Interview: China's forward-looking businesses, vibrant innovation ecosystem "very impressive," says WEF managing director

专访：世界经济论坛执行董事称中国前瞻型企业与创新生态“令人印象深刻”

TIANJIN, March 25 (Xinhua) -- China's sense of optimism, forward-looking businesses, and vibrant innovation ecosystem are very impressive, said Gim Huay Neo, managing director of the World Economic Forum (WEF), on Wednesday.

新华社天津2026年3月25日电 世界经济论坛执行董事梁锦慧日前表示，中国社会展现出的乐观预期、企业面向未来的布局，以及充满活力的创新生态，给她留下了非常深刻的印象。

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua during the Tianjin 2026 Global Business Leaders Roundtable, scheduled to take place on Wednesday and Thursday in north China's Tianjin Municipality, Neo said that in a recent survey that the WEF conducted among businesses globally, China's business leaders and new entrants to the job market had emerged as the most optimistic about the implications of technology for their prospects in the future.

梁锦慧是在天津接受新华社独家专访时作出上述表示的。2026全球商业领袖圆桌会于3月25日至26日在天津举行。她说，世界经济论坛近期面向全球企业开展的一项调查显示，中国企业负责人以及新进入就业市场的人群，对技术将如何影响自身未来发展前景，表现出最高程度的乐观。

"In many industries in China, there is appetite to embrace technology to drive productivity gains, to bring about new possibilities, and to enhance quality output," Neo said.

她表示，在中国的许多行业中，企业都愿意主动拥抱技术，通过技术提升生产率、创造新的可能，并进一步提高产出质量。

"China has been investing in technology and talent capabilities over the last decades, but the 'a-ha' moment about how frontier China's developments have been came about when DeepSeek actually had their launch early last year, and all of a sudden there was a lot of spotlight on how far and how deep China has gone in investing in technology, and how much this technology has diffused across industries, across the economy, and in society right now," Neo said, adding that there is a lot of interest from international businesses, as well as governments, to look at China's capabilities.

梁锦慧说，中国在过去几十年持续投入科技和人才能力建设，而真正让国际社会强烈意识到中国前沿技术发展水平的一个重要节点，是深度求索（DeepSeek）在去年初的发布。她表示，随着这一事件受到广泛关注，外界开始更加清楚地看到，中国在科技投入上走得有多远、做得有多深，以及这些技术如今已经在产业、经济和社会层面广泛扩散。

She explained that they expected to learn from China's best practices and China's experience, and to know where they can collaborate with China -- whether it is to build capabilities, to license Chinese technology, or to enhance their own productivity -- and how they can also be part of this technology dividend.

她进一步指出，当前国际企业和各国政府都对中国的科技能力高度关注。大家希望从中国的最佳实践和发展经验中获得启发，了解可以在哪些方面与中国开展合作——无论是共同建设能力、引进中国技术授权，还是借助合作提升自身生产率，并共同分享技术发展带来的红利。

Neo further noted a shift in how multinational companies engage with China. "Many of these international businesses are not just looking at building manufacturing bases in China. They are looking at setting up innovation hubs to tap into the richness of the talent base, the sophistication of how these technologies have been deployed in the economy across all sectors, and also to be close to the market where things are happening."

谈及跨国企业与中国互动方式的变化，梁锦慧表示，如今不少国际企业来华布局，已不仅仅满足于建设制造基地，而是更加看重在中国设立创新中心。这样做，既可以更好地对接中国丰富的人才资源，也能够深入了解这些技术如何在各个行业和经济领域得到成熟应用，同时贴近市场，及时把握最前沿的发展动态。

This year marks the start of China's 15th Five-Year Plan period. In Neo's eyes, there are many opportunities in this Five-Year Plan, both in the domestic market and in the upgrading of industries, the catalytic growth of new businesses, new business models, and also how China will collaborate and invest overseas.

2026年是中国“十五五”时期的开局之年。在梁锦慧看来，这一阶段蕴含着大量新机遇，既体现在国内市场，也体现在产业升级、新企业和新商业模式的成长，以及中国未来如何开展国际合作和对外投资等方面。

"There's a lot in there for businesses to explore and to look at how they can work closely with the Chinese government to realize the ambitions and the vision that is embodied in this plan," Neo said.

她说，这份五年规划为企业提供了广阔的观察与参与空间。企业可以从中寻找发展机会，思考如何与中国政府更加紧密地合作，共同推动规划中所体现的发展目标和愿景落到实处。