Consumption, innovation offering economic momentum

China's economic transition is gaining momentum as initiatives to boost consumption and drive innovation take center stage, which will inject greater certainty into the global economic landscape and provide broader space in which multinational companies can thrive, officials and executives said on Sunday.

China will combine robust policy support and the unleashing of market forces as it strives to achieve its economic growth target of around 5 percent this year, and policymakers are well prepared to introduce new incremental policies if necessary, Premier Li Qiang said in Beijing at the opening ceremony of the two-day China Development Forum 2025.

The recent dynamism observed in China's consumer market, particularly in the film, winter sports and cultural tourism sectors, has pointed to the vast potential of the country's domestic economic circulation, Li said.

The theme of this year's forum is "Unleashing Development Momentum for Stable Growth of the Global Economy".

Han Wenxiu, executive deputy director of the Office of the Central Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs, said that China is set to enhance people's consumption capacity, to ensure they have the financial means and the willingness to consume. These initiatives go beyond merely promoting economic growth and productivity, he said.

The initiatives also seek to increase the income of urban and rural residents, optimize the income distribution structure and elevate the share of household income in overall national income, Han said.

Liu Shijin, former deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, noted that "China faces a critical transition from an investment- and export-driven growth model to one fueled by innovation and consumption".

"While structural imbalances in consumption present major challenges, resolving them could unlock growth potential comparable to that once provided by the real estate sector. This transformation would establish a foundation for sustained medium-speed economic growth, ensuring stability for China's economy in the years ahead," Liu said.

Premier Li stressed at the forum that the continuous emergence of technological advancements by Chinese tech startups such as DeepSeek and Unitree Robotics has showcased the country's immense capability for innovation and creativity.

Minister of Finance Lan Fo'an, said that this year, China will scale up its funding to the sci-tech sector to expedite breakthroughs in critical and core technologies, stressing that a variety of policy tools will be used, including tax incentives and investment funds, to drive the "AI Plus" initiative and foster the growth of emerging and future industries.

Policymakers are committed to implementing measures that promote the development of the private sector, providing tangible assistance to enterprises, so that they can innovate and thrive, Lan said.

Executives attending the forum said that amid the growing uncertainties in the global economy marked by rising protectionism, it is more important than ever for nations to open up their markets and for businesses to pool their resources, in order to jointly tackle challenges and achieve shared growth.

"We expect China to remain an engine for global growth in 2025 and across this decade," said Georges Elhedery, group chief executive of HSBC Holdings, adding that he is confident that in the long run, China will remain a thriving, sustainable economy at the heart of global trade and investment and at the forefront of innovation.

Cristiano Amon, president and CEO of Qualcomm, told China Daily that he was excited by the innovation from DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup.

"Our Chinese partners are very excited at embracing AI, and Qualcomm will expand our cooperation with them in the future," Amon said, adding that he believes technology will play an important role in spurring economic growth.

Li Lecheng, Party secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that China has become the world's second-largest contributor to the global open-source community and the fastest-growing country in this field.

An open-source community is a collective of users, developers and contributors centered around a project in which the source code is freely available for modification and redistribution.

"We will support foreign-funded enterprises to establish research and development centers in China, and to further promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the country," Li Lecheng said.

More efforts will be made to facilitate the translation of scientific and technological progress into practical applications, he said, adding that the country also encourages foreign enterprises to participate in such initiatives.

Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca, said the strong signals from this year's Government Work Report, which reaffirmed China's commitment to science, innovation and opening-up, are highly encouraging.

"We have been investing in science and innovation for many years in China, and we plan to invest even more in the future," Soriot said.