hand, based on a macro-strategic perspective, use long-term planning and top-level design to make the investment layout resonate with national development goals, ensuring that the direction, proportion, and focus of resource input always serve the overall strategic needs of the country. On the other hand, according to the development stage and actual conditions of different regions and industries, scientifically allocate limited resources, establish a dynamic monitoring and evaluation mechanism, and promptly control the intensity, focus, optimal ratio, and investment returns of investment, preventing structural imbalances.

坚持系统谋划与动态调整相统一，在总体统筹与具体分配的良性互动中更好优化投资结构。一方面，立足于宏观战略视野，以长远规划和顶层设计使投资布局与国家发展目标同频共振，确保资源投入的方向、比例和重点始终服务于国家整体战略需求。另一方面，依据不同区域、行业的发展阶段与实际条件，科学配置有限资源，并建立动态监测与评估机制，及时把控投资力度、重点、最优配比、投资效益，防止结构性失衡。

Adhere to the unity of development efficiency and fair distribution, and better enhance the vitality of economic development in the benign interaction between an effective market and a competent government. On the one hand, let the effective market play a decisive role in resource allocation, guide capital and talent to gather in high-efficiency fields through price signals and competition mechanisms, promote “investment in things” to focus on tackling bottlenecks in key areas, and align “investment in people” with key technological capability needs. On the other hand, let the competent government better play its role, compensate for the market’s deficiencies in long-term, foundational, and inclusive areas through macro-policy guidance, improvement of the institutional system, and provision of public services, achieve the organic connection and deep integration of “investing in things” and “investing in people,” and enhance the systemic nature, coordination, and sustainability of economic and social development.

坚持发展效率与公平分配相统一，在有效市场与有为政府的良性互动中更好增强经济发展活力。一方面，让有效市场在资源配置中发挥决定性作用，通过价格信号和竞争机制，引导资本与人才向高效益领域集聚，推动“物”的投资聚焦关键领域瓶颈攻关，“人”的投资对接关键技术能力需求。另一方面，让有为政府更好发挥作用，通过宏观政策引导、制度体系完善与公共服务供给，弥补市场在长期性、基础性、普惠性领域的不足，实现“投资于物”与“投资于人”的有机衔接与深度融合，增强经济社会发展的系统性、协调性与可持续性。

Adhere to the unity of domestic vision and international perspective, and better win competitive advantages in the benign interaction between opening up to the outside world and empowering internally. International competition is essentially a contest of comprehensive national strength, reflected not only in the hard power competition of “things” such as infrastructure, technical equipment, and the level of the industrial chain, but also inseparable from the soft power support of “people” such as talent quality, innovation capability, and skill structure. To this end, in international competition, “investing in things” should increase scientific and technological research and development, upgrade the industrial base, and optimize the supply chain network, directly enhancing the efficiency and resilience of domestic enterprises in the global market, and helping to enhance the competitiveness of domestic enterprises; in empowering internally, “investing in people” should enhance the overall quality and comprehensive ability of workers to adapt to change and participate in the international division of labor through education improvement, vocational training, and innovation incentives, and enhance the global competitiveness of workers.

坚持国内视野与国际眼光相统一，在对外开放与对内赋能的良性互动中更好赢得竞争优势。国际竞争本质上是综合国力的较量，既体现为基础设施、技术装备、产业链水平等“物”的硬实力比拼，也离不开人才素质、创新能力、技能结构等“人”的软实力支撑。为此，在国际竞争中，“投资于物”要加大科技研发、升级产业基础、优化供应链网络，直接增强本国企业在全球市场中的效率与韧性，助力提升本国企业竞争力；在对内赋能上，“投资于人”要通过教育提升、职业培训、创新激励等方式，提升劳动者适应变革、参与国际分工的整体素质和综合能力，提升劳动者的全球竞争力。

(Author: Hou Yaowen, Researcher at the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era Research Institute and Associate Professor at the School of Marxism, Renmin University of China)

（作者：侯耀文，系中国人民大学习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究院研究员、马克思主义学院副教授）