China’s Premier Li Qiang emphasized the country’s genuine innovation capabilities in artificial intelligence and electric vehicles during a speech at the World Economic Forum summit in Dalian, popularly known as “Summer Davos,” on June 24, 2026. He rejected assertions that China’s progress in these sectors was primarily driven by state subsidies, attributing the advancements instead to years of dedicated effort and the strengthening of domestic capabilities.
The summit convened over 1,700 leaders representing business, government, and academia from more than 90 countries to discuss global economic challenges and opportunities. Under the theme “Innovating at Scale,” participants sought to explore China’s future economic trajectory and the translation of technological innovation into tangible economic gains.
Li highlighted China’s resilience amid global disruptions, including energy shortages and significant supply chain challenges, describing the country as a “safe haven” in an uncertain economic environment. He reaffirmed that China will continue to open its markets to the world.
Addressing the rapid growth of China’s artificial intelligence sector, Li pointed to notable breakthroughs in large language models developed domestically, noting that daily token consumption by these models surpassed 100 trillion by the end of May, ranking among the highest globally. He acknowledged that while AI has substantially improved innovation efficiency, it also raises concerns related to technological runaway risks and ethical issues. Li cautioned that inadequate governance in AI development could lead to severe consequences.
Li urged global enterprises to view what he termed “China Opportunity 2.0” as a phase marked by innovation-driven empowerment and promising investment returns. He responded to concerns about China’s technological rise, which some commentators have framed as a “China Shock 2.0” posing challenges to the global economy. Instead, Li portrayed China’s development as an opportunity offering broader access to advanced technologies and the wider sharing of development benefits worldwide.