Chen Daojiang | New quality productive forces: Key to China’s strong economic growth

Several days ago, China’s economic report for Q1 2024 was released. The GDP increased by 5.3 per cent year-on-year, the value added of high-tech manufacturing increased by 7.5 per cent, the investment in fixed assets increased by 4.5 per cent, and the investment in high-tech industries increased by 11.4 per cent. A series of data shows that China’s economy has grown fairly fast, with better quality and high efficiency, and made a flying start in this year. The international community is generally optimistic about China’s economic development prospects. Goldman Sachs Group and Citibank raised their forecast for China’s year-on-year GDP growth this year to 5.0 per cent.

Global growth

Given the weak global economic recovery and overlapping regional conflicts, China’s economic growth ranks top among the world’s major economies, and remains the largest engine of global growth. Many Jamaican friends are interested to know what is key to China’s strong economic growth. I believe that new quality productive forces are important answers.

Based on insights into the world’s technological and economic development trends, President Xi Jinping proposed to advance industrial innovation through technological innovation and actively cultivate and develop new quality productive forces. New quality productive forces are different from the traditional economic growth mode and productivity development path. It takes the substantial increase in total factor productivity as its core hallmark. Marked by innovation, and with high quality as the key, new quality productive forces are advanced productivity in essence. The proposal of new quality productive forces shows that China attaches greater importance to innovation as the first driving force. China’s national R&D investment has reached US$469.01 billion, accounting for 2.64 per cent of GDP in 2023, up from 1.91 per cent in 2012. The total number of R&D personnel, the number of published scientific papers and the number of patent applications all rank first in the world. China’s Global Innovation Index ranking rose from 29th in 2011 to 12th in 2023.

Emerging industries

Technological innovation, like a incubator, creates new industries, new models and new growth drivers. China has formed strategic emerging industries, including new-generation information technology, biotechnology, new energy, new materials, high-end equipment, new-energy vehicles, green environmental protection and other industries. Its output value is expected to account for more than 17 per cent of GDP in 2025. China’s foreign trade exports were previously dominated by clothing, furniture, and home appliances, known as the ‘Old Three’. Now they have been upgraded to the ‘New Three’, i.e., electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar cells. Today, more than half of the electric vehicles on roads worldwide are found in China. In 2023, China’s new-energy vehicle exports reached 1.203 million units, a year-on-year increase of 77.6 per cent, and China has been catapulted to the world’s largest automobile exporter.

China’s steadfast pursuit of reform and opening up and high-quality development with new quality productive forces adds momentum to the recovery of the global economy. By high-level opening up, China always shares a bright future with countries around the world, including Jamaica. By 2023, China has been the world’s largest exporter and second-largest importer for 15 consecutive years. In the first quarter of this year, the total import and export value of China’s merchandise trade increased by five per cent year-on-year. China’s various high-quality products are well received by the international market, and the international community has high confidence in the strength of China’s supersized market. For example, more and more Jamaican products have entered the Chinese market, such as Blue Mountain coffee, rum and lobster, which are popular Jamaican goods in China and welcomed by Chinese consumers.

In recent days, some of my colleagues are helping our Jamaican friends apply for visas to attend the 135th Canton Fair in China. The scale of this ongoing event has reached a new high, with 680 global firms from 50 countries and regions, of which 64 per cent come from Belt and Road partner countries. Last year the number of offline participants from Jamaica almost doubled, compared to the previous year, and I believe there will be even more this year. China has recently adopted a series of new measures to facilitate people-to-people exchanges with foreign countries. Some Jamaican friends have raised questions about foreigners’ mobile payments in China. I believe it will be more convenient for them to travel to China again.

New historical juncture

Facing the future, China will insist on opening up, building more ‘Golden Bonds’ for win-win cooperation, and sharing China’s large market and new development opportunities with the world. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the strategic partnership between China and Jamaica, and the signing of the cooperation plan on jointly building the Belt and Road. Standing at a new historical juncture, China is willing to share its experience in developing new quality productive forces with Jamaica, continue to promote high-quality construction of the ‘Belt and Road’, and further deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields to better benefit both countries and their peoples.

Chen Daojiang is ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Jamaica and permanent representative of the People’s Republic of China to the International Seabed Authority. Send feedback to xiajamaica@gmail.com and to columns@gleanerjm.com.