Since Tuesday, the northeastern Chinese coastal city of Dalian has once again entered "Davos Time."
Dalian is hosting the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as Summer Davos, for the ninth time. Scheduled from Tuesday to Thursday, the event is expected to bring together over 1,700 participants from over 90 countries and regions, including Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok.
Since its debut in China in 2007, Summer Davos has become one of the world's most important windows into China's economy. One of this year's most notable highlights lies in the theme's new concept: "Innovating at scale." Innovation itself is hardly a new topic at the forum. The addition of "at scale" may seem subtle, but it reflects both a distinctive Chinese perspective on innovation and the practical demands of global economic development.
Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times that the concept is about innovations that can be industrialized, commercialized and expanded to generate broad social and economic impacts, rather than isolated or occasional technological breakthroughs.
China's economic development itself is a textbook example of "innovating at scale," Zhou added. Over the past decade, China's role in the global innovation landscape has evolved from being known primarily as the "world's factory" into a major innovation hub. Its greatest strength lies not only in improving research and development capabilities, but also in its ability to rapidly transform technological advances into real-world productivity through its vast domestic market, complete industrial ecosystem and increasingly open innovation environment.
China has built the world's largest new-energy vehicle (NEV) market, spurring green transitions and creating new industries. From smart manufacturing to AI-powered agriculture, it offers some of the richest application scenarios. This full arc - from technological breakthroughs to industrial rollouts and commercial applications at scale-is what many countries hope to learn from and replicate.
Yet China's message at this year's Summer Davos extends beyond its own development experience. Another key signal emerging from the forum is China's willingness to share the opportunities created by innovation at scale.
The forum's agenda includes discussions on China's next phase of economic trajectory and multiple sessions interpreting the country's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30). Topics such as artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, the digital economy and green transformation are being explored not only from a Chinese perspective, but also through the lens of global cooperation.
For a long time, some Western countries have tended to view innovation primarily as a zero-sum race for technological supremacy and strategic advantage. China, by contrast, places greater emphasis on how innovation can be industrialized, commercialized and made broadly accessible, transforming technological advances into development opportunities that benefit more countries and people.
Whether through NEV supply-chain cooperation in Europe, digital economy and green technology partnerships in Latin America, or AI collaboration with African countries, China's innovation is creating new opportunities for international cooperation. What China's scaled innovation brings to the world is not disruption but opportunity; not exclusion but empowerment.
When Summer Davos first arrived in China in 2007, some Western observers dismissed it as little more than a PR platform for China to showcase its achievements. Nearly two decades later, China has indeed shown the world that it's not only a beneficiary of globalization but also an increasingly important contributor to global innovation and a growing provider of development opportunities. Through a vast market, a complete industrial system and open platforms for cooperation, innovation can be scaled up, translated into real-world outcomes, and transformed into a force for shared development.
Over the next three days of "Davos Time," driverless shuttles, hydrogen-powered buses and new energy vehicles will move smoothly around the venue, while delegates inside discuss future industries and innovation partnerships. Together, they form a vivid snapshot of China's innovation-at-scale model - one that not only achieves technological breakthroughs, but also brings innovation to industry, markets and the wider world.
