Graphics: China unleashes vitality on new quality productive forces

In China's pursuit of high-quality development, the term "new quality productive forces" is grabbing the spotlight, highlighting the direction for the transformation and upgrading of the world's second-largest economy.

First introduced in 2023, new quality productive forces refer to advanced productivity freed from the traditional economic growth mode and productivity development paths. It features high-tech, high efficiency and high quality and comes in line with the new development philosophy.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), China's overall strength in science and technology innovation has steadily improved in recent years, with the country's research and development (R&D) expenditure exceeding 3.3 trillion yuan (about $463.5 billion) in 2023, an increase of 8.1 percent year on year.

Driven by China's unwavering focus on innovation and technology, the value added of high-tech manufacturing has outpaced the value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size in the first three quarters of 2024, data from NBS showed. In October, the Index of Services Production (ISP) in information transmission, software and information technology services went up by 10.2 percent year-on-year, 3.9 percentage points higher than the ISP.

China's digital economy has also expanded rapidly, showcasing significant growth potential and contributing to the country's high-quality development. From January to October, the total retail sales reached 39,896 billion yuan, up by 3.5 percent year-on-year, of which online retail sales comprised 12,363 billion yuan, up by 8.8 percent.