Dalian, June 25, 2024

Your Excellency President Andrzej Duda,
Your Excellency Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh,
Professor Klaus Schwab, 
Your Excellencies Heads of International Organizations,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,

It is a great pleasure to join friends, old and new, here in the beautiful city of Dalian for the 15th Annual Meeting of the New Champions. Let me begin by extending, on behalf of the Chinese government, warm congratulations on the opening of the annual meeting and cordial welcome to all participants and journalists.

It has been five years since the Summer Davos was last held in Dalian. In the past five years, global transformation not seen in a century unfolded at a faster pace and world economic development reached a critical juncture. As many people wonder where the future of the world lies, this annual meeting, focusing on “Next Frontiers for Growth,” is particularly relevant. I believe you all have your own thoughts and insights about the significance and value of exploring next frontiers for growth. Here, I would like to share with you three observations.

First, we need to confront the growth predicament of the world economy. The road to recovery has been treacherous since the onset of COVID-19. According to forecasts of the International Monetary Fund and other institutions, global growth may remain moderate or even slow in the coming years, and generally below the pre-pandemic level. Anemic global growth is not only caused by temporary factors such as impact of the pandemic, high inflation and rising debt. It is also ascribed to some deep-seated problems and intrinsic issues. From a cyclical perspective, the three industrial revolutions since the 1760s, which were respectively marked by the utilization of steam engines, electricity and information technologies, all transformed the way of production and life in human society. Each was followed by a surge in global growth. However, when the impetus unleashed by existing technological models diminished, global growth would slide into a period of stagnation. The impact of such fundamental transformation is manifold. At the macro level, we would see a slowdown of economic growth, and find it more difficult to make the pie of global economy bigger. At the meso level, we would see declining return on investment and diminishing economies of scale, with more business sectors turning from blue to red oceans. At the micro level, we would see intensifying competition among market players and spiraling “involution.” The neck-to-neck contest for available resources is, to some extent, triggering problems including backlash against globalization and escalation of geopolitical conflicts.

Confronted with the growth predicament of the world economy, maximizing one’s own benefits at the expense of others’ interests, or resorting to regressive actions of decoupling, disrupting supply chains and building small yards with high fences would only push up operational costs, sever the economic links between regions and aggravate tensions and disputes. This would drag the world into a destructive spiral where the fierce competition for a larger slice ends up in a diminishing pie. As we Chinese often say, “Range far your eye over long vistas.” In the current context, the right choice is to approach development issues with a longer view and broader mind, and join hands with others to make the pie bigger while pursuing one’s legitimate interests. This is how we could sustain the growth of the world economy, and open new horizon for our own development.

Second, we need to seize the new opportunities brought by the sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation. To overcome the growth predicament, we need to cultivate new engines for growth. We are delighted to see that as the new round of sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation deepens, global innovation activities in science and technology have become more intensive and dynamic than ever before. With the sparks ignited across domains, next frontiers for growth are starting to take shape. From a technology perspective, this round of sci-tech revolution is mainly powered by progress in intelligent, green and health technologies. The rapid advance of cutting-edge information, energy and biological technologies has provided new pathways for tackling climate change, energy crisis and other major challenges facing humanity. It has also notably enhanced the quality and efficiency of the supply system, and catalyzed and generated massive new demand. From an industry perspective, breakthroughs and integration of frontier technologies have redefined traditional production function, triggered a quantum leap in productivity, and opened up new domains and avenues of business, including artificial intelligence (AI), green energy and biomedicine. A host of sectors are expected to evolve into multi-trillion-dollar pillar industries. From a business model perspective, as the sci-tech revolution progresses, the organization of economic activities and industries is undergoing rapid transformation, which is characterized by the features of platform-based operation, networked structure and ubiquitous presence. New forms and models of business such as online services, C2M customization, and smart manufacturing are quickly emerging, making our life more convenient, and giving everyone a fair and accessible chance to participate. In a word, a number of frontier technologies and industries with the potential of explosive growth are metamorphosing and ready to burst onto the stage. This brings light and hope for catapulting the world economy into a new upward cycle.

To embrace the global trend of sci-tech advances and industrial development, all countries are making forward planning and deployment. China has also taken exploratory steps in this regard. In recent years, we have continued to promote high-quality development, accelerate the cultivation of new quality productive forces, and foster new drivers of growth. These efforts have provided strong dynamism for China’s economic development, and created greater cooperation space for companies around the world. The rapid rise of China’s new industries is in line with the global trend of sci-tech revolution and green development. Seizing the favorable opportunities from the sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation worldwide, China has been working hard to advance sci-tech innovation. We encourage companies to be first movers and make continuous investments in cutting-edge fields. Now, after years of cultivation, a number of enterprises and industries in China have gained an edge internationally. In particular, China has been vigorously developing green industries in recent years, such as new energy, to address climate change with concrete actions and meet the twin goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. As a result, China’s installed capacity of hydropower, wind power, solar power and nuclear power under construction has all been topping the world for many years running. And renewable energy now accounts for over 50 percent of China’s total installed capacity. Electric vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products made by Chinese companies have not only met domestic demand, but also enriched supply in the international market, eased the pressure of inflation worldwide, and contributed to the global climate response. The rapid rise of China’s new industries is rooted in its unique comparative advantages. China has a super-sized market of more than 1.4 billion people, a complete industrial supporting system, abundant labor force and talent pool, and diverse scenarios for application. Plus, Chinese consumers are fairly receptive to new technologies. All these make China a broad stage for enterprises to pursue innovation and upgra