HKU China Business Hosts 2025 Future Forum Dialogue

The "2025 Future Forum," hosted by the HKU Institute of China Business (ICB), was held at the Loke Yew Hall of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) on 13 April. Esteemed experts, scholars, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders from Hong Kong and Mainland China gathered to deeply explore and analyse the political, economic, and technological development trends of the new era, focusing on where the challenges and opportunities intertwine, offering forward-looking insights and practical solutions to attendees.

During the forum, Professor Liu Ningrong, Associate Vice President of HKU and Founding Director of ICB, delivered a keynote speech titled "Tariff War: The Sino-US Battle Rewriting History." He examined the current state of Sino-US trade, its global impact, discussed the challenges faced by China's economic development, and explored strategies for China to cope with global economic governance and the construction of a multipolar world. Professor Liu emphasised that China needs to grasp the principle of "two unifications," namely establishing a unified large market and a unified social security system, continuously promoting the prosperity of the domestic consumer market to stand out in the tariff war.

Professor Zhang Weiying, Boya Chair Professor of Economics at the National School of Development at Peking University, delved into the economic growth forms and the intrinsic reasons for economic development in his speech. He pointed out that common theories such as Keynesian economics and Neoclassical economics have many misconceptions and emphasised that the crucial core of economic development lies in the entrepreneurial creativity. Professor Zhang believes that China's economy has entered a new stage of development, and the future development will emphasise on the importance of innovation-driven growth; in this process, the innovative spirit of entrepreneurs will become the key force driving economic progress.

Professor Daniel Bell, Chair Professor of Political Theory at the Faculty of Law at HKU, delivered a speech on "China's Political Model," providing insights of the uniqueness of China's political system and its role in global governance, proposing new ideas for the integration of meritocracy and democracy.

The forum also addressed the globalisation of Chinese enterprises. Mr Huang Hongsheng, Founder of Skyworth Group/Skywell Group and Dean of Skyworth College, a leading figure in Mainland China's home appliances industry, highlighted that Chinese enterprises are embracing new opportunities for globalisation by leveraging the three major industrial and technological revolutions in technology, new energy, and healthcare during Skyworth Group's 37-year entrepreneurial journey. Enterprises need to explore the potential demand in global markets, innovate through technology and brand building, expand internationally, and create globally competitive products and brands to achieve further breakthroughs and development in the global market.

Dr Cai Guanshen, Executive Committee Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Chairman of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area Entrepreneurs Alliance, and President of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong discussed "Hong Kong's Role in the Overseas Strategy of Chinese Enterprises." He emphasised that Hong Kong, backed by the vast market of 1.4 billion people in Mainland China, and leveraging its status as an international financial hub, common law system, and top-notch professional talent resources, provides comprehensive support for enterprises to "go global." Additionally, the profound coordination of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will further strengthen Hong Kong's role as a "super connector," helping enterprises precisely link international market resources and rules, promoting the thorough integration of China's economy with global industries.

The "AI Competition" roundtable forum featured prominent figures in China's AI field or founders of AI Top 50 unicorn companies. Ms Lin Yonghua, Vice President of Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence (BAAI), Dr Gu Lingyun, Founder and Chairman of IceKredit, and Dr Tang Jinghua, Chairman of Voicecomm Technology, discussed the latest advancements in artificial intelligence technology and its profound impact on the economy, society, and business models. Ms Lin Yonghua emphasised that language models are just the starting point of large models, and multimodal models (such as image generation), embodied intelligence (robots), and AI for Science technology are still evolving. She highlighted the importance of building a "diversified and open global AI supply chain" to balance technological competition and development. Dr Gu Lingyun noted that AI's international expansion must consider regional market demands, industry adaptability, talent competition, geopolitical risks, religion, and ethics. Dr Tang Jinghua suggested conventional thinking needs to be adjusted when applying AI, accepting non-100% accuracy, and enhancing government service efficiency and the quality of government-enterprise collaboration through human-machine cooperation, ultimately meeting urban governance needs through technology.

This forum brought together cross-disciplinary elites, providing attendees with high-level dialogue and forward-looking sharing, unveiling the complexities of era development, and offering the wisdom key to understanding the future. It helped people from all walks of life grasp opportunities and innovate in the new era. In the future, the HKU Institute for China Business will continue to strengthen its education programs, empowering Chinese entrepreneurs to achieve significant capability leaps amidst new historical opportunities, and contributing professional expertise to the innovation and prosperity of Chinese business.

HKU Institute for China Business

The HKU Institute for China Business was established in 2010 with the aim of promoting the development of Chinese business culture. By integrating Chinese wisdom and global perspectives, the Institute seeks sustainable business management models tailored to China. It focuses on people-oriented, innovative, and modern business education, training Chinese business management professionals with a global vision to support China's reform and opening-up.

The HKU Institute for China Business is a practical step in fulfilling the founding mission of the University of Hong Kong, "Establishing for China". It has become a pioneer in training interdisciplinary professional management talent in Mainland China. The Institute targets entrepreneurs, founders, and managers, emphasizing professionalism, foresight, practicality, and effectiveness in its courses. It stresses social responsibility, innovative spirit, critical thinking, and interactive learning, systematically developing students' professional depth, knowledge breadth, and future potential. To date, it has trained over 20,000 Chinese business management professionals across various industries.

In the face of the new world pattern and geopolitics, innovation is always the best anti-fragile strategy in uncertain times. HKU ICB has embarked on a new journey to develop ESG programmes, Family Office programmes and an interdisciplinary PPES (Philosophy, Politics, Economics and Science) global fellowship programme, based on the on-the-job professional and executive programmes. The School will continue to become a propeller for the development of China and the betterment of the world through intellectual breakthrough and cross-profession collaboration by upholding the tradition of openness and bringing together renowned academics and industry elites.

Website of HKU Institute for China Business - https://icb.hku.hk