The Closed-door Seminar 'Financial Support for New Quality Productive Forces' Was Successfully Held.

On March 21st, the 'Financial Support for New Quality Productivity' closed-door seminar and the 226th session of the Macro-Finance Salon, jointly organized by the Beijing Financial Street Service Bureau, Beijing Financial Street Research Institute, International Monetary Institute (IMI) of Renmin University of China (RUC), and the internal publication 'Observation of Financial Street,' were successfully held at Courtyard No. 4, Xihua Gate Street, Xicheng District, Beijing. Zhou Yueqiu, Chairman of the Academic Committee of the Beijing Financial Street Research Institute and former Chief Economist of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, chaired the meeting.

Experts including Liu Gang, Director of the Xinhua Institute, Pan Hongsheng, Chief Economist of China Institute of Finance and Capital Markets, Mo Wangu, Deputy Director of the Research Institute of the People's Bank of China (PBoC), Chen Weidong, Dean of the Bank of China Research Institute, Zhao Youli, Associate Dean of the Modern Financial Research Institute of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Tu Yonghong, Deputy Director of the IMI of RUC, Yang Dong, Dean of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies of RUC, and He Qing, Executive Associate Dean and Professor of the National Institute of Finance of RUC, attended the meeting and delivered speeches.

Officials including Lu Wuxing, Director of the Beijing Financial Street Service Bureau, Wang Ping and Fu Deli, Deputy Directors of the Beijing Financial Street Service Bureau, Li Dong, Director of the Financial Development Promotion Center of Xicheng District, Wang Shuai, Director of the Beijing Financial Street Service Bureau, Song Junfeng, Associate Dean and Secretary-General of the Beijing Financial Street Research Institute, Zhao Bo, Deputy Secretary-General of the Beijing Financial Street Research Institute, and Yang Wenzhu, Assistant to the Dean of the Beijing Financial Street Research Institute, also attended the meeting.

Chairman Zhou Yueqiu welcomed all the experts and guests present and pointed out that since the reports of the Two Sessions this year, the term 'new quality productive forces' has sparked widespread and enthusiastic discussions nationwide. The financial industry urgently needs to leverage financial services to better support the development process of new productive forces. The theme of this seminar is 'Financial Support for New Quality Productive Forces.'

Dean Liu Gang shared suggestions on 'developing new productive forces' from three perspectives: deepening theoretical research, promoting practical operations, and responding to misinterpretations from America and the West.

Firstly, from the perspective of deepening theoretical research, 'new quality productive forces' is an important concept in Xi Jinping's economic thought and is closely related to the themes of 'high-quality development' and 'Chinese-style modernization.' Developing new productive forces not only involves changes in laborers, labor tools, and labor objects, but also inseparable adjustments in production relations. It requires grasping changes in basic research, technological breakthroughs, result transformation, science and Fintech, talent support, as well as changes in elements such as industrial chains, research chains, capital chains, and talent chains. Theoretical research needs a broader perspective.

Secondly, from the perspective of practical operations, the recent joint issuance of the 'Implementation Opinions on Promoting Future Industry Development' by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and six other ministries has comprehensively summarized six future industries. It is worth noting that developed countries such as the United States and Japan have also issued their respective plans for future industries. Therefore, accurately identifying cutting-edge technologies, recognizing technological innovations with high-level breakthroughs and high-potential industrial prospects may be the focus of the next international competition and is also an objective requirement for developing new quality productive forces.

Thirdly, from an international perspective, the current international strategic community recognizes that our development of new quality productive forces is at a critical decision-making stage of economic transformation and upgrading, especially transitioning from traditional real estate reliance to an important decision-making stage of high-quality development. However, it requires vigilance that some American and Western think tanks and media misinterpret new quality productive forces from the perspective of China-US competition, linking them with the 'China threat theory,' aiming to suppress our country's development of high-tech industries and cultivation of high-tech talents. From the viewpoint of creating a favorable international public opinion environment, it should be emphasized that industrial development is for the world to share, focusing on promoting economic globalization and opposing unilateralism and blockade policies such as 'small yard, high fence' and 'de-risking.'

Chief Pan Hongsheng shared his understanding of new quality productivity from three perspectives. Firstly, regarding the essence of new quality productive forces, the key lies in advancement, representing a more efficient productivity system. However, it should not focus solely on technology. It must form a virtuous cycle of scientific innovation, advanced technology, and advantageous industries. This involves dynamic matching of supply and demand on a larger scale, higher quantity, and better quality, bringing about structural changes in economic growth.

Secondly, the capital market has strong adaptability in promoting the development of new quality productive forces. The driving force behind new quality productive forces is mainly generic and universal technologies, which have considerable uncertainty. Success and timing are unpredictable, and it's difficult to evaluate in advance. Therefore, it is more suitable for angel investments, venture capital, and other direct financing mechanisms to support it. In broad terms, the capital market should be an important channel for promoting the development of new quality productive forces.

Finally, facilitating new quality productive forces through finance requires addressing some difficult points and obstacles. First, adapting measures to local conditions to avoid a rush of redundant construction. Second, distinguishing technological characteristics, targeting the conditions and advantages of local enterprises, focusing on key breakthroughs, leading by example, transitioning from quantity to quality, and avoiding scattered efforts. From a policy perspective, actions should be commensurate with capabilities, avoiding hasty large-scale investments. Third, coordinating the development of new quality productive forces with traditional productivity, avoiding a binary approach of old versus new or black and white. While developing representative industries of new quality productive forces, accelerate the upgrading and transformation of traditional industries. Fourth, enhancing institutional and mechanism innovations, including strengthening policy coordination, talent strategies, and innovative systems, emphasizing the role of market mechanisms, respecting the subjectivity of enterprises, and increasing tolerance for innovation from a structural standpoint.

Dean Chen Weidong pointed out that new quality productive forces is the foundation and technical basis for promoting the development of emerging industries and expanding the economic and social investment and consumption space. Seizing the key points of new quality productive forces is an important opportunity period for China to catch up in science and technology and undergo economic transformation and upgrading.

Improving labor productivity through the development of new quality productive forces signifies a change in the foundation of potential productivity, and is beneficial to strengthen the expected stable development of the Chinese economy. In the process of developing new quality productive forces, technological innovation continually drives the upgrading and improvement of traditional industries, creating greater space for economic development. Additionally, in the context of global development, the development of new quality productive forces will also change China's position in the global industrial division of labor.

New quality productive forces will bring about changes in China's financial industry, driving total financial growth and leading to profound structural changes, including direct and indirect financing relationships, domestic financing versus cross-border financing structures, which will have far-reaching effects on the layout and business development of financial institutions. Promoting the development of new quality productive forces requires a long-term capital foundation. Long-term capital plays an important role in technology research and development, outcome conversion, product incubation, etc. Given the new geopolitical landscape, changes in global venture capital flows need close attention, focusing on fostering a social environment that is conducive to long-term capital entry and being cautious of financial services' new quality productive forces becoming overly speculative. Traditional industries still have development potential, and consideration should be given to the collaborative relationship between traditional industries and the development of new quality productive forces. The financial industry needs to enhance its service capabilities for new quality productive forces, actively use new technologies to promote business and model transformation, strengthen industry research, and adapt to the development needs of new quality productive forces.

Deputy Director Tu Yonghong spoke on the theme 'Grasping Key Points and Focusing on Development of New Quality Productive Forces According to Local Conditions.' She pointed out that the core essence of new quality productive forces is innovation leading the way, in line with new development concepts, taking the optimization and qualitative improvement of production factors, industry upgrades, and transformation as the basic content of developing new quality productive forces. Significant improvement in total factor productivity is a core indicator of the level of development of new quality productive forces.

The key to developing new quality productive forces lies in improving and optimizing the combination of production factors, focusing on cultivating talents that meet the needs of new quality productivity, promoting the high-end, intelligent, and green transformation of labor tools and labor objects, and optimizing the combination of production factors. Innovation is the primary driving force for developing new quality productive forces, constantly producing original and disruptive technologies, overcoming key bottlenecks in core technologies, and highlighting innovation; adhering to innovation, coordination, green development, openness, and sharing in an organic unity, emphasizing systematicness; prioritizing efficiency, leading in various forms of global productivity, and highlighting advancement. It is necessary to leverage local resource advantages, adapt measures to local conditions, coordinate emerging industries and traditional industries, identify the main directions and breakthroughs for developing new quality productivity. Cultivating new quality productivity requires focusing on science and technology, talents, and digitalization, improving innovation capabilities, cultivating and strengthening new driving forces, laying a solid foundation; enhancing digital empowerment to help shape new advantages.

Playing the role of an accelerator in promoting the development of new quality productive forces through finance entails addressing five major areas and deepening the close connection between financial supply-side reform and developing new quality productive forces. It involves adjusting the structure of financial markets and systems, vigorously developing Fintech, strengthening the leading role of fiscal funds, enhancing cooperation between financial institutions, policy-based finance, and commercial finance, and improving the long-term capital supply mechanism.

Professor Yang Dong pointed out that the School of Interdisciplinary Studies of Renmin University of China, as one of the first national-level pilot projects for interdisciplinary studies, focuses on the research and development of new quality productivity and new disciplines. President Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary studies in an important speech, calling for the breaking of traditional disciplinary boundaries to promote the development of new quality productive forces. The traditional Western university system focuses on Western financial knowledge and industrial systems, while Chinese universities need to develop new quality productive forces that suits our national conditions within the framework of interdisciplinary studies.

New quality productive forces are a new type of productivity that can be combined with constructing the fifth scientific paradigm of China's independent knowledge system. China’s independently developed 'Coken' is a brand-new digitalized equity voucher that has emerged under the background of the digital economy. It serves as a credential for distributing benefits related to data elements, encouraging the orderly circulation of data elements.

At the same time, the School of Interdisciplinary Studies is also vigorously promoting the development of Macro-Finance. From Fintech to digital currency, blockchain, and metaverse, it has produced a large number of research results. In the exploration of new quality productive forces, data is seen as a core element. Through data-driven financial product innovation, banks and financial institutions can better adapt to market demands and provide more precise financial services.

Professor He Qing proposed that the development of new quality productive forces should focus on theoretical innovation and international standardization. He believes that although the practical fields of new quality productive forces are active, there is a certain lag in theoretical research, resulting in a gap. The connotation and development trajectory of new quality productive forces will change over time, with different focuses at different periods. The connotation of new quality productive forces goes beyond total factor productivity and includes efficiency improvement and technological progress. In the process of technological development evolution, from the Industrial Revolution dominated by hard technologies to the transition dominated by soft technologies led by information technology, capital markets have played an important role, especially in promoting soft technologies. However, the monopoly of the American capital market model can lead to unequal distribution of social wealth, which is not conducive to the goal of common prosperity. Therefore, China should focus on developing advanced manufacturing while establishing a multi-level capital market in technological progress.

The development of new quality productive forces requires attention to theoretical innovation and international standardization. The Financial Street Forum should actively attract foreign scholars to participate, promote Chinese technologies and standards, and enhance its international influence. Only with universal recognition from the international community can China's technologies and standards truly become international standards.

Subsequently, experts attending the forum had extensive and enthusiastic discussions around the theme of the forum, expressing their views and opinions and exploring some current hot issues.

It is reported that the Macro-Finance Salon is jointly organized by the School of Finance at Renmin University of China and the National Institute of Financial Research, and is hosted by the International Monetary Institute. The salon is a high-level academic salon based on China's practices and closely follows international frontiers. It aims to promote the construction of the 'Macro-Finance' discipline in the new era, deeply conduct theoretical, policy, and strategic research on 'Macro-Finance,' and build a high-level, specialized, and open academic exchange platform. Professor Huang Da is the initiator and designer of China's 'Macro-Finance' thought system. At the turn of the century, in response to new challenges and requirements posed by economic and financial globalization to the construction of China's financial disciplines, he reconstructed the financial discipline framework based on China's realities, initiated, and systematically designed the 'Macro-Finance' discipline system. Several generations of scholars have continued to inherit and carry forward this system, advocating the integration of finance with the real economy and the combination of macro and micro finance. This significant theoretical innovation system, with its distinctive 'Renmin University' style, has gradually taken shape.