On April 26, the symposium titled “China’s Economic Outlook and Industrial Innovation in 2025” was held at the Institute of Economics and Social Development, Nankai University. More than 50 scholars and experts from institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Nankai University, Southeast University, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, and Tianjin University of Finance and Economics participated in the event. The symposium featured keynote speakers including Huang Qunhui (Research Fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences), Liu Xiuyan (Vice Dean of the School of Economics and Management at Southeast University), and Yu Yongze (Dean of the School of International Economics and Trade at Nanjing University of Finance and Economics), who engaged in vibrant discussions on China’s 2025 economic trends and industrial innovation. The symposium was chaired by Professor Du Chuanzhong, Director of the Institute of Industrial Economics, with opening remarks delivered by Dean Liu Binglian. Over 70 faculty members and students from related departments attended the session.
In his opening remarks, Professor Liu Binglian emphasized that the evolving international trade environment presents new challenges for China’s economy. Under this context, discussions on China’s economic trajectory and industrial innovation are crucial for guiding theoretical research and formulating the framework of the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan.
Huang Qunhui, a member of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC and the Economic Committee, and a research fellow at the Institute of Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, delivered a keynote speech titled “Economic Policy in 2025: More Proactive and Livelihood-Oriented.” He pointed out that China’s economy in 2025 faces dual pressures: a more complex and challenging external environment and insufficient domestic demand. He advocated for more proactive government economic policies—using expansionary fiscal policies to support the “two new” policies and “two majors” projects, and moderately loose monetary policy to address the “five key financial issues.” He also emphasized that macroeconomic policy should prioritize livelihoods, invest more in human capital, expand employment, reform income distribution, and boost consumption, thereby promoting economic growth alongside social well-being.
Professor Liu Xiuyan, Chief Professor and Vice Dean of the School of Economics and Management at Southeast University, presented research on the impact of local technology clusters on disruptive innovation. He noted that while China produces a large volume of patents, disruptive innovations remain scarce. The key lies in balancing technological relatedness and diversity: while relatedness facilitates incremental innovation, it may trap enterprises in a “path dependency,” suppressing disruptive breakthroughs. Conversely, greater technological diversity enhances knowledge spillovers and supports a transition to disruptive innovation.
Professor Yu Yongze, Dean of the School of International Economics and Trade at Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, delivered a keynote speech titled “Digital Economic Networks and Growth in Border Regions.” He highlighted the developmental lag in China’s border regions and proposed that the digital economy, by overcoming institutional and systemic constraints of traditional models, offers a promising path to enhance regional growth. He argued that digital economic networks can drive growth by breaking down market barriers, increasing investment density, and generating innovation momentum.
Professor Bai Xuejie, Deputy Dean of the Institute of Economics and Social Development, shared her thoughts and research on digital new-quality productive forces and industrial innovation. She explained that this new form of productive force—centered on digital technology—is characterized by revolutionary breakthroughs, deep penetration, and the emergence of new types of labor and tools. It is the core expression of advanced productivity in the digital economy era. Through restructuring productive forces and relations, offering technological support, activating demand, and injecting competitive dynamics, it propels industrial innovation. She emphasized that innovation types and organizational features vary across industries depending on their life-cycle stage and technological-economic attributes.
During the open discussion session, Professors Li Lanbing, Liu Weilin, and Zhou Mi shared their perspectives on topics including China’s 2025 economic development, technological and industrial innovation, and the development of new-quality productive forces.
In closing, Professor Pang Ruizhi summarized the conference by addressing three key reflections: how to define a modern industrial system, how to achieve high-quality development in the service sector, how to effectively transform dormant (“sleeping”) patents, and how the “relatedness trap” in technological clusters relates to the development of new productive forces.
