The China Development Forum 2025 (CDF) was held on March 23-24 in Beijing, attended by representatives of international organizations as well as CEOs from over 80 multinational companies, including Apple, Corning and Mercedes-Benz Group. The theme of this year's forum is “Unleashing Development Momentum for Stable Growth of Global Economy.” Chinese Premier Li Qiang in a keynote speech at the opening ceremony pledged to unswervingly advance opening up and cooperation amid rising global instability and uncertainty. 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. The Premier said China will safeguard free trade, and contribute to the smooth and stable operation of global industrial and supply chains. China has set its full-year growth target at around 5% for 2025. Li said the decision reflects both China's profound understanding of its fundamental economic conditions and strong confidence in its governance capacity and future development potential, and pledged efforts to strengthen policy support while stimulating market forces in order to achieve the target.
“The Premier gave a very realistic and upbeat account of China, and it was very, very good,” Jeffrey Sachs, Professor at Columbia University, told the Global Times on the sidelines of the forum. He said Premier Li's emphasis on China's technological advances and openness to the world for cooperation, trade and for investment are positive messages very well received at the forum. “They are the basis for great optimism that China's rapid growth will continue on the basis of a highly innovative economy producing the goods and services that the rest of the world very much needs,” he said.
As an annual high-level event hosted by the Development Research Center of the State Council, China's cabinet, the two-day event generally attracts a large group of globally leading multinational CEOs. Representatives of 86 multinational companies from 21 countries attended the forum this year, many of which U.S. companies. In addition, some heads of international organizations, including Dilma Rousseff, Chair of the New Development Bank (NDB), Masato Kanda, President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Anna Bjerde, Managing Director of Operations at the World Bank, and 14 representatives of organizations including the Asia Society and the U.S.-China Business Council also attended the forum.
“Definitely, we have confidence in China's development. We have invested consistently for decades in China, and we will continue for decades to come. We see opportunities across the board for us, including for our display business and automotive business,” Wendell P. Weeks, CEO of U.S. firm Corning, told the Global Times. Michael Nelson, CEO of U.S. direct selling firm Amway, said that the company plans a USD2.1 billion investment in the China market over the next five years. He said the company is monitoring the impact of U.S. tariffs, but stressed that it is focused on the health of the Chinese into the future. Apple CEO Tim Cook also attended the forum, during which Ren Hongbin, President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) had a meeting with Cook.
This year, European companies also account for an important share of foreign multinationals, including German carmaker BMW, London-based professional services provider KPMG and Swedish home furnishing giant IKEA. The number of multinationals that sent official representatives to the forum for the first time reached a new high this year, with more companies from Global South countries, including India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brazil.
“Although the global economy faces growing uncertainties, the wide attendance of foreign CEOs at the forum sends an important signal that China remains a key destination for foreign investment,” Zhou Mi, Senior Research Fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times. Through visiting China, they can get first-hand information about China's economic development in 2025 and strengthen their ties with Chinese business partners so as to support their future decisions, Zhou said. Other senior Chinese officials also attended the forum.
At the CDF tariffs and trade protectionism were at the forefront, with many participants stressing that rising barriers could fuel inflation and dampen growth. “Tariffs are inflationary, and they are potentially recessionary as well. They do pose a challenge in the short term. The biggest problem for our clients is that they create uncertainty and risk, which makes businesses uncomfortable. So, they delay investment decisions and delay hiring,” Martin Sorrell, Founder and Executive Chairman of London-based S4 Capital, told the Global Times. Sorrell noted that the biggest question is whether additional U.S. tariffs will be for the long run or short term. Michele Geraci, former Undersecretary of State at the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, argued that tariffs would do little to address U.S. economic issues. “The U.S. government aims to solve its trade deficits by imposing tariffs against its trade partners including the EU, Canada and China, but tariffs will not help solve the U.S. trade deficit," said Geraci. “Over time, the U.S. President will understand that Washington's policies actually hurt the U.S. economy instead of the economies of other countries,” Geraci added, as reported by the Global Times.
