The 14th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2023 (Summer Davos Forum) kicks off in Tianjin on June 27. 

At the forum, in an on-site interview with media outlets including National Business Daily (NBD), CEO of Foxconn Industrial Internet ("Fii") Zheng Hongmeng stated that China is indeed the world"s factory. However, it is incorrect to simply view China"s role as solely manufacturing. China has many new materials and technologies under development, as well as manufacturing upgrades and logistics improvements. Chinese development is diverse, so rooting oneself in China and facing the world may be a more feasible approach for companies.

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Zheng Hongmeng Photo/website of World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions

The following is a transcript of the interview.

Promote mutual benefit, reciprocity, and peaceful development

Question: What do you think are the highlights of this year"s Summer Davos?

Zheng Hongmeng:One important aspect of this year"s Summer Davos is that, after the pandemic, we are discussing together how to achieve sustainable operations through cooperation, how to strengthen regional cooperation, and how to strengthen bilateral trade.

China has always been committed to promoting mutual benefit, reciprocity, and peaceful development. So in the post-pandemic era, how can we use new technologies to move towards a new era and promote the formation of a more developed new era? This is probably the trend.

Question: One of the core themes of this forum is "Restarting Growth". What do you think is the key to restarting growth?

Zheng Hongmeng:The key to restarting growth is innovation. Currently, the global economy is in a state of chaos and uncertainty, and many industries are undergoing transformation this year, which is both a challenge and an opportunity. In the new round of technological competition, Chinese companies have begun to learn how to go global.

The globalization of enterprises requires close cooperation with the government, building on the foundation established by the "Belt and Road" initiative. Especially for large-scale enterprises, they should take on the role of driving the economic trend.

Question: What is your biggest gain from attending this forum?

Zheng Hongmeng:At this forum, I saw that the business community is very active, and the government and relevant agencies are also very active. The biggest gain is that everyone has a consensus that the world needs to create a peaceful and prosperous environment, and then everyone can work together to create a new era.

Rooted in China, facing the world

Question: Currently, the number of "lighthouse factories" in China has become the largest in the world. What does this indicate?

Zheng Hongmeng:People like to say that China is the world"s market and factory, and this is true. First of all, since China"s reform and opening up, a complete talent chain has been formed.China has a diverse talent layout and cultivation.Second, from raw materials to finished products, China has developed a very complete supply chain system. Third, China"s manufacturing technology is advanced, and there is a complete logistics chain leading to all parts of the world.

Therefore, China is the world"s factory, but if we simply regard China"s role as only manufacturing, that is not correct. China has many new materials research and development, manufacturing upgrades, and logistics improvements. China"s development is diverse, so rooting in China and facing the world may be a more feasible method for enterprises.

Question: What kind of entrepreneurial spirit do you think China needs today?

Zheng Hongmeng:I think it is pragmatism and not forgetting the original intention.

China"s reform and opening up for more than 40 years, and our economic growth is visible to the world. We still need to uphold the spirit of digitization and technological innovation, which can allow us to continuously replicate and expand our scale.

To respond to the current new situation, develop emerging technologies, cultivate "specialized and new" talents, and promote enterprise digital transformation, these are not contradictory, and promoting these measures will bring promising future for China"s economic development.