China's technological advances and industrial strengths, combined with its market-opening efforts, represent "China Opportunity 2.0" for global businesses, experts and executives said, pushing back against the revived "China Shock 2.0" narrative in some Western circles.
In a world grappling with rising protectionism and geopolitical tensions, innovation-driven cooperation is essential for global growth, and "China Opportunity 2.0" offers broader access to advanced technologies and testing grounds for businesses to stay ahead of the curve, they said.
The so-called "China Shock 2.0" narrative, which frames China's progress in sectors such as new energy and biopharmaceuticals as a threat, is nothing more than "recycled protectionist rhetoric dressed up in new clothes", Tu Xinquan, dean of the China Institute for WTO Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, told China Daily.
Tu noted that, since the Industrial Revolution, every major technological upheaval has triggered anxiety among major players of "being overtaken", from British machines displacing Indian handlooms, to the United States auto industry's rise over Europe, to Japanese automakers' shock to Detroit.
