Facing its deepest economic challenges in years, China's leadership has tasked ministries and local governments with implementing a new mantra from President Xi Jinping: unleash "new productive forces."
In his annual report to China’s legislature on Tuesday, Premier Li Qiang, Xi’s top deputy, vowed a "new leap forward” by supporting developing sectors and industries including electric vehicles, new materials, commercial spaceflight, quantum technology and life sciences.
The term "new productive forces" was coined by Xi last September during a trip to a rust-belt city in northeast China, where he highlighted the need for a new model for economic development based on innovation in advanced sectors.