In a recent article published in Economic Daily, Professor Shi Jianxun of Tongji SEM’s Department of Economics and Finance expressed his belief that a thorough comprehension of the green implications of new quality productive forces is of great strategic significance for improving the effectiveness and benefits of development, forming new growth drivers and advantages for development, and achieving harmonious coexistence between man and nature. The published original text is as follows.

High-quality development is characterized by green development, which is an intrinsic need of new quality productive forces. The most promising development direction now is toward green, low-carbon, and circular development, especially in light of the burgeoning new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation. During the 11^th Collective Study Session of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China presided over by him in January 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping stated, “New quality productive forces are also green productive forces”. This important statement has profoundly explained the inherent relationship between new quality productive forces and green productive forces. Gaining a thorough understanding of the “green” connotation of new quality productive forces is strategically crucial for improving the effectiveness and benefits of development, creating new growth drivers and advantages for development, and achieving harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

China’s initial development model was typified by excessive consumption, severe pollution, and low efficiency, and its initial production function, which is based on conventional productive forces, is also difficult to adapt to the new situation and falls short of the standards needed for high-quality development. New quality productive forces mean advanced productivity that is high-tech, high-efficient, and high-quality while adhering to the new development philosophy. A few examples of the distinct “green” feature of new quality productive forces include attaining technological innovations in green and low-carbon production, improving the market-oriented allocation system of resource and environmental factors, accomplishing the green and low-carbon transformation and upgrading of industries, and developing green production patterns and lifestyles.

New and higher standards for workers, means of labor, and subjects of labor are raised by the fundamental definition of new quality productive forces, which is the improvement of workers, means of labor, subjects of labor, and their optimal combinations. Developing new quality productive forces requires cultivating a high-quality workforce in line with the development of modern industries. These workers serve as a vital base for the development of green productive forces since they are the practitioners of green production patterns. Developing new quality productive forces also calls for “greener” means of labor, such as low-energy, low-emission, or zero-emission machinery, equipment, and infrastructure to support the low-carbon and green transformation of industries, in addition to sophisticated, digitally-intelligently upgraded instruments and intelligent devices. As for subjects of labor, developing new quality productive forces necessitates encouraging the iterative, continuous development of green technologies. This will allow for the expansion of new production spaces, as well as the ongoing enrichment of subjects of labor in terms of both material and non-material forms, such as massive data and information, and new energy and materials. Among them, new energy sources such as solar energy, wind energy, hydrogen energy, nuclear energy, and geothermal energy, as well as new materials such as carbon nanomaterials, biomimetic materials, and optoelectronic materials, can overcome the drawbacks of traditional energy and materials, such as insufficient reserves, non-renewability, and severe environmental damage. They can also lessen the environmental burden, improve the efficiency of energy and resource utilization, help save energy and reduce emissions, and accelerate the green low-carbon transformation of the development mode.

Handling the relationship between economic development and eco-environment protection correctly is crucial to fostering and developing new quality productive forces and promoting high-quality development. This allows for the unification of ecological, economic, and social benefits. New quality productive forces follow both the laws of productive force development and the laws of nature, embody that protecting the eco-environment is protecting productive forces and improving the eco-environment is developing productive forces, and contain the value pursuit of the harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

Developing green productive forces requires relations of production that adapt to them. This necessitates accelerating the improvement of systems and mechanisms that support the development of green productive forces, deepening reforms in sci-tech systems, education systems, and talent systems, and striving to remove roadblocks and impediments that impede the development of green productive forces. In order to effectively support the transformation to a low-carbon and green development mode, it is also necessary to improve policies, standards, markets, and regulatory systems, strengthen the regulations governing methods and intensity of ecological resource development and utilization, enhance the market-oriented allocation system of resources and environmental factors, and use policy guidance, institutional innovation, financial support, and other means to improve the efficiency of factor resource allocation and effectively promote green productive forces.

Developing green productive forces also requires accelerating innovation in green and low-carbon technologies. Sci-tech innovation is essential to developing new quality productive forces, and advancing innovation in green and low-carbon technologies will create a large development window for industrial transformation and upgrading. In this regard, it is imperative that demand-oriented, problem-oriented, and market-oriented approaches be combined; that a green technology innovation system be established as quickly as possible; and that core green and low-carbon technologies be addressed in key fields, with particular attention to technologies related to new pollutant treatment, environmental remediation, hydrogen energy, energy storage, bio-manufacturing, carbon capture, utilization and storage, and high-efficiency energy conservation and consumption reduction.

Developing green productive forces is a long-term task, necessitating the integration of long-term goals with realistic conditions, in order to fully integrate the requirements of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals into the medium and long-term plans for economic and social development, and to expedite the establishment of a green, low-carbon, and circular economy. It is necessary to formulate policies supporting the development of green and low-carbon industries, popularize the application of green and low-carbon technologies, promote the revolution in energy production and consumption, build a clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient energy system, and vigorously grow energy conservation and environmental protection, clean production, and clean energy industries. It is also necessary to advocate green and low-carbon lifestyles, initiate initiatives for energy-efficient government agencies, green families, green schools, green communities, and green travel, and raise social awareness of these issues.