"Attitudes to AI are much more positive in China. Chinese people are very used to applying applications like WeChat and Alipay, and all kinds of technologies, for the benefit of their daily life, and you are now seeing that translate into professional lives as well," said the senior executive.

　　A robot gives a thumb up to a participant of the 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, on June 23, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Lingyi)

　　A SOLID START

　　Amid global uncertainties and geopolitical conflicts, the Chinese economy has maintained strong resilience and positive momentum in kicking off the new five-year plan period.

　　China's gross domestic product grew 5 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2026, and has maintained stable growth momentum in the second quarter with increasing enterprise profits and a moderate recovery in consumer prices.

　　The country's stable growth is particularly significant given the sheer size of its 140-trillion-yuan (about 20.5 trillion U.S. dollars) economy and amid global energy shortages and severe supply chain disruptions, providing much-needed certainty and serving as a "safe harbor" in an increasingly uncertain world, Li said.

　　"While the world is marked by turbulence and uncertainty, China stands out as one of the few places characterized by a unified domestic market and a high degree of stability," said Yu Feng, president of Honeywell China.

　　"We see clear opportunities across several sectors from the 15th Five-Year Plan," he said, pointing to domains that have already demonstrated strong growth momentum, including semiconductors, data centers, shipbuilding and energy transition.