The China Development Forum 2026 was held in Beijing from March 22 to 23. Chinese Premier Li Qiang attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech. Approximately 750 people also joined the ceremony, including State Councillor and State Council Secretary-General Wu Zhenglong, New Development Bank President Dilma Rousseff and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank President Zou Jiayi, as well as representatives of international organisations, Chinese and international business leaders, government officials and distinguished scholars.
Miao Hangen, Chairman of Shenghong Holding Group, attended the forum as a representative of China’s private sector.
Under the theme “China’s 15th Five-Year Plan Period: Advancing High-Quality Development and Creating New Opportunities Together”, the forum featured 13 thematic sessions and a series of closed-door meetings. Participants discussed topics including macroeconomic policy and high-quality development, emerging trends in consumption growth, the green and low-carbon transition, the development of future industries of and AI industrial application.
Prominent Chinese and international business leaders took part in the discussions and exchanges. International participants included Apple CEO Tim Cook, BASF Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors Markus Kamieth, Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano Amon, Temasek Holdings Chairman Teo Chee Hean and Mercedes-Benz Group Chairman of the Board of Management Ola Källenius. Chinese participants included representatives of centrally administered state-owned enterprises, such as CITIC Group Chairman Xi Guohua, China National Petroleum Corporation Chairman Dai Houliang and State Grid Corporation of China Chairman Zhang Zhigang. Private-sector representatives included Alibaba Group Chairman Joe Tsai; Xiaomi Corporation Founder, Chairman and CEO Lei Jun; Shenghong Holding Group Chairman Miao Hangen and New Hope Group Chairman Liu Yonghao.
Hosted by the Development Research Center of the State Council and organised by the China Development Research Foundation, the China Development Forum is the first major national-level international forum to be held following China’s annual Two Sessions. Guided by its commitment to “Engage in Dialogue with the World and Pursue Common Development”, the forum has, since its inauguration in 2000, distinguished itself through its high-level and professional focus. It has become an important platform for dialogue and exchange among senior Chinese government officials, global business leaders, international organisations and scholars from China and abroad.
