The 2026 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting is currently underway in Davos, Switzerland, featuring a diverse delegation from China that spans government, business, innovation sectors, and academia. This year's agenda includes several discussions focused specifically on China's economy and its innovative advancements. By synthesizing viewpoints and interviews from inside and outside the conference halls, we examine China's economic resilience from three distinct perspectives.
At this year's meeting, numerous participants affirmed the current state and fundamental stability of China's economy. Joe Ngai, Chairman of McKinsey Greater China, remarked in an interview that the Chinese economy demonstrated significant resilience throughout 2025. Early in 2024, against a backdrop of heightened geopolitical pressures, some opinions suggested that robust growth for China in 2025 was nearly impossible. However, the economic performance China ultimately delivered clearly surpassed many initial expectations.
Urs Lustenberger, Chairman of the Swiss-Asian Chamber of Commerce, spoke highly of China's achievement in reaching 5% economic growth in 2025 despite rising global uncertainties. He pointed out that, for him, a 5% growth rate is a remarkably impressive figure. More importantly, this pace of expansion originates from an economy of such immense scale, meaning its spillover effects cannot be underestimated.
Zhu Min, a senior expert and member of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, stated that the past five years have not been easy for the Chinese economy, but China successfully navigated the challenges through effective macroeconomic policies. For this year and the next five years, China is transitioning to a new growth model.
Investment in frontier technologies is widely recognized at this annual meeting as a key engine for future global economic growth. China is continuously empowering its future growth through scientific and technological innovation.
Zhu Min indicated that China's new growth model includes a focus on innovation in frontier technologies, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence; promoting the upgrade of manufacturing towards high technology; activating domestic consumption potential; and facilitating the "going global" of Chinese capital. This underscores the increasingly prominent role of technological innovation in driving China's economic growth.
In the consumer sector, Sandy Xu, CEO of JD.com, stated that innovation is the core driver of consumption upgrade. AI-related products have become a new consumption trend, with items like AI robots and smart glasses on the JD.com platform being highly favored by consumers.
Gong Yujing, Founder and Chairwoman of Yidu Tech, believes that China-style innovation possesses distinct and unique advantages, owing to its ultra-large and highly diversified market, the concentration of engineers and professional talent, and continuously supportive policy environments. China's AI innovation ecosystem provides fertile ground for corporate development, which is particularly beneficial for medtech startups.
"Today, people are seeing how China combines innovation with scaling, especially in areas like advanced manufacturing, digital transformation, and clean technology," said Rebecca Gee, Executive Director and Member of the Managing Board of the World Economic Forum, and Chair of Greater China. She believes that China's continuous evolution in innovation and industrial transformation is reshaping the pathways for productivity enhancement and the sources of new growth momentum.
The development of China's economy is not only a domestic matter but also directly influences the confidence of international businesses in long-term investment and cooperation. In remarks made to the press before the forum, Rebecca Gee noted that external attention on China's innovation ecosystem is growing. Given that 2026 also marks the beginning of China's 15th Five-Year Plan, various parties are eager to gain a deeper understanding of China's economic prospects and development opportunities.
Joe Ngai observed that for multinational corporations, the importance of the Chinese market continues to rise. Many multinationals have begun to enhance their competitiveness by introducing local Chinese partners, divesting partial stakes in their Chinese operations, and leveraging local expertise. He encouraged multinational corporations to continue their presence in China, deepen their roots, and excel in the Chinese market.
The "29th Global CEO Survey" released by P&Y during the annual meeting shows that in the eyes of global CEOs, the Chinese mainland remains one of the primary markets for overseas investment. He Muning, Chairman of P&Y China, pointed out that the rapid progress in China's high-tech, new energy, and other emerging sectors is creating vast opportunities for foreign enterprises. For the global industrial chain, China is transitioning from a "global production base" to a "collaborative innovation network," pushing cooperation models from "Made in China" to "Co-created with China," thereby injecting new momentum into the world economy.
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