'China Opportunity 2.0' offers growth potential for global businesses, says Premier Li Qiang

DALIAN: Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered a special address at the opening plenary of the 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos, in northeastern China's coastal city of Dalian on Wednesday.

The forum, held under the theme "Innovating at Scale" from June 23 to 25, has brought together over 1,700 participants from over 90 countries and regions to discuss topics including the next phase of China's economic trajectory and how to translate technological advances into real economic benefits.

In his address, Li said the Chinese economy has demonstrated stability, innovation, vitality and integration with the rest of the world at the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) period.

The Chinese economy has maintained "strong resilience and positive momentum" as the new five-year plan gets underway, he noted, adding that its stability has provided much-needed certainty and serves as an important "safe harbor" in an increasingly uncertain world.

China remains committed to actively expanding opening up in order to integrate into the global economy, the premier said. China has granted zero-tariff treatment to 63 countries, while its imports have ranked second globally for 17 consecutive years. In the first five months of 2026, imports rose by 20.5% year on year, significantly outpacing export growth.

Li also highlighted China's advances in innovation and technology.

Innovation-driven development, he said, is key to China's long-term economic resilience and steady growth. He attributed the country's steady and healthy economic growth to a stable environment and innovation-driven development.

China's innovation has been earned through years of strengthening its own capabilities and relentless hard work, Li said. It has also been driven by wide-spread application across industries, and cultivated through a robust ecosystem, he added.

On artificial intelligence, Li said China's AI sector has experienced "explosive growth." He noted that multiple Chinese large language models have achieved new performance breakthroughs, with daily token consumption surpassing 100 trillion by the end of May, ranking among the highest in the world. Meanwhile, embodied AI has begun moving toward large-scale commercial deployment.

Li said that for businesses around the world, "China Opportunity 2.0" represents comprehensive innovation-driven empowerment and high-return investment prospects.

Noting that some have spread the narrative of a so-called "China Shock 2.0," framing China's development as a shock to the global economy, Li said that for global development, "China Opportunity 2.0" means broader access to advanced technologies and more widely shared development benefits.

The premier also called for deeper international cooperation on innovation.

Innovation-driven cooperation is imperative to overcoming the global growth challenge, Li said, calling for closer connectivity and collaboration, and joining forces and pooling resources to innovate. 

He also said technological progress should serve the common good and advance joint governance more effectively.

Li added that China will continue to participate in global governance on artificial intelligence and other domains in a responsible and constructive manner.

China will work with relevant parties to strengthen institutional frameworks and rules, enhance regulatory effectiveness, and effectively address potential risks, he said.

While AI has significantly boosted innovation efficiency, the risks of technological runaway and ethical lapses have become more pronounced, Li warned, adding that if governance fails to keep pace, the consequences could be severe.