Drive for new quality productive forces hailed

"From Nigeria's perspective, China's introduction of new quality productive forces comes at a very timely moment," Abdulrahman Dambazau, Nigeria's ambassador to China, told a high-level symposium in Beijing on Thursday.

At the symposium, hosted by the Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy Studies Centre in Beijing, foreign diplomats joined discussions with leading Chinese scholars on China's latest practice and the global significance of its building of new quality productive forces in areas such as clean energy and artificial intelligence.

First put forward by President Xi Jinping in 2023, the term "new quality productive forces" means advanced productivity that is freed from the traditional economic growth mode and productivity development paths, and it features high-tech, high efficiency and high quality.

Dambazau noted that the world is facing climate change, digital disruption, supply chain shifts and the need for inclusive growth, and "what the world needs now are productive forces that are innovation-driven, green, efficient, people-centered". "This is exactly what China's practice represents," he said.

"We have watched with admiration how China is moving from factor-driven growth to innovation-driven growth. This means heavy investment in AI, quantum computing, biotech, new energy and high-end manufacturing," he added.

Chen Bo, secretary-general of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy Studies Centre and president of China Institute of International Studies, said China's pursuit of new quality productive forces not only enhances the resilience of its own economic growth but also serves to "promote world peace and development, mutually beneficial cooperation and shared prosperity through the Chinese path to modernization".

In terms of advancing global sustainable growth, China, the world's largest exporter of clean technology, has collaborated on green energy projects with more than 100 countries and regions, and has created 46 percent of jobs in the renewable energy sector worldwide, she noted.

'Stabilizing factor'

"In the face of the energy crisis triggered by geopolitical conflicts, China's high-quality, stable and affordable supply of clean energy not only provides a solid guarantee for its own effective response to the energy crisis but has also become a significant factor in stabilizing the global energy market and enhancing the energy security resilience of various nations," she said.

Shan Jingjing, deputy director of the National Academy of Chinese Modernization of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, took China's marine economy as an example, noting that the country is gearing up its emerging marine industries while modernizing traditional sectors through digitalization and transformation to artificial intelligence.

"In recent years in particular, China's offshore clean energy and marine biopharmaceutical industries have developed rapidly," she said.

Last year, China's total marine economic output accounted for around 8 percent of the country's total GDP, she said, adding that the nation's industrial structure continues to optimize, and its share of high-tech industries empowered by new quality productive forces continues to grow.

Du Guochen, director of the Institute of E-Commerce Research at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, noted that China now has more than 4,500 artificial intelligence companies, accounting for about 15 percent of the global total.

Citing the Global AI Governance Initiative proposed by China in 2023, Du said, "China places great emphasis on global inclusivity — that is, the sharing of AI governance capabilities — and is continuously promoting capacity building and sharing of experiences with tangible actions."

Hussam Al Husseini, Jordan's ambassador to China, said new quality productive forces are not just a newly established concept, but rather "a phase in a progressive transformation process that describes the resilient journey from poverty to high-quality development while with eyes on the future".

China's efforts in this regard are "creating new opportunities that will push for more inclusive and high-quality development for all", he said.

"And what makes them even more important is that they are an integral part of the shared future that we, the friends of China, are party to — and, in the spirit of our friendship and partnership — will be together in the making of this future," he added.