High-quality economic growth for people's ever-growing need for a better life has become the fundamental pursuit in the new era under Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, according to the latest annual report on China reform, Striving for More Robust Drivers.

The report was released by the China Institute for Reform and Development in China’s southern province of Hainan in February.

It outlined how improvements in the efficiency and quality in the economy will play a key role in high-quality development as Socialism with Chinese Characteristics steps into a new era.

In addition to a gap in core technologies and product quality, low efficiency is still a problem in China’s economic growth. Domestic per capita output in 2017 is only 77.5 percent of the world average, far lower than that of developed countries, according to the International Labor Organization.

Innovation rather than ruthless consumption of natural resources should become the main driving force in economic growth in the new era, the report said.

With the acceleration of a new round of technological revolution marked by big data and artificial intelligence, innovation has become increasingly prominent in economic development in China, which, in the meantime, can be a strong force for the country’s economic restructuring and industrial transformation. The report said that the experience of developed countries shows that high-end manufacturing industries and enterprises with strong international competitiveness are closely connected to technological innovation in the real economy, which usually includes a strong contingent of creative talent, high spending on research and various financial supports for innovation.

However, the reason why China's manufacturing industry is still at the low end of the value chain is mainly due to a lack of innovation, shortage of qualified personnel and insufficient financial support for the real economy, according to the report, which suggested that an innovation-led industrial system will be an effective solution. Enterprises should be supported in various fields and aim at the world’s frontier of science and technology.

Chi Fulin, head of China Institute for Reform and Development, suggested that the right way forward would include speeding up the integration of traditional industries and digital technologies such as big data, cloud computing and the internet of things; improving the system of property rights to encourage a culture of innovation; and transforming China’s economy from export-oriented growth to more consumption-driven growth.

China's market, with nearly 1.4 billion consumers, will be the greatest asset for the country's development in the new era. The integration of the new consumption pattern and the huge domestic consumer markets can make China the largest market in the world in a relatively short period of time, according to Chi.

Furthermore, the green economy should be given more attention instead of the single-minded pursuit of economic growth. People's increasing need for a better natural environment not only has put forward new requirements for green development, but offers a great opportunity as well, he said.

Apart from curbing environmental pollution, it is more important to speed up the transformation to green production and green lifestyles, to form a green development industrial and consumption system and to find a balance between protection and development, he said.

Wei Liqun, a former director of the Research Office of the State Council and dean of the China Academy of Social Management, said that because of the major achievements made since the founding of New China, especially since reform and opening-up, the country is now standing at a new historical starting point.

It is increasingly clear that the openness to the world can effectively promote reform and a country’s development. The World Trade Organization requires its members to conform to the general laws of the market, which has benefited China a lot since the nation became a member in 2001, Wei said.

Zhang Zhuoyuan, a senior economic researcher from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that reform and opening-up at a higher and more comprehensive level can help China make better use of domestic and international markets like the Belt and Road Initiative. Opening to the outside world is not only about openness, but is a strong driving force itself to push forward reform and development. To realize high-quality reform, a reliable business environment where all kinds of enterprises are treated equally with fair rules and equal opportunities is important, Zhang said.

The report concluded that Socialism with Chinese Characteristics having stepped into a new era is a scientific judgment on the change of the country’s historical position for further development.

As the world's second-largest economy, China, by pushing forward high-quality development, will not only realize the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and make the Chinese dream come true, but will keep injecting a dose of vitality into the global economy, it said.

Yao Yuxin is a writer with China Daily.