The 9th World Zhejiang Entrepreneurs Shanghai Forum and the 2025 Shanghai Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting was held at the Shanghai International Conference Center on January 18th. Centered on the theme of "Surging Forward," the forum focused on the resilience, innovation, and aspirations of Zhejiang merchants within the tides of China's economy, bringing together academicians, technical pioneers, and renowned entrepreneurs to discuss future development. Guo Guangchang, Chairman of FOSUN INTL, delivered a keynote speech, sharing his insights on the macroeconomy, innovation in private enterprises, China's vast market, and global opportunities. "Whether considering the weather or our economy, this winter feels noticeably warmer than the last. Many negative factors are being gradually absorbed, once again proving the immense resilience of the Chinese economy," stated Guo Guangchang. "Even though the current environment remains full of uncertainty, I am confident that 2026 will be a year worthy of optimism and anticipation. In such a year, we have every reason to charge forward with vigor and ambition, to be a bit braver, a bit more confident, and to build our enterprises even stronger." "The biggest competition in the world economy today is seen as between China and the US. However, these two economies are not isolated from each other; they exist in a state of both competition and deep exchange and cooperation. This intertwined, 'you-have-me-and-I-have-you' structure means the Chinese economy will not be easily defeated," Guo Guangchang expressed. He believes a crucial source of China's economic resilience is its adherence to a market economy. "China has a cohort of resilient 'indestructible' entities – its private enterprises, especially private tech firms. Chinese private enterprises, particularly in the tech sector, have demonstrated formidable competitiveness, carving out globally competitive paths in emerging industries like AI, robotics, and biopharmaceuticals." Citing Fosun's biopharmaceutical innovation platform, Henlius, as an example, Guo noted that in 2025, several of its self-developed products achieved breakthroughs at the forefront of global innovative drugs. Among them, H drug Hansizhuang became the world's first and only anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody to succeed in a Phase III registration study for gastric cancer perioperative therapy, while HLX43 holds the potential to pioneer a new era of "broad-spectrum anti-cancer drugs" globally. Currently, Henlius has 10 products internationally approved for marketing, covering approximately 60 countries and regions across Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, and Oceania. More importantly, multiple pipeline products under research possess global market potential valued in the tens of billions of US dollars. "Our R&D capabilities have gained recognition from global pharmaceutical giants, and our global competitiveness is growing stronger," Guo Guangchang stated. For instance, in December 2025, Fosun Pharma's controlled subsidiary, Youcare, reached an agreement with Pfizer, granting Pfizer exclusive global rights to develop, use, manufacture, and commercialize the GLP-1 drug YP05002, with a potential total deal value exceeding $2 billion. In the same month, Fosun Pharma entered a strategic collaboration with biotechnology company Clavis Bio to jointly develop innovative therapies based on frontier targets nominated by Clavis Bio; under the agreement, Fosun Pharma could receive payments of up to $7.25 billion. "As long as we persist with innovation and adhere to the market economy, our enterprises and our products will remain highly competitive globally," Guo Guangchang said. During this period of economic transformation, how to navigate challenges and seize opportunities is a common concern for many Zhejiang merchant enterprises. Regarding this, Guo Guangchang believes that facing the current global market competition environment, one absolutely cannot "wait, rely, or ask for handouts," cannot expect the economy to maintain high-speed growth indefinitely, and cannot depend on perpetually appreciating property assets. Instead, one must remind oneself from the depths of their soul that the era of "one trick being good enough to succeed everywhere" is over. He elaborated further, "Since the reform and opening up, China's economic development over the past few decades has generally been smooth sailing with rapid growth. Therefore, encountering some challenges and difficulties in recent years, coupled with changes in the external environment, naturally leads to a feeling of不适应 (discomfort) for everyone. But we must also be very clear that when everything was smooth sailing before, we tended to overestimate our own abilities and overestimate our enterprises' competitiveness. Many detailed problems were often overlooked, as the saying goes, 'one virtue obscures a hundred defects.' Add to that our own lack of internal strength and an insufficiently solid foundation, it's natural that problems arise now." "In future development, enhancing an enterprise's capabilities and competitiveness is the core. Besides innovation, creating excellent products and deepening product strength are also extremely important," Guo Guangchang said. "Everyone must strengthen their confidence. For a massive consumer market like China with over a billion people, opportunities always exist." Fosun's industries in culture, tourism, and consumer sectors have received positive market feedback precisely through the cultivation of "product strength." Guo Guangchang introduced, "This year, our Sanya Atlantis Hotel has seen significantly better occupancy rates and average daily rates compared to last year. Sales for our newly launched Super Mediterranean project have also been very strong." Data shows that during the 2026 New Year holiday, the Sanya Atlantis Hotel achieved an average occupancy rate exceeding 97%, and Club Med resorts in multiple domestic locations experienced consecutive days of being fully booked. In the consumer goods sector, since last year, a batch of new products from Fosun's ecosystem enterprises featuring extreme "quality-to-price ratio" have also shown strong momentum. Sanyuan股份 launched a major product, "Old Beijing Fresh Milk," emphasizing its "freshness," which became a hit. Shede Liquor推出的 29-degree strong-aroma aged liquor "Shede Ease," welcomed by consumers through product strength innovation. Additionally, Fosun's investments in the new consumption sector, such as Laopu Gold,霸王茶姬 (Bawang Chaji), and Jinduoduo, have grown into star enterprises. "Globalization" is a key characteristic of Fosun, and in Guo Guangchang's view, it is also a shared opportunity for Chinese private enterprises, including Zhejiang merchants. "In human history, there has never been a country with a population of 1.4 billion, such a massive economy, occupying such an important position in global economic development; this is unprecedented. Therefore, it's normal that many of the problems we face now, including being perceived as a significant challenge by mature economies," Guo Guangchang stated. "But from another perspective, China's efficiency advantages, China's supply chain advantages, China's engineer dividend, etc., also represent a substantial opportunity for all countries and enterprises worldwide." "Therefore, our enterprises must also seize these dividends and opportunities. It is essential to build global capabilities and develop a global perspective," Guo Guangchang said. In recent years, Fosun's globalization步伐 has noticeably accelerated. It currently boasts industrial布局 and deep operations in over 40 countries and regions worldwide. In the first half of 2025, its overseas revenue reached 46.67 billion yuan, accounting for 53% of total revenue. Guo Guangchang stated that Fosun will firmly continue on its globalization path and proposed the strategic insight of "Grafting Chinese Capabilities onto Global Resources." "This means exporting the capabilities and dividends accumulated during China's development over the past few decades into our enterprises operating globally." "We are optimistic about China's development and also believe the world economy will gradually improve," Guo Guangchang said.
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