Maximizing structural market evolution
Editor's note: After the release of China's first-half economic data, China Daily invited chief executives and senior leaders from key multinational companies to share their perspectives on the world's second-largest economy. Their insights go beyond short-term growth, offering a closer look at the evolving "China Opportunity 2.0" narrative amid ongoing debate over the so-called "China Shock 2.0".
Q1 Many multinational companies in recent years continue to expand their investment and operations in China, suggesting that "China Opportunity 2.0" is increasingly offsetting the "China Shock 2.0" narrative. What developments or evidence best demonstrate that China is creating new opportunities for global businesses rather than posing a "shock"?
HAN: "China Opportunity 2.0" represents a fundamental shift toward openness and shared progress that extends far beyond basic market access. China is transitioning from volume-driven to value-driven growth, supported by open innovation such as open-source AI. This shift is creating real, sustainable demand for global partners.
ABB Robotics has been committed to China for more than three decades.
Our deep roots and full value chain presence in China encompass R&D, manufacturing, sales, engineering, and services and our $150 million Shanghai mega factory reflects that. With this, we are uniquely positioned to continue advancing robotics in this fast-evolving market.
WANG: China has evolved from a manufacturing base and large market into a dynamic innovation ecosystem, powered by talent, infrastructure and high-quality development.
In biopharma, this is clear: by 2025, China accounted for about 30 percent of the global innovative pipeline and nearly 50 percent in next-gen modalities — a structural shift. For CSL, this means moving from market opportunity to innovation opportunity, which drives our China strategy — "3N strategy: new product, new collaborations, new efficiency".
This is reflected not only in bringing globally leading innovative therapies to China, but also — and more importantly — deeply rooted in the entire local industrial chain and actively shaping ecosystem-wide collaborations, including local hospitals, research institutions, companies in innovative R&D and AI, as well as other ecosystem partners.
MARZOUKI: China is evolving from a major consumer market into an increasingly important hub for innovation and industrial upgrading. In the past, companies came to China primarily to be closer to consumers. Today, many companies are leveraging China as a center for innovation, R&D, digital transformation and supply-chain collaboration. From Nestle's perspective, the strongest evidence of "China Opportunity 2.0" is the continued commitment of multinational companies to expanding their investments, innovation activities and operations in China.
Nestle has been deeply rooted in the Chinese mainland for nearly 40 years. Since 2020, we've made over 6 billion yuan ($886 million) of additional investments in China. We have more than 20 factories and operating sites across the Chinese mainland (including the Dairy Farming Institute and Nescafe Coffee Center) as well as three R&D centers. More than 90 percent of products are locally manufactured.
FAN: From our perspective, the continued evolution of China's consumer market is creating meaningful opportunities for multinational companies. Chinese consumers are increasingly seeking high-quality, science-backed and personalized products, while the country's strong innovation capabilities enable companies to develop and bring new ideas to market more quickly. These trends continue to reinforce our long-term confidence in China.
As China's consumer market continues to evolve, we believe companies that invest in local innovation, build strong partnerships and stay close to consumers will be best positioned for long-term success. That has been our approach in China for more than 30 years, and it continues to guide our investments today.
