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October“Jiangshan belongs to the people, and the people are the foundation of Jiangshan.” On September 28, the Third Jiangshan Forum was held under the theme of “Synergistic Empowerment of Chinese Modernization through New Quality Productive Forces and Cultural Soft Power.” The forum brought together experts and scholars from various fields to explore pathways for the coordinated development of material and cultural-ethical advancement, unleashing stronger momentum for development, deepening the foundations of civilization, and advancing Chinese modernization with stability and sustainability.
Arken Imirbaki, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 12th and 13th National People’s Congress and President of the Chinese-Arabic Friendship Association, and ZHANG Donggang, Secretary of CPC RUC Committee, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. WU Weishan, Member of the Standing Committee and Deputy Secretary-General of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Full-time Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the China Democratic League, and Vice Chairman of the China Artists Association; WANG Jiangping, Member of the 14th CPPCC National Committee, Member of the Committee of Population, Resources and Environment of the CPPCC National Committee, and former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; WANG Yiming, former Deputy Director of the Development Research Center of the State Council; DONG Qiang, Vice President of the International Confucian Association, Dean of Yenching Academy of Peking University, and Boya Distinguished Professor; and SHI Yong, Counselor of the State Council and Director of the Research Center on Fictitious Economy and Data Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, attended the forum and delivered keynote speeches. More than 120 participants, including experts and scholars from universities and research institutions across China, heads of relevant university departments and affiliated organizations, faculty representatives, student representatives, and media representatives, attended the forum. ZHI Xiaoqiang, Vice President of Renmin University of China, presided over the opening ceremony.
Arken Imirbaki stated that, as profound changes unseen in a century continue to accelerate across the world, advancing the great cause of building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization requires not only strong material advancement but also strong cultural-ethical advancement. The synergistic empowerment of new quality productive forces and cultural soft power represents a vivid manifestation of the coordinated development of material and spiritual civilizations. He stressed the need to uphold scientific and technological innovation as the driving force, develop new quality productive forces in accordance with local conditions, strengthen original and disruptive technological innovation, and consolidate the material foundation for Chinese modernization. It is also essential to strengthen cultural confidence, continuously enhance national cultural soft power and the influence of Chinese culture, and build up the spiritual strength underpinning Chinese modernization. Efforts should be made to promote mutual empowerment and coordinated development between new quality productive forces and cultural soft power, bringing together the tremendous strength of the people of all ethnic groups across the country in unity and common endeavor. He emphasized that it is necessary to adhere to the main line of building a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, enable all ethnic groups to cling closely together like pomegranate seeds, work together in unity and strive together, and achieve common prosperity and development. By transforming the advantages of the “synergy of the two forces” into a powerful force for advancing Chinese modernization, greater efforts can be made to promote the great cause of national rejuvenation. He expressed hope that Renmin University of China would continue to leverage its strengths as a think tank and its role in providing policy advice, produce more high-quality research outcomes, and better serve the development of the Party and the country’s cause.
ZHANG Donggang said that new quality productive forces and cultural soft power are unified in the great practice of advancing Chinese modernization through high-quality development and in the grand process of creating a new form of human civilization. It is therefore essential to deeply understand the inherent logic of their mutual empowerment and coordinated development. Renmin University of China has always responded to the call of the times through academic endeavors and served the major strategic needs of the Party and the country with a strong sense of responsibility. In recent years, focusing on the mutual empowerment of new quality productive forces and cultural soft power, the university has conducted fruitful explorations in areas including teaching and research, theoretical development, talent cultivation, and practical approaches. The university has established the Research Center for New Quality Productive Forces and the Suzhou Research Center for Humanistic Economy, published Research Series on New Quality Productive Forces and Outline of Humanistic Economics, carried out the Civilization History Research Project, and launched a number of major achievements, including the “Two Histories, Two Theories and One Outline” series. The Third Jiangshan Forum, centered on the theme of “Synergistic Empowerment of Chinese Modernization through New Quality Productive Forces and Cultural Soft Power,” aims to deepen research and interpretation of the mutual empowerment and coordinated development of new quality productive forces and cultural soft power. It seeks to understand their dialectical relationship and consolidate the theoretical foundation for the “synergy of the two forces”; uphold a people-centered approach and clarify the value orientation of the “synergy of the two forces”; and stimulate cultural productive forces while expanding the practical space for such synergy. At this historic juncture ahead of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee，, Renmin University of China is willing to work with all parties to deepen exchanges and cooperation, produce more research outputs of rigorous academic depth and global influence, and contribute wisdom and strength to advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese modernization.
During the report release session, PEI Jiansuo, Deputy Dean of the School of Applied Economics at Renmin University of China, on behalf of the National Academy of Development and Strategy and the Research Center for New Quality Productive Forces, jointly released the report Synergistic Empowerment of Chinese Modernization through New Quality Productive Forces and Cultural Soft Power. LI Jingping, Director of the Center for Applied Statistics, a Key Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, and Director of the Center for Monitoring and Evaluation of Chinese Modernization at Renmin University of China, released Report on the Chinese Modernization Index (2026). Based on the vivid practices of Chinese modernization, the two research outcomes aim to further advance and substantiate the major endeavor of “synergistic empowerment” and provide solid academic support for the synergy between the “two strengths.”
The report Synergistic Empowerment of Chinese Modernization through New Quality Productive Forces and Cultural Soft Power provides a systematic analysis of how the synergy between the “two strengths” empowers Chinese modernization. Building on theoretical construction, the report explains the mechanisms through which the consolidation of the material foundation, the infusion of spiritual strength, and coordinated efforts jointly contribute to empowerment. Drawing on practical experiences from Beijing, Shanghai, and other regions, the report summarizes approaches for jointly cultivating new drivers of high-quality development, promoting people’s all-round development, advancing common prosperity, and fostering green development. It further proposes policy pathways from five dimensions: innovation mechanisms, governance systems, resource allocation, green governance, and international communication and cooperation, providing theoretical support and policy references for advancing Chinese modernization.
Report on the Chinese Modernization Index (2026) provides a systematic introduction to the evaluation indicator system and index construction methodology for Chinese modernization, and conducts a comprehensive analysis of the overall progress, regional disparities, and development trends across various fields of Chinese modernization from 2020 to 2025. The report shows that the overall level of Chinese modernization has steadily improved, regional disparities have continued to narrow, and coordinated progress has been made across the economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological dimensions. Meanwhile, the report puts forward targeted recommendations in key areas, including promoting high-quality development, coordinating development and security, improving people’s well-being, enhancing cultural service capacity, and deepening green transformation.
LIU Qing, Executive Dean of the National Academy of Development and Strategy at Renmin University of China, presided over the report release session.
WU Weishan said that exploring how new quality productive forces and cultural soft power can synergistically empower Chinese modernization should begin with the question of “what makes them new.” It is necessary to address “where the newness comes from, why newness is needed, and what the newness of the future will be,” with culture serving as the underlying logic embedded throughout this process. He elaborated on the topic from six dimensions: the core of innovation, the foundation of innovation, the direction of innovation, the elevation of innovation, the boundaries of innovation, and the value of innovation. He pointed out that education lays a solid foundation for innovation, culture guides the direction of innovation, and aesthetic education elevates the realm of innovation. Human intelligence, he noted, serves as the fundamental measure for technological application, and innovation must ultimately serve the people. In the intelligent era, it is even more essential to uphold a people-oriented spirit and promote the synergistic empowerment of science, technology, and culture in advancing Chinese modernization.
WANG Jiangping, starting from the perspective of artificial intelligence governance, proposed that Eastern wisdom should be integrated to empower new quality productive forces. He emphasized that while attaching importance to the “techniques” of technology, it is equally essential to uphold the “principles” of a people-oriented approach. Drawing inspiration from the traditional Chinese philosophy of “the highest virtue is like water,” he proposed that governing AI should be approached in the same way as managing water. He called for the development of a “Supreme Good AI” characterized by altruism, inclusiveness, accessibility, trustworthiness, fairness, justice, and agility. Such efforts should promote cultural alignment, bidirectional alignment, and dynamic alignment between humans and machines; improve a “four-in-one” governance framework integrating self-regulation, social oversight, government regulation, and judicial governance; and guide artificial intelligence toward progress and greater good. These efforts will enable the benefits of technology to better reach all people, cultivate the fertile soil of Chinese culture, and provide both foundations and spiritual guidance for Chinese modernization.
WANG Yiming said that the key to developing new quality productive forces lies in scientific and technological innovation, with original innovation being the critical factor. An innovation-oriented culture provides fertile ground for original innovation. It can foster original research achievements, motivate researchers from within, and promote interdisciplinary integration, playing an irreplaceable role in the development of new quality productive forces. Building an innovation-oriented culture is a systematic undertaking. Efforts should be made to advance it by transforming educational and teaching paradigms, deepening reforms of the science and technology evaluation system, fostering an innovation-friendly environment that encourages exploration and tolerates failure, and carrying forward the innovative spirit embedded in China’s fine traditional culture. These efforts will help embed an innovation-oriented culture more deeply in society and provide strong support for strengthening original innovation and developing new quality productive forces.
DONG Qiang, focusing on the global outreach of Chinese character culture, pointed out that Chinese characters are an important carrier of the “image-based thinking” of Chinese civilization, embodying the Chinese people’s concrete wisdom in understanding the world, holistic perspectives, and humanistic spirit. From oracle bone inscriptions to Chinese calligraphy and painting, and from literary creation to artistic exchanges between China and other countries, Chinese characters have continued to inspire innovation in art and poetics. Facing an era in which artificial intelligence and new quality productive forces are developing at an accelerated pace, it is necessary to further explore the intellectual and cultural values embedded in Chinese character culture, promote the global dissemination of Chinese character culture, deepen exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, provide the world with a unique perspective for understanding Chinese civilization, and empower Chinese modernization through cultural soft power.
SHI Yong said that scientific and technological innovation should not only align with the frontiers of global science and technology but also serve the country’s major strategic needs, while making full use of the opportunities brought by the global energy transition. Artificial intelligence is an important driving force for the development of new quality productive forces. Efforts should be made to continuously strengthen data openness and protection, vigorously develop a law-based economy and a credit-based economy, coordinate research capabilities in algorithms, and achieve independent and controllable algorithm implementation processes, thereby overcoming bottlenecks in areas such as data, algorithms, and computing power. It is necessary to build on the profound foundation of Chinese culture, promote the deep integration of culture and digital technologies, and leverage the digital economy to empower the development of new quality productive forces and the great practice of Chinese modernization.
YU Chunhai, Dean of the School of Economics at Renmin University of China, presided over the keynote speech session.
On the afternoon of the same day, six parallel forums were held at Renmin University of China. Discussions focused on topics including “Integration of Arts and Science in the Digital Intelligence Era and Cultural Soft Power” “Chinese Modernization and a New Path for Political Civilization” “New‑Quality‑Driven Development and Cultural Soul‑Shaping: The Spiritual‑Civilization Dimension of Chinese Modernization” “Exploring the Soft Power of Chinese Classics and Building a New Form of Human Civilization” “Strengthening the Green Foundation of Chinese Modernization and Promoting the Synergistic Development of New Quality Productive Forces and Ecological Civilization” and “Empowering the Development of New Quality Productive Forces through the Digital Economy.”
The forum was organized by Renmin University of China and undertaken by the National Academy of Development and Strategy at Renmin University of China. The six parallel forums were respectively organized by the School of Arts, School of Applied Economics, School of International Studies, School of Philosophy and the Institute for Chinese Modernization and New Forms of Civilization, School of Chinese Classics, School of Ecology and Environment, and School of Economics of Renmin University of China.
The “Jiangshan Forum” is a high-level dialogue and exchange platform established by Renmin University of China. Upholding the principle that “Jiangshan belongs to the people, and the people are the foundation of Jiangshan,” the forum is committed to interpreting political principles through academic research and promoting development through practice. Focusing on advancing Chinese modernization as its central theme, the forum brings together government leaders, academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, leading experts and scholars from renowned universities and research institutions, as well as distinguished representatives from various sectors, for in-depth dialogue and exchange. Through these efforts, the forum seeks to deepen research and interpretation, contribute innovative ideas, convey values, and guide public discourse, thereby contributing wisdom and strength to advancing the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization.
Reviewers: WANG Wei
Executive Editors: LIU Qi, YANG Fanxin, ZHANG Jingjing
Translator: ZHANG Yuqing
Web Editor: ZHANG Jingjing
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