Premier Li Qiang said innovation-driven development is key to China's long-term economic resilience and steady growth.

Addressing the opening plenary of the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos, in Dalian on Wednesday, the premier attributed the country's steady and healthy economic growth to a stable environment and innovation-driven development.

He said the country's artificial intelligence sector had experienced "explosive growth".

Li said multiple Chinese large language models achieved new performance breakthroughs, while daily token consumption of Chinese large language models had surpassed 100 trillion by the end of May, ranking among the highest in the world.

He added that embodied AI had begun moving toward large-scale commercial deployment.

"China's innovation has been achieved through hard work and relentless internal efforts. We are deeply aware that there's no shortcut to scientific and technological research and development, and the advantages of innovation cannot be achieved by simply copying others," the premier said.

"Some people say the competitiveness of Chinese products relies on subsidies from the Chinese government. That's not the case. The government is not that wealthy yet and we cannot afford such subsidies either."

Li said "China Opportunity 2.0" represents comprehensive innovation-driven empowerment and high-return investment prospects for enterprises worldwide.

He also said innovation-driven cooperation is an inevitable choice to overcome the global growth dilemma, and that Beijing will continue to participate in global governance on AI and other domains in a responsible and constructive manner.

Separately, Mirek Dusek, managing director of the World Economic Forum, said AI "is really changing industry and the economy", offering new opportunities in education, healthcare and other areas.

"We are blessed with a lot of technological advancements recently, but the main imperative for decision-makers around the world is really: how do you make sure this counts in the real economy?" Dusek told AFP.

On the mainland economy, Li said it had demonstrated stability, innovation, vitality and integration with the rest of the world at the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) period.

The premier said the world's second-largest economy remained a global safe haven, and that "China's door will only open wider."

More than 1,700 participants from over 90 countries and regions are attending the Summer Davos held between Tuesday and Thursday in Dalian.

Under the theme of "Innovating at Scale", the year's meeting will explore how the world can navigate global challenges while creating new opportunities for growth.

It also features discussions on topics including the next phase of China's economic trajectory and how to translate technological advances into real economic benefits. (Xinhua and agencies)


Edited by Tony Sabine