Nova Karun K

On 23 March, the China Development Forum 2025 was held at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, Beijing, for two days. Chinese Premier Li Qiang attended the event's opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech. Li said: “China will continue to welcome enterprises from around the world with open arms, further expand market access, actively address the concerns of businesses, and facilitate the deeper integration of foreign-funded enterprises into the Chinese market.” This year's forum theme was “Unleashing Development Momentum for Stable Growth of Global Economy.”

High-profile multinational executives from international organisations attended the meeting, including the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, and the CEO of AstraZeneca, Pascal Soriot. Cook commented on DeepSeek’s models being “excellent.” Soriot said: "Looking ahead, China will not only serve as a global innovation hub but also a core arena for setting standards and reshaping industrial chains.”

Brief history: What is the China Development Forum?
What has been its focus so far?
The forum was launched in March 2000, as the China Development Forum (CDF) by China’s Premier, Zhu Ronji. Since then, it has served as an important platform for dialogue between the Chinese government, global businesses, academia, and international organisations. Initially, the forum focused on the discourse between Chinese leaders and foreign experts, but over the years, it has evolved to include international companies.

According to the official site of the CDF, the 2000-2005 forums had themes emphasizing structural reforms to the market, economic integration, and industrial upgrading, setting the stage for China’s gradual shift toward a modern, globally integrated economy. The themes for 2006-2011 forums explored technological advancement, digital transformation, and fiscal restructuring. The themes from 2012-2016 looked at the importance of open market principles and promoting high‑quality development to strengthen China’s economic resilience. In recent years (2017–2024), the CDF addressed the challenges of global economic integration, technological innovation, economic recovery, digitalization, resilience in supply chains, and the need to revive domestic consumption amid external trade pressures. The 2025 forum focuses on strategies to strengthen China’s economic resilience through innovation, sustainable growth, and comprehensive reforms.

Major Issues: What was the focus in 2025?
According to the China Development Research Foundation, the forum invited more than 750 foreign representatives from 21 countries and featured 12 symposiums and several closed-door sessions. These sessions aimed to focus on reforming macro policies and modernizing financial systems to boost domestic consumption, increase scientific and technological innovation to develop inclusive AI, promote high-quality development of big health, and drive sustainable, green, low-carbon development. It also emphasized addressing demographic challenges, promoting institutional opening-up for high-quality, inclusive global industrial and supply chain cooperation.

The forum took place in the US-China trade tensions background. According to Business Insider, despite the ensuing trade war and the previous Biden administration’s crackdown on chips, prominent businesses like Apple, Citadel, and Qualcomm continued to operate in Beijing. The CDF 2025, which aims to revive domestic consumption, advance high-quality high-tech innovation, and strengthen economic resilience, has been influenced by the trade uncertainties reflecting China’s shift in its strategic approach. The trade tension currently faced by China is one of the motivating factors for wooing major foreign investors back as it actively tries to build its domestic economy.

The pivot towards private enterprises
On 17 February, Xinhua reported on China’s President Xi Jinping holding a symposium with heads of private businesses at Beijing’s Great Hall of People. Xi’s visit was a rare sight where he actively pushed to further the growth of private enterprises. The Two Sessions meeting also focused on the need to invest in high-profit, critical private sectors. Where the government needs to support and have control over the growth of the entities. On 17 February, Xinhua reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping urged them to promote “high-quality development” of the private sector. He assured them that China would fully support the development of the public and non-public sectors and ensure that all ownership economies have “legal access to production factors, fair market competition, and equal legal protection.” Deputy China Research Director at Gavekal Dragonomics in Hong Kong Christopher Beddor said: “It's a tacit acknowledgement that the Chinese government needs private-sector firms for its tech rivalry with the US, the government has no choice but to support them if it wants to compete with the US.” The symposium reflected Xi’s goal in driving domestic innovation to boost demand, production and consumption.

The focus on AI and high-tech investments
National Committee on United States-China Relations (NCUSCR) Stephen Orlins, an attendee, emphasised cooperation in AI and the need for duplication of efforts to be avoided. Head of the National Data Administration Liu Liehong, said: “AI technology is promoting economic and social development at an unprecedented speed and has become an important driving force bolstering a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation.” Finance Minister Lan Fo'an highlighted plans to "accelerate the development of new quality productive forces" through strategic investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and other cutting-edge technologies.

Emphasis on domestic consumption
China has pledged to double funding for the consumer goods trade-in scheme this year to USD 41 billion. China has also set its full-year growth target at around 5 per cent for 2025. Senior officials stressed that aligning domestic reforms with global economic strategies is essential for modernizing industries, fostering innovation, and ensuring sustainable growth. “Boosting consumption” domestically was discussed at the end of the agenda. President of the Asian Development Bank Masato Kanda, an attendee, remarked that China has been struggling with a dropping property sector, but the promise of high-quality development is set to stabilise the sector with demand-side and supply-side measures. He said, “High-quality development demands a careful rebalancing of the economy. It requires boosting domestic demand and household consumption through rising incomes.”

References:

“China, US need have cooperation in AI, says US‑China relations committee head,” Reuters, 24 March 2025

“Keynote speech at China Development Forum 2025,” China Development Forum, 2025

“China Development Forum 2025: Speech by Masato Kanda,” Asian Development Bank, 26 March 2025

Yasir Habib Khan, “Key economic priorities discussed at China Development Forum 2025,” China Economic Net, 26 March 2025

“Chinese Premier delivers keynote speech at China Development Forum 2025,” CGTN, 23 March 2025

“Highlights from China Development Forum 2025,” China Daily, 23 March 2025

Xinhua, “Chinese Premier delivers keynote address at China Development Forum 2025,” Government of China, 26 March 2025

Wency Chen, “Apple’s Cook meets top Chinese officials in charm offensive that offers no AI update,” SCMP, March 2025

“Leading initiatives at China Development Forum 2025,” China Development Forum, 2025

“Trump’s trade war: Here’s a timeline of how we got here,” 1 News, 27 March 2025

“What’s the significance of Xi’s meeting with private enterprises?,” Reuters, 17 February 2025

Fan Feifei, “New initiatives unveiled at China Development Forum 2025,” China Daily, 25 March 2025

Mo Jingxi, “China’s strategy for future growth discussed at China Development Forum,” China Daily, 17 February 2025

“The significance of China Xi's meet with private enterprises,” Reuters, 17 February 2025

Yin Yeping and Deng Xiaoci, “Xi urges healthy, high-quality development of private sector,” Global Times, 18 February 2025

“Coal and gas among US targets of China's retaliatory tariffs,” BBC, 04 February 2025

About the author
Nova Karun K is a postgraduate student at Pondicherry University.

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