CGTN: 'China Opportunity 2.0' Offers New Growth Prospects for Global Business

At the opening of the Summer Davos Forum in Dalian, Chinese Premier Li Qiang introduced the ‘China Opportunity 2.0’ concept, positioning the country’s economic transformation as a new engine for global growth. Speaking at the 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, Li argued that China’s shift towards innovation-driven, high-quality development offers comprehensive empowerment and high-return investment opportunities for international businesses. He dismissed narratives of a ‘China Shock 2.0,’ instead emphasising that the nation’s technological and industrial progress provides wider access to advanced technology and more evenly distributed development benefits for the world. Li characterised China’s economy as a ‘ballast of stability’ amid global uncertainty, underpinned by steady growth, innovation, vitality, and deeper integration with the global economy. To reinforce this integration, China is expanding its opening-up policies. The country now grants zero-tariff treatment to 63 nations, and its imports have ranked second globally for 17 consecutive years. In the first five months of 2026, import values surged by 20.5% year-on-year, significantly outpacing export growth. Official data from the Ministry of Commerce shows that by the end of 2025, 533,000 foreign-invested enterprises had been established in China, with average annual growth of 4.5% since 2020, while cumulative foreign direct investment approached US$4 trillion. The government also launched a 15-measure action plan this week to stabilise and improve the quality of foreign investment, focusing on expanding market access, streamlining procedures, enhancing promotion, strengthening services and guarantees, and improving capital management. Many sessions at the forum were dedicated to China’s 15th Five-Year Plan, with multinational executives viewing it as a strategic moment to deepen their presence. Wu Chun, Managing Partner of Boston Consulting Group in China, stated that the Chinese market is irreplaceable, citing its massive consumer base, evolving industrial demand, and high consumer readiness to adopt new technologies as powerful drivers for corporate innovation and expansion.