Nation provides global access to innovation

China's technological advances and industrial strengths, combined with its market-opening efforts, represent "China Opportunity 2.0" for global businesses, experts and executives said, pushing back against the revived "China Shock 2.0" narrative in some Western circles.

In a world grappling with rising protectionism and geopolitical tensions, innovation-driven cooperation is essential for global growth, and "China Opportunity 2.0" offers broader access to advanced technologies and testing grounds for businesses to stay ahead of the curve, they said.

The so-called "China Shock 2.0" narrative, which frames China's progress in sectors such as new energy and biopharmaceuticals as a threat, is nothing more than "recycled protectionist rhetoric dressed up in new clothes", Tu Xinquan, dean of the China Institute for WTO Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, told China Daily.

Tu noted that, since the Industrial Revolution, every major technological upheaval has triggered anxiety among major players of "being overtaken", from British machines displacing Indian handlooms, to the United States auto industry's rise over Europe, to Japanese automakers' shock to Detroit.

"Some Western companies that lost ground have not paused to reflect on their own deficiencies in innovation or cost control," Tu said. "Instead, they point fingers at China for moving too fast — a logic that is as self-serving as it is flawed."

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China devoted nearly 4 trillion yuan ($589 billion) to research and development last year, accounting for more than 2.8 percent of GDP — a figure that exceeds the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average.

With innovation driven by artificial intelligence now critical to global competitiveness, Nobel laureate Michael Spence observed that Beijing's systematic approach to AI deployment gives China a distinct edge over the West. "China has, in my view, in the context of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), a better set of either plans or intentions to make sure that AI is deployed by and adopted across a wide range of the economy, both in manufacturing and services," Spence said.

The dividends are already visible, as multinational companies are increasingly leveraging China's innovation ecosystem to enhance their own global competitiveness.

"We are not in China simply to serve the local market," said Pascal Daloz, chairman and CEO of French industrial software company Dassault Systemes.

"We are here because China has become one of the places where innovation is moving fastest," Daloz added.

The trend is backed by the results of a May survey by the EU Chamber of Commerce in China. The survey found that 48 percent of respondents said Chinese companies in their industry are more innovative than their EU counterparts, compared with 24 percent who said EU companies are more innovative.

Rogier Janssens, president of Merck China, described China's "2.0 version" of opening-up as "not just about enabling multinational companies to access the Chinese market, but empowering them to collaborate in innovation".

Similarly, an annual member survey released by the US-China Business Council last month found that 95 percent of respondents considered China "somewhat to very important" for staying globally competitive.

Joe Ngai, chairman of McKinsey Greater China, said, "In many areas of industrial development, especially in high-tech manufacturing, in clean energy, in the usage of AI (and) robotics, I think Chinese industry is indisputably at the leading edge of global development.

"This is a gym where everyone competes against everyone else," Ngai added. "Through the relentless, 24/7 competition between companies, world-class leaders emerge."

China's rise is rooted in mutual benefit within a deeply interconnected global economy, experts said.

"China's development has never been about squeezing out other economies. It has generated broader gains for the world," said Liao Fan, director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The nation's manufacturing efficiency, innovation and economies of scale have made renewable energy affordable worldwide. China supplies about 70 percent of global wind power equipment and 80 percent of photovoltaic modules, according to data from the National Energy Administration.

These high-quality, cost-effective products have helped drive down the average cost of electricity for global wind power projects by more than 60 percent, and for solar photovoltaic projects by more than 80 percent, over the past decade, the administration said.

"For many developing nations across Asia, Africa and Latin America, this cost revolution is transformative," Liao said. "Renewable energy, once a distant aspiration, is now the most economically viable path to sustainable growth."

What truly threatens the global trading system is not Chinese manufacturing, but Western protectionism, experts cautioned, noting that the US has wielded tariffs at will, and the EU has followed suit with unilateral actions that violate WTO rules and undermine the multilateral trading system.

"History shows that attempts to contain others' development through tariff barriers and technological blockades ultimately fail," said Tu, from the UIBE. "Smearing China will not stop the pace of China's development, and protectionism cannot halt the march of history."

As some economies turn to protectionism, China is doubling down on opening its market and expanding high-quality imports through its yearlong "Big Market for All: Export to China" campaign. Following events in Belarus and Germany last month, the initiative hosted its latest overseas event in London on Monday.

Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said in London that China possesses the world's largest middle-income group and supersized market advantages, and is committed to sharing new development opportunities with the world.