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

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that a peace deal with Iran is scheduled to be signed on Sunday and that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen immediately afterward.

"The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is open to all," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Trump also claimed that Iran now "no longer wants a nuclear weapon" and suggested the United States will work with Iran to remove enriched uranium at an "appropriate time."

He said the signing of the deal would make U.S. relations with Iran "different and better," but warned that "we have the ultimate alternative" unless the process moves forward "quickly, easily and smoothly."

Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar also said Saturday that an electronic signing ceremony of the U.S.-Iran deal is scheduled for Sunday, after Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said earlier on the day that the United States and Iran had agreed on a peace deal framework and were expected to sign it shortly. Pakistan has been mediating the U.S.-Iran peace negotiations.

However, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqhaei reportedly denied that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Iran and the United States to end the conflict would be signed on Sunday, citing what he described as "the other side's hesitation."

Baqhaei also stressed that any potential MoU between Iran and the United States "would merely serve as a framework for continuing talks" and should not be regarded as "a final agreement."

He added that discussions on the nuclear issue are expected to continue over a 60-day period, according to Iranian state media reports.

Trump says US-Iran peace deal to be signed Sunday