China transforms from hardware manufacturing power to innovation-driven economy: business leaders

China is transforming from a major hardware manufacturing power into an innovation-driven economy, said business leaders attending the 2025 Summer Davos Forum Thursday in Tianjin, China.

At a session themed "China's Economy: Analysed" in the forum, guests agreed that China's advance in the fields of technology and intellectual property (IP) are bringing new opportunities for the world.

"China's a great innovator on the hardware side. I think what is actually the next version is give you on the software side and on the IP side," said Joseph Luc Ngai, chairman of the Greater China, McKinsey & Company.

Dr. Zhu Min, a member of the Senior Expert Advisory Committee of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said China's artificial intelligence (AI) industry is expected to usher in a new stage of growth which will benefit the whole world.

"I think the fundamental is China is going to lead AR+ wave. Not only for China but for whole world. So, be prepared. The big wave is coming. Brace for the new world. It will be excellent, [an] excellent new-tech world," he said.

Jin Keyu, a professor of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said the IP is an important engine driving innovation and creativity for companies.

"The ones that are most protected from trade wars and geopolitical uncertainties are those that have their own IP, R&D skill upstream. But the ones that suffer the most are the labor-intensive ones," she said.

Syensqo, a Belgian company and a leader in advanced materials and specialty chemicals, said they have already started introducing high-end technologies from China to many other parts of the world.

"Targeting other regions, other countries in Asia, but also in Europe and on-shoring the best available technology in China there," said Ilham Kadri, CEO of Syensqo.

The 2025 Summer Davos, or 16th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, concluded in Tianjin on Thursday. The event brought together over 1,700 leading figures from more than 90 countries and regions to explore how entrepreneurship and emerging technologies can unlock more dynamic and resilient economies.

China transforms from hardware manufacturing power to innovation-driven economy: business leaders

China has remained the world's largest online retail market for a 13th consecutive year, with its digital consumption exceeding 23.8 trillion yuan (about 3.39 trillion U.S. dollars), official data shows.

The figure was released at a national e-commerce work conference held from Tuesday to Wednesday.

The conference said that China's e-commerce sector has achieved solid gains in high-quality development over the past five years, emerging as a new source of momentum to foster new quality productive forces and playing an important role in advancing the country's new development paradigm.

Despite rising external uncertainties, China has continued to expand its win-win cooperation, increasing the number of Silk Road e-commerce cooperation partner countries to 36.

E-commerce has become a major engine for job creation and industrial upgrading. Employment in the sector has surpassed 78 million, and express delivery volumes have seen an average annual growth of nearly 20 percent over the past five years.

Software and information services linked to cloud computing and big data have also expanded rapidly.

The conference outlined the Ministry of Commerce's e-commerce policy priorities for 2026, including strengthening innovation-driven growth, improving the country's development environment, and expanding international cooperation.

China remains world's largest online retail market for 13th straight year