China partners with global stakeholders to unlock new development opportunities

In 2025, China's new economy, encompassing new industries, business formats, and models, achieved a value-added output of 25.79 trillion yuan ($3.82 trillion), marking a 6.2% year-on-year increase. This growth rate surpassed the traditional GDP growth by 2.2 percentage points, raising the sector's share to 18.39% of China's total GDP.

This continuous expansion signifies China's shift towards high-quality development and offers a solid foundation for the global economic recovery, which is struggling due to weak traditional growth drivers.

Recognizing technological innovation, digital transformation, and green development as key engines for future global growth, international bodies like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have highlighted these factors. Traditionally, China's economy was evaluated based on its speed and scale, but now, focus shifts towards innovation capacity, industrial complexity, and sustainability.

The Global Innovation Index 2025, compiled by the World Intellectual Property Organization, places China within the top 10 globally for innovation. Moreover, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou innovation cluster has claimed the top spot worldwide. This growth in innovation capacity and industrial sophistication demonstrates China's progress from factor-driven growth to innovation-driven development.

In the new energy sector, China's photovoltaic modules, power batteries, and electric vehicles benefit from comprehensive industrial chain development. This integration has led to reliable solutions for countries aiming for energy transitions. Digital technologies, integrated with the real economy, such as industrial internet applications in manufacturing and flexible customization in production and sales, have improved traditional industries' quality and efficiency.

International observers have acknowledged China's strengths in new energy and digital economy sectors. The Wall Street Journal notes that China's integrated development across the entire industrial chain reshapes global supply patterns in related industries. The Financial Times highlights China's innovation as a systemic capability built on a complete industrial ecosystem and vast domestic market, offering a model for emerging economies seeking transformation and upgrading.

China's large market, comprehensive industrial support system, and efficient capacity for application and iteration position it as a vital hub for global innovation resources. Breakthroughs in fields like artificial intelligence and green energy rely on cross-border exchanges and cooperation. Unlike countries that have implemented technological barriers or fragmented innovation networks, China has promoted openness, cooperation, and mutual benefit.

This is evident in collaborations with multinational companies such as AstraZeneca, Roche Diagnostics, and L'Oreal, who have established R&D centers and production bases in China.

For developing countries, China's experience in developing the new economy offers practical insights. Its mature practices in inclusive digital development and green transformation provide valuable references for countries seeking suitable development paths. Through high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, China has contributed to sustainable development in countries like South Africa, Uzbekistan, and Sao Paulo, Brazil, through projects like the Redstone concentrated solar thermal power plant, Bukhara wind power project, and digital mobility technologies.

These initiatives exemplify China's openness, connectivity, and mutual benefit approach, demonstrating how innovation cooperation can create new growth drivers, expand development space, and jointly write a new chapter of global development and prosperity.