Deeper reform drives modernization
China DailyJIN DING/CHINA DAILY Boosting total factor productivity As China enters a new stage of economic development, rising factor costs and the aging population have become major challenges as have the restrictions imposed by advanced economies on the transfer of some core technologies to China. Given these facts, the central government has stressed that cultivating new quality productive forces is necessary for promoting high-quality development. New quality productive forces are fuelled by revolutionary breakthroughs in technology, novel allocations of factors of production, and transformation and upgrading of industries, with a significant increase in total factor productivity being its signature pursuit. Promoting new quality productive forces is necessary to pursue sustainable development, original and disruptive technological innovations are needed to drive new quality productive forces, while education remains the cornerstone of technological innovation. So governments and educational departments at all levels should take steps to attract more talents, improve the curriculums, prioritize STEM education, cultivate talents with interdisciplinary knowledge and an international outlook, and form a virtuous cycle of education, science, technology and talents, providing solid support for the development of the new quality productive forces.