New quality productive forces require emerging, traditional industries to thrive: experts

BEIJING -- Both emerging and traditional industries are essential for the development of the new quality productive forces, experts noted at the sixth episode of the China Economic Roundtable, an all-media talk platform hosted by Xinhua News Agency.

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.

During the discussion, Huang Hanquan, head of the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research under the National Development and Reform Commission, said that strategic emerging industries and future industries are indeed the key to form new quality productive forces, while traditional industries are also of great significance.

"Traditional industries account for about 80 percent of the entire industrial system, serving as its cornerstone and largest base," Huang said.

Echoing Huang's views, Liu Dongmei, Party chief of the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development, said that without the sound development of traditional industries, the emerging and future industries might face the risks of supply chain disruption.

On the other hand, new technologies and processes arising from the development of emerging and future industries can in turn benefit traditional industries. "We believe that they are complementary, and are able to mutually integrate with one another," she said.

Application scenarios of new technologies, new patterns and new business models, such as artificial intelligence, can also be used in traditional industries, while traditional industries could provide upstream and downstream support, according to Huang.

Localities should give full play to their advantages to forge competitive landmark industries through the convergence of resources, technologies, enterprises and factors, Huang added.

Fostering new quality productive forces tailored to local conditions should involve a combination of resource endowment, industrial foundation and national development plans for different regions, advancing in an orderly manner, Liu said.