Xi Jinping used the "Two Sessions" to expand his power. What are "new productive forces"?

China's National People's Congress concluded in Beijing on March 11, marking the official end of the "Two Sessions". This meeting passed the revised "Organic Law of the State Council", which gives the party more administrative control over the State Council and further expands Xi Jinping's personal power. At the same time, "new productivity" became a hot word during the two sessions, but whether it can actually play a role in solving the current economic predicament is widely questioned by the outside world.

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After more than 40 years of strengthening centralization of power, the Chinese National People's Congress revised the "Organic Law of the State Council"

 "Dear representatives, the Second Session of the 14th National People's Congress has successfully completed all agendas." On the afternoon of the 11th, Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, announced the closure of the Second Session of the National People's Congress. The congress approved the government work report, the National People's Congress Standing Committee work report, etc.

Xi Jinping’s powers are further expanded through the revision of the “Organic Law of the State Council”

The meeting also voted to adopt the newly revised "Organic Law of the State Council" with 2,883 votes in favor, 8 votes against, and 9 abstentions, and it will come into effect from the date of promulgation. This is also the first time in 41 years that the Chinese government has revised this law.

Reuters pointed out that China’s revised “Organic Law of the State Council” is the latest in a series of party measures to gradually erode the administrative power of the State Council in recent years. The newly added clause emphasizes that the State Council must "resolutely safeguard the authority and centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee" and "clearly clarify the guiding ideology of the party and the country, especially Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, as the guiding ideology for all work of the State Council." The report said that since taking power in 2012, Xi Jinping has established a number of new central committees or groups responsible for overseeing multiple ministries that report directly to him. Some even include economic and financial policies that have traditionally been seen as falling within the purview of the prime minister.

In addition, there was no Prime Minister's press conference after the closing of the National People's Congress. Xia Yeliang, an economist living in the United States, believes that these are manifestations of Xi Jinping's strengthening of his personal power: "Xi Jinping is trying to control the world, and the impact of autocratic imperial power on him is deep-rooted, so he does not want any power to be controlled by others. And dominate. Now the Prime Minister he has chosen, Li Qiang, is completely submissive and he (Xi Jinping) says whatever he says."

Xi Jinping's "new quality productivity" has become a new hot word

During the "Two Sessions", "accelerating the development of new productive forces" was included in this year's government work report and ranked first among the top ten tasks. According to Chinese official media reports, "new quality productivity" was first proposed by Xi Jinping during his inspection in Heilongjiang in September 2023. This concept was subsequently highlighted at the Central Economic Work Conference at the end of 2023 and the Political Bureau meeting at the end of February this year. During the "Two Sessions", Xi Jinping once again emphasized when participating in the deliberation of the Jiangsu delegation that we must firmly grasp the primary task of "high-quality development" and develop "new productive forces" according to local conditions.

China's official media Economic Daily published an article in January by Sheng Chaoxun, director of the Strategic Policy Office of the China Institute of Macroeconomics, arguing that "new productivity" refers to the extensive use of big data, artificial intelligence, the Internet, and traditional productivity. New industries, new technologies, new products and new business formats are created by the close integration of new technologies such as cloud computing with high-quality workers, modern finance, data and information, etc., which represent a qualitative leap in productivity levels.

 “There is no such formulation in mainstream economics around the world.” Economist Xia Yeliang told this station that China officially claims that “new quality productivity” is Xi Jinping’s invention, but in fact it was proposed by a group of “Queen” economists. , whose academic source is Marx’s productivity theory in the 19th century, which mainly emphasizes the optimal combination of workers, labor materials, and labor objects. At the same time, it is mixed with some concepts in mainstream economics, claiming that "new productivity" refers to revolutionary breakthroughs in science and technology, coupled with innovative allocation of production factors, and in-depth transformation and upgrading of industries.

Xia Yeliang said: "These concepts make people feel dumbfounded, and they are just different. You say it is a theoretical category (category) of mainstream economics, but no, there is no such thing; you say it is the traditional Marxist political economy It’s not a concept in school. So it’s a combination of a traditional, backward concept from the 19th century and some of today’s fashionable terms.”

Xia Yeliang pointed out that because there is no education and basic research to match technological innovation, China has never had any original inventions. At the same time, in a social environment where the basic rights of the Chinese public such as speech, publishing, and association are restricted or even deprived of, it is impossible to have decent innovation: “The so-called innovation is nothing but plagiarism and theft - stealing from others like pirates. intellectual property rights, and even dispatched technological spies.”

Xia Yeliang also mentioned that many scholars such as the famous economist Wu Jinglian proposed as early as the late 1990s that China should transform its economic growth model as soon as possible from the past extensive to intensive economic growth, that is, from low-quality growth to high-quality growth. Quality growth. But now the so-called "new productivity" is just old wine in new bottles. He questioned: "In the past 20 years or so, if China has truly transformed its economic growth model, it does not matter whether it mentions the current 'new productive forces'. The problem is that in the past 20 years or so, it has not It has not been done. Now that Xi Jinping has said this term, can it be done?"

Xi'an University of Science and Technology establishes "New Quality Productivity" Research Center Scholars: Hype and defraud funds

As "new quality productivity" has become a new hot word promoted by the government, Xi'an University of Science and Technology established the "New Quality Productivity Research Center" on March 3, and the president of the school personally led the theoretical research and technology of the center. Research and other matters. According to Chinese media The Paper, in the future, the center will focus on "new productivity", explore innovative directions such as digitalization, intelligence, and greening, and "contribute wisdom and strength" to promote industrial upgrading and high-quality economic and social development.

In this regard, Xia Yeliang said: "It cannot have a substantial improvement (effect), but it gives some people who rely on it to speculate and make a living an opportunity to set up various institutions and enrich their own pockets, that's all. "

"New quality combat effectiveness" and "new quality productivity": strengthening the country rather than enriching the people

Zheng Xuguang, an independent commentator in the United States, believes that the Chinese military system proposed the so-called "new quality combat capability" in 2013. Xi Jinping may have been inspired by this to propose the so-called "new quality productivity": "This time in Xi Jinping's military delegation, he It mentioned that the 'new quality productive forces' should support the 'new quality combat effectiveness' and promote each other. In fact, it is another concept of 'military and civilian dual use'."

Zheng Xuguang pointed out that for Xi Jinping, "new quality productivity" is part of his so-called "Strategy to Strengthen the Country": "New quality productivity, new quality combat effectiveness, high-quality development, and high-level opening-up, all of these words either add 'new', Either add 'higher'. What he wants is to be ahead, to be stronger, or to have an overwhelming advantage, instead of talking about how my economic aggregate is. Basically, what he wants is how to 'power the country', not 'Enrich the people'."

Zheng Xuguang believes that China currently mainly masters mid-to-low-end technologies in the field of science and technology. The technological upgrades proposed by the "New Productivity" now feel like the Great Leap Forward: "China's economic aggregate is sufficient, but money cannot directly change "To become a technology", "It is even less likely to immerse yourself in doing it yourself. Because if you withdraw from this collaborative system, you may also lose the advantages you originally had. If you want to be big and comprehensive, it must be low-level."

Zhang Junhua, a Chinese-German political scientist, recently commented on the Deutsche Welle Chinese website that China's current economic difficulties are largely due to problems at the institutional level, and it is time to change its development model. China must start fundamental changes in its system, otherwise "new productive forces" may always remain a castle in the air.