Summer Davos Closes in Dalian: Scaling Innovation for Growth

The 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions (Summer Davos Forum) concluded on June 25 in Dalian, Liaoning Province, bringing together approximately 1,800 political and business leaders from over 90 countries and regions. The three-day forum, themed “Scaling Innovation,” focused on strengthening innovation cooperation and sharing development opportunities amid persistent global economic challenges, according to People’s Daily.

A Platform for Global Dialogue

Since its inception in China in 2007, the Summer Davos Forum has evolved from focusing on global economic landscape changes to addressing technological revolution and sustainable development. This year’s edition featured hundreds of sessions exploring artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, clean energy, and biotechnology, as reported by China News Service.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered the opening address, stating that China’s door to the outside world will open even wider. The forum also released the “2026 Top 10 Emerging Technologies” report, highlighting technologies expected to impact the real world within three to five years, including direct lithium extraction technology.

AI Takes Center Stage

Artificial intelligence dominated discussions across multiple sessions, reflecting both China’s technological ambitions and global industry priorities. The emphasis on “scaling” AI from laboratory to market aligned with China’s industrial policy goals under the first year of its “15th Five-Year Plan” period (2026–2030).

Mirek Dušek, Executive Director of the World Economic Forum, articulated the core challenge: “The core issue for future global growth lies in how to make the opportunities brought by AI technology and its applications more widely shared.”

Jonas Prising, Chairman and CEO of ManpowerGroup, noted that while many countries are deploying AI, “China’s development achievements are particularly outstanding, and the speed is astonishing.” He predicted that with China’s continued investment in the AI field, breakthrough developments will continue to emerge.

China’s Innovation Ecosystem on Display

A key narrative emerging from the forum was “China Opportunity 2.0,” with multinational executives expressing strong confidence in China’s market. Liu Minghua, CEO of Deloitte China, observed that “China’s innovation is moving from ‘point breakthroughs’ to ‘scaling innovation,’” noting that more cutting-edge technologies are rapidly transforming into real productivity, as covered by CCTV and Xinhua.

Federico Torti, Head of the World Economic Forum’s Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chain Center, highlighted China’s unique advantage: “China’s advantage lies in its ability to combine large-scale industrial capacity with a dense innovation ecosystem. New technologies can be rapidly tested, optimized, and promoted on a large scale in real manufacturing environments.”

Economic data presented at the forum reinforced this narrative. In May 2026, China’s high-tech manufacturing value-added grew over 15% year-on-year, industrial robot monthly output exceeded 100,000 units for the first time, and green product exports — including lithium batteries and wind power equipment — grew approximately 40% year-on-year in the first five months of the year.

Foreign Business Confidence Remains Strong

Multiple multinational executives expressed strong commitment to the Chinese market. Vanessa Evers, Director of the Netherlands National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science, told People’s Daily that the forum “provides a platform for equal exchange and joint exploration of the future,” adding that advancing scientific progress requires global collaboration.

Håkon Volldal, President and CEO of Yara International, emphasized that “food security, energy transition, and climate change are systemic challenges that can only be addressed through international cooperation,” noting that China is “undoubtedly one of the most important countries” when it comes to addressing global challenges.

According to China Economic Net, nearly 4,000 foreign-invested enterprises increased their investment in China between January and May 2026. China maintains its position as the world’s leading destination for cross-border investment among developing countries.

Analysis: A Strategic Message of Stability

The forum served as a platform for China to project stability and openness amid global uncertainty. The consistent messaging around “China Opportunity 2.0” and “scaling innovation” reflects a deliberate strategy to attract foreign investment and position China as a reliable partner in an era of geopolitical tensions and economic fragmentation.

A dedicated sub-forum on interpreting the “15th Five-Year Plan” signaled China’s effort to provide policy predictability to foreign investors, emphasizing continued market access expansion and innovation-driven development. The forum’s emphasis on multilateralism and open cooperation stands in contrast to rising protectionist trends in other major economies.

What’s Next

The 2027 Summer Davos Forum is scheduled to be held in Tianjin, China. As the forum’s thematic evolution has shown — from global economic growth to innovation and now to scaling technology for societal benefit — the next edition will be closely watched for continued momentum on these themes. The key question remains how the forum’s discussions will translate into concrete business agreements and investment commitments in the months ahead.

As Luca Ford, Executive Vice President of Italy’s Eldor Corporation, summarized: “China has proven an effective path: based on pragmatism, developing products that consumers truly need. China’s successful practices provide an excellent reference model.”