(Ninth China International Import Expo) Chairman of KPMG China: Chinese companies have more advantages in AI recognition and implementation

"Artificial intelligence (AI) is still a core topic." During the 9th China International Import Expo held in Shanghai, Zou Jun, chairman of KPMG Asia Pacific and China, said in an interview that its development speed and social penetration are unprecedented. Chinese companies have an advantage over the global average in terms of AI's value recognition and pace of implementation.

At this year’s CIIE, the concentration of AI elements was quite high. Especially in the technical equipment exhibition area, humanoid robots with different shapes and functions can be seen everywhere, and some exhibitors directly brought condensed versions of industrial production lines equipped with AI to their booths.

Zou Jun believes that AI will not only be a tool to improve production efficiency, but will also promote the reorganization of production factors and change production methods. Currently, AI has begun to be embedded in the core links of production, circulation, distribution and consumption, promoting the reconstruction of the industrial system across industries, upstream and downstream, and across economic regions, and promoting the transformation of the real economy from a linear production structure to a networked, platform-based, and intelligent system.

Zou Jun shared the "China CEO Outlook 2026" report released by KPMG at the CIIE. The report shows that 82% of Chinese CEOs surveyed are confident in China's economic growth in the next three years. Among major economies, Chinese business managers have the highest confidence in the local economy; 86% of Chinese CEOs are confident in corporate growth in the next three years, a new high since 2020.

At the same time, 76% of Chinese CEOs regard AI as a priority investment matter in the next three years, an increase of 17 percentage points from last year; 68% of Chinese entrepreneurs believe that AI agents will bring significant or transformative impact to the enterprise, significantly higher than the global figure of 54%. Zou Jun believes that the rebound in confidence of business operators and the proactive deployment of cutting-edge technologies are important signals that further stimulate the innovation vitality of various business entities, including private enterprises.

He pointed out that compared with other markets around the world, China has complete industrial supporting facilities, a mature supply chain system, a rich talent pool and continuously iterative technological innovation capabilities. It can provide solid support for the entire chain layout of R&D, production and sales of multinational companies, and is becoming an indispensable innovation highland and consumption core in the global layout of multinational companies.

Zou Jun observed that the layout of foreign investment in China is gradually shifting from "production in China" to "research and development in China and serving the world." Foreign capital continues to increase its investment in the Chinese market. The core reason is that it takes a fancy to the dual advantages of "quantity" and "quality" in the Chinese market.

For KPMG, the CIIE is not only a window for China to showcase its opening-up results to the world, but also an important platform for the world to observe changes in the Chinese market and understand the direction of China's economic development. "What we see is not only changes in the scale of exhibitions and exhibits, but also the continued evolution of China's market demand, industrial structure and innovation ecology." Zou Jun said. (over)