The formation logic of new quality productive forces in the construction of China's independent economic knowledge system

Purpose The paper aims to show how the construction of an independent knowledge system is a process of transforming practical experience into systematic knowledge, with a terminological revolution at its core. Design/methodology/approach This paper shows that to harness the role of new quality productive forces (NQPFs) in advancing the Chinese path to modernization and high-quality development, it is essential to apply the Marxist political economy’s methodology of integrating theory with historical analysis. This approach enables a systematic, theoretical explication of the formative logic behind NQPFs within the framework of China’s independent economic knowledge system. This requires adherence to historical materialism as both a theoretical foundation and methodological approach for understanding the developmental rationale of NQPFs in the construction of China’s independent economic knowledge system. Findings From a national perspective, NQPFs embody the most recent achievement in the evolution of advanced productive forces throughout the developmental practice of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Theoretically, the formation of NQPFs results from the internal contradictory dynamics inherent in productive forces. Their development follows the “science and technology-industry-productive forces” paradigm, whereby emerging technologies are integrated into new industries, generating new factors reliant on these technological advances, and thereby driving a qualitative transformation and leap in the structural composition of productive forces. Originality/value The theory of NQPFs represents a profound extension of Xi Jinping’s thought on economy and a highly original contribution to the construction of China’s independent economic knowledge system. It significantly develops the Marxist theory of productive forces, opening new horizons for the development of China’s independent economic knowledge system. This theory also provides answers to China-specific inquiries, global challenges, people-centered concerns and epochal questions in the process of building China’s independent economic knowledge system.