From manufacturing hub to innovation center
Editor's Note: As China steps up efforts to boost domestic demand and drive consumption-led growth, foreign corporations are uniquely positioned to seize the opportunities presented by this transformative period. China Daily examines how these companies are aligning with China's new round of high-standard opening-up policies, embracing emerging tech innovation trends and expanding their presence in a market that increasingly values high-quality development and upgraded consumption.
Q1 The 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) draft recommendations emphasize high-quality development and the modernization of industrial systems. How do you view China's long-term economic resilience and growth potential? How will your company seize opportunities in the Chinese market to achieve shared growth with China's economy?
Wang: As a global biotechnology leader with over 40 years of presence in China, we view China's long-term economic resilience and growth potential with great confidence. As the world's second-largest pharmaceutical market, China is strategically vital for CSL. The draft recommendations of the 15th Five-Year Plan align closely with CSL's mission to deliver innovative, high-quality biopharmaceuticals that improve and save lives. We see tremendous opportunity in contributing to China's healthcare modernization goals. CSL is investing in expanding access to our plasma-derived therapies, including Albumin, where we are one of the market leaders, and we are actively exploring ways to bring more of our global portfolio to Chinese patients. We are also deepening partnerships with local stakeholders to support clinical research, regulatory innovation, and sustainable supply chains.
Depoux: China's unwavering commitment to high-quality development demonstrates its determination to transition from pure volume growth toward a more sustainable and efficient economic model, underpinned by technology and innovation. Significant advances in technology and innovation have further transformed China from a manufacturing hub into a global innovation center. During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, China has emerged as a leader in industries such as renewables, EVs and digital commerce, and is now accelerating progress in AI, humanoid robots, and quantum technology. The ongoing push for scientific and technological strength will foster a more vibrant innovation ecosystem, with the private sector playing an increasingly active role.
Zhu: China has established a very solid and resilient foundation in the past decades for leading high-quality development. We believe China will have a strong start in the 15th Five-Year Plan period. In an environment marked by constant changes, focusing on technology and innovation is the path forward for high-quality development. Technologies led by AI Plus present an unprecedented opportunity. Our research has pointed out that the room for growth and improvement is quite big: while AI adoption is advancing — 46 percent of Chinese enterprises are scaling generative AI — only 9 percent have realized significant value. Accenture has been operating in China for nearly 40 years and will continue to be committed to helping companies harness China's strengths in AI, big data and emerging technologies to further unlock new growth with AI-led transformation.
Wu: China's long-term economic resilience and growth potential remain robust, underpinned by its strategic focus on high-quality development and industrial modernization under the 15th Five-Year Plan. As China further opens and transitions toward advanced manufacturing and digitalization, new opportunities will emerge across sectors, particularly in green technologies, digital trade and cross-border e-commerce. DHL Express is committed to aligning our strategies with China's development agenda, focusing on investing in smart logistics solutions, automation, and green operations to support China's industrial upgrading and low-carbon goals. We'll continue to leverage our international network and deep Customs expertise to ensure Chinese businesses can navigate international complexities smoothly and scale up their global presence.
Q2 The plan calls for advancing high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and fostering new quality productive forces. How do you view China's policy direction in innovative and emerging industries? How will your company's R&D or technological innovation in China align with and contribute to this development process?
Wang: China's biotech boom has further elevated the market's global significance, transforming it from the "world's factory" into a premier innovation hub for cutting-edge R&D and top-tier talent. As a leading supplier of lifesaving treatments for millions of patients with life-threatening medical conditions, we place innovation at the heart of everything we do and are increasingly expanding our innovation footprint in China. Our goal is to align with China's priorities by fostering local partnerships, supporting clinical research, and collaborating with academic institutions and healthcare providers as a trusted partner to accelerate the development of new therapies. By integrating CSL's global expertise with China's dynamic innovation landscape, we aim to drive new quality productive forces, focusing on high-quality medicines, talent development, knowledge exchange and sustainable industrial growth.
Depoux: Accelerating technology and innovation remains a key Chinese government priority for the coming five-year period. Amid rising geopolitical tensions and global uncertainty, China is strategically enhancing its economic self-reliance, with technology serving as a crucial lever. The commitment to advancing high-level scientific and technological capabilities is expected to propel China toward global leadership in cutting-edge fields including AI, biotechnology, humanoid robots, hydrogen energy and advanced ICT, etc. Furthermore, China's significant productivity deployment worldwide will continue reshaping global supply chains and driving the new globalization. At Roland Berger, we support our clients in leveraging these new technologies, exploring emerging opportunities, building more resilient business models and redesigning their supply chains while maintaining their core identity and values.
Zhu: China is a key player in the global innovation economy, and is one of the leading countries in innovation. China has entered the top 10 of the World Intellectual Property Organization's Global Innovation Index for the first time. The policies and measures to further accelerate innovation and boost total factor productivity, expand market access in key industrial sectors and improve services will help the country deliver broad-based growth in a sustainable way. In particular, we can see that both foreign and Chinese companies quickly mobilize themselves to ride the latest wave of technological innovation led by AI, to better create value, respond dynamically to change and build resilience. Already we are seeing businesses make significant investments in AI with applications permeating across industries and functions, from R&D to manufacturing and from customer interactions to supply chain management.
Wu: Such a direction is a strategic and forward-looking vision. DHL Express is focusing on developing and deploying AI-powered predictive analytics and leveraging big data to enhance supply chain visibility and resilience for our Chinese customers. We also view green transition as the most significant opportunity for innovation. In China, we are aggressively investing in and deploying new energy vehicles for our pick-up and delivery fleet, and we are implementing smart energy management systems in our facilities. This allows us to contribute directly to the green dimension of the nation's industrial modernization.
Q3 China is committed to high-level opening-up and high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. How do you view China's role in global industrial and supply chains? How does your company position itself as a key participant in China's new pattern of openness?
Wang: At CSL, we see China not only as a key market, but also as a strategic partner in our global operations. For over 40 years, we've developed deep local expertise and robust supply capabilities, establishing ourselves as a reliable, high-quality supplier ensuring patient access. We are actively enhancing local supply chain resilience, investing in technology transfer and collaborating with Chinese partners on regional and global health initiatives. Our ambition is "to deliver enduring patient impact in areas of high unmet medical need", so that for China, this commitment translates into ensuring patients benefit from the best of CSL's global innovation, while simultaneously empowering the nation to play a greater role in shaping the future of biopharmaceutical development and distribution.
Depoux: In a period marked by market volatility and growing protectionist tendencies in certain economies, China's commitment to multilateralism, free trade, inclusiveness and the support for WTO reform offers crucial strategic stability to the international system. China is taking a pragmatic approach by deepening integration with Asian and other Global South countries. At the same time, it has adopted a more assertive posture in global affairs, utilizing policy tools such as export controls to navigate a complex geopolitical landscape. These developments underscore an ongoing evolution in globalization, and China is playing a key role in shaping its next phase. For international businesses, this opens a multifaceted growth pathway. The opportunity extends beyond selling to China and embraces the "in China for China" and "in China for Global" approaches by leveraging its vast domestic market and new international cooperation corridors.
Zhu: As China is embracing high-level opening-up and initiatives to facilitate cross-border cooperation, we can see that more Chinese companies are setting forward-looking goals, enhancing operational resilience and moving up the value chain amid a competitive global landscape, rather than focusing only on short-term fixes to production and supply challenges. Chinese companies are investing in some lagging areas like AI-powered supply chain visualization, real-time monitoring, scenario planning and rapid decision making. In the new wave of technological and business evolution, Accenture has been helping clients build digital maturity across their organizations, making them more agile with data and AI, and bridging innovation with real impact.
Wu: China's role in global industrial and supply chains is evolving from being the "world's factory" to a stabilizer and enabler of worldwide supply chain resilience. With its complete and strong industrial ecosystem, growing emphasis on green and digital trade, and expanding influence across Asia and beyond, China is positioned to shape the next phase of globalization. We'll continue leveraging our global network and digital tools to help Chinese companies, especially SMEs, access international markets efficiently. In line with China's vision for high-quality development, we are introducing greener logistics solutions. Through these initiatives, we are not just adapting to China's opening-up, we are helping accelerate it, creating shared value and strengthening our role as a bridge between China and the world.
Q4 The plan underscores green development and shared prosperity. How does your company pursue sustainable operations in China while contributing to the Chinese society, local partnerships, and inclusive growth?
Wang: Sustainability and inclusive growth are essential to our mission and long-term strategy, both globally and here in China. In China, CSL is pursuing sustainable operations by improving environmental performance, optimizing energy, reducing waste and embedding sustainability throughout our product lifecycle. Beyond this, we are also deeply committed to contributing to the Chinese society through partnerships supporting healthcare access, public health education and talent development. We work closely with stakeholders to expand access to life-saving treatments like Albumin, and we support initiatives that improve affordability and availability for patients across China.
Depoux: At Roland Berger, sustainability is deeply anchored in the firm. We believe in sustainable growth and are convinced that taking care of the planet is not just a trend, but a necessity. Roland Berger is on a path to achieving net zero emissions in line with our commitment to the Paris Agreement goals. Our ultimate goal, validated by the SBTi, is to achieve net zero emissions by 2040. We invest in research on topics including energy transition, smart mobility solutions, emissions reduction, supply chain risks and sustainability. Yet, our most significant contribution lies in collaborating with stakeholders to advance the sustainability agenda. This entails supporting clients in decarbonizing their operations through our specialized solutions and comprehensive decarbonization toolkit. We'll further assist clients in developing and deploying technical innovations. Additionally, we actively participate in the public discourse on climate action — striving to influence both perspectives and behaviors.
Zhu: We deeply understand that the high-quality growth in a company or in a society is not only about economic growth, it's also about enabling social and environmental resilience. Our mission is to deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity, and we leverage our capabilities and assets, working with our employees, clients, non-profit partners and other stakeholders to participate in and help at many social well-being and green development dimensions. For example, we developed industrial work assistant powered by AI and AR for employees with intellectual disabilities on the assembly line of Inclusion Factory. Also, we have joined hands with a foundation to help more than 1,000 rural women develop digital mindsets and e-commerce skills since 2017.For sustainability, we have been closely working with the World Economic Forum to publish a series of reports on renewable energy to help shape a new business model and release multi-value as the country pursues dual carbon goals.
Wu: We applaud China's steadfast commitment to green development and shared prosperity. We are not just delivering parcels, but also delivering on our promise to grow responsibly, support the communities we operate in and contribute to a future that is both green and inclusive. Our approach is guided by a clear environmental, social and governance roadmap to reduce our carbon footprint. We aim for over 60 percent of our fleet in China to be electric by 2030. We are also investing in energy-efficient facilities equipped with smart energy management systems, solar panels, and LED lighting to minimize our operational carbon footprint. We are also helping customers with our green produce to contribute to environmental protection and aligning with their own ESG goals.
Q5 China's new "Shopping in China "initiative is part of a broader drive to deepen opening-up and boost inbound consumption. From your perspective, how does this program reshape opportunities for companies operating in China's consumer market, and what would you recommend travelers visiting the country have on their "must-buy "list?
Wang: The initiative signals deeper opening-up and economic dynamism. Underpinning this initiative is the Chinese government's unwavering commitment to continuously optimizing the business environment and attracting foreign investment. A more prosperous market creates deeper opportunities for multinational companies like CSL to expedite the introduction of high-value global innovations, allowing us to better address Chinese patients' urgent unmet medical needs. CSL sees this as an opportunity to further integrate into China's healthcare ecosystem. My "must-buy "item would probably be a piece of cutting-edge health tech or wellness product from one of China's emerging consumer brands. Whether it's a smart wearable for health monitoring, a traditional Chinese medicine product with modern packaging, or even a beautifully designed skin care item rooted in local ingredients — China's fusion of tradition and innovation is truly impressive.
Depoux: The "Shopping in China" initiative aims to bring more inbound purchasing. It is part of a broader initiative to make China more attractive to foreign visitors through the visa-free initiatives and expanded tax-refund policies, etc. There have been considerable efforts on social media to promote China to the world as a tourist destination. This strategy attracts more visitors who discover unique products in China's vibrant retail environments, making Chinese goods increasingly appealing. One of my "must-buy" items if I were traveling to China would be a piece of technology, such as a Huawei foldable phone or a latest-generation DJI drone with AI features.
Zhu: To adapt to the pace of change in the consumer sector and people's longing for a good life becomes the anchor point for future innovation in a time of rapid technological advances. The behaviors playing out here in China — seeking digital innovations, emotional connection and meaningful differentiation, to name a few — are leading indicators. For example, as our latest Chinese consumer insight shows, the swift spread of AI is quietly reshaping both lifestyles and relationships. When exploring new solutions or looking for ways to improve their lives, 57 percent of consumers now turn to AI tools. Companies need to forecast the changing dynamic between technology and users, establish guardrails of technology usage, and align with people's growing desire for more immersive and authentic experiences. Personally, I think those domestic brands with unique features and emotional aspirations — robot cleaners, digital wristbands, for example, and of course, Chinese cultural creative products like Labubu — could be on the list.
Wu: The "Shopping in China" initiative opens a new, official channel to tap into the spending power of international tourists, students and business visitors who are physically in China. The initiative creates direct synergies with our core business, positioning us as an enabler in this new retail paradigm. We offer a seamless, reliable, and secure way for these tourists to ship their purchases, be it luxury items, cutting-edge electronics or unique guochao (China chic) products, directly to their home addresses abroad. We are, in effect, the essential last-mile link that extends the "Shopping in China" experience beyond China's borders, ensuring customer satisfaction and completing the retail loop.
