Sci-fi author finds productive forces a 'shocking leap'

Liu Cixin believes despite misgivings on AI, the right choices can usher in a brand-new era, Yang Yang and Zhu Xingxin report.

New quality productive forces might be related to and shaped by scientific breakthroughs, said Liu Cixin, when asked about his understanding of this concept that is key to China's economic development at the launch ceremony of a celebratory week of sci-fi events in his hometown of Yangquan in Shanxi province on Oct 13.

Liu, born in Beijing, moved with his parents to Yangquan when he was a child. At 22, he started working at the Niangziguan Power Plant in Shanxi. In June 1999, he published his first short stories including The Whale's Song in Science Fiction World magazine. In 2006, his novel The Three-Body Problem was serialized in the magazine.

A representative of sci-fi in contemporary China, Liu, 61, has written 40 short stories and seven novels, including the best-selling novels The Three-Body Trilogy, Ball Lightning and Supernova Era and short stories such as The Wandering Earth, Time Migration and The Village Teacher.