China’s top lawmakers review first report on new tech-driven growth model

Beijing promises AI breakthroughs and fairer treatment for foreign firms in push for “new quality productive forces”

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Visitors watch a demonstration of Qiangnao Technology’s intelligent and dexterous hands passing golf balls to each other at the 2025 Hangzhou International Humanoid Robotics and Robotics Technology Exhibition in Hangzhou, China. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 9:00am, 26 Jun 2025Updated: 9:03am, 26 Jun 2025

The Chinese government has presented its first themed report to the top legislature on “new quality productive forces” – a growth model focused on technological breakthroughs and industrial upgrades – pledging to expand the use of home-grown large language models and attract more foreign investment.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country’s top economic planner, told lawmakers that China had made significant progress in advancing the development model, which President Xi Jinping first introduced in late 2023.

Authorities would press ahead with “breakthroughs in key technologies”, according to the report delivered to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC).

“China faces new opportunities and room to develop the new quality productive forces,” Xiang Libin, a deputy chairman of the commission, was quoted as saying by state-run China News Service (CNS).

The report coincided with the legislature’s review of how the 2024 central government budget was spent.

The term “new quality productive forces” has become a political buzzword, frequently cited in official documents and speeches, as Beijing doubles down in its pursuit of technological self-reliance amid mounting external pressure.