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's consumer goods industry got off to a good start in 2026, with main indicators registering steady growth in the first two months, according to the data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The value added of enterprises above the designated size -- whose annual main business income reaches 20 million yuan (about 2.93 million U.S. dollars) or more -- in this sector increased by 4.8 percent year on year in January and February, accounting for 29.2 percent of the total value added, 3.1 percentage points higher than that of last year. Among the 14 major industry categories, 10 achieved positive growth.

In the two months, these enterprises achieved a business revenue of approximately 5.1 trillion yuan, up 4.4 percent year on year, while the total retail sales of consumer goods exceeded 8.6 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.8 percent.

"The first two months were in the traditional peak consumption season, driving the growth of orders and helping to unleash production capacity in the consumer goods industry. Some emerging consumption patterns, such as experience consumption and trendy toy consumption, grew rapidly, and the supply market showed a diversified growth trend," said Dai Xiaoxia, deputy director of the Institute of Consumer Goods Industry Research of China Center for Information Industry Development.

In terms of foreign trade, exporters above the designated size delivered consumer goods worth around 592.54 billion yuan, up 2.2 percent year on year, with the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, the papermaking and paper products industry registering relatively rapid growth.

China will increase the supply of high-quality products in the consumer goods industry, steadily promoting the intelligent, green and integrated development of the sector.

China's consumer goods industry posts steady growth in first 2 months