Multinational CEOs highlight AI opportunities at China Development Forum 2025

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Multinational CEOs highlight AI opportunities at China Development Forum 2025

2025-03-24 20:01 Last Updated At：21:07

Global business leaders discussed the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and its growing role in China's innovation landscape on Sunday at the ongoing China Development Forum 2025 in Beijing.

The two-day forum has become a focal point for discussions on AI with multinational CEOs highlighting China's rapid advancements in the field.

During interviews with China Media Group (CMG) on Sunday, executives revealed that AI strategies are now central to their operations, with many seeing China as a key driver of innovation and market opportunities.

Ola Kallenius, chairman of the Board of Management at Mercedes-Benz Group, praised China's innovative capabilities. "We see with the DeepSeek innovation, but you have to be very fast. Everybody talks about China's speed you have to pick up speed on the innovation side. You have to be nimble in terms of how you do the sourcing, what supply partnerships you develop," he said.

Dave Ricks, chairman and CEO of Eli Lilly and Company, highlighted China's leadership in robotics and AI.

"One area China is leading in is robotics, and so we would like to run some future experiments. Look for that in the news in the future, to set up automated laboratories that are controlled by people using AI and then automatically running experiments without the human hand," Ricks noted.

Sean Stein, president of the U.S.-China Business Council, underscored the importance of collaboration between the United States and China, the world's two largest economies. "Two most innovative economies are the U.S. and China. That's why we have so many companies here, because they recognize the importance for their own innovation, for their own dynamism and for their own global competitiveness," Stein said.

As multinational companies continue to integrate AI into their strategies, China's role as a hub for innovation and technological advancement is becoming increasingly evident, some observers noted.

Chinese vice premier, US trade representative hold video call on economic issues

2025-03-26 22:30 Last Updated At：03-27 00:17

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, who is China's lead official for China-U.S. economic and trade affairs, held a video call with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at the latter's invitation on Wednesday.

Focusing on the implementation of the important consensus reached by the two heads of state during their phone call on January 17 this year, the two sides exchanged views on major bilateral economic and trade issues in a candid and in-depth manner.

The Chinese side expressed grave concerns over additional U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports under the pretext of the fentanyl issue, the Section 301 investigation that target Chinese imports, and planned "reciprocal" tariffs.

Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974 authorizes the U.S. Trade Representative to impose tariffs or other import restrictions on foreign products after determining that "an act, policy, or practice of a foreign country is unreasonable or discriminatory and burdens or restricts United States commerce."

Both sides confirmed their belief that stable China-U.S. economic and trade relations are in the interests of both countries and agreed to maintain communication on each other's concerns.