CKGSB Dean Li Haitao Illuminates on China's AI Trajectory at 2025 Summer Davos

TIANJIN, China, June 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB) Dean and Dean's Distinguished Chair Professor of Finance Li Haitao spoke at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2025 of the World Economic Forum, widely known as Summer Davos, in Tianjin, China, for the second year in a row, a testament to the school's thought leadership and acknowledgement.

This year's Summer Davos focused on entrepreneurship for a new era. As the most active Chinese business school this year at the Summer Davos, CKGSB contributed to the discourse on multiple meaningful topics including AI reshaping global competition and entrepreneurship in the new era.

In the session broadcast live globally on June 26, "Understanding China's approach to AI," Dean Li joined leading voices to explore China's advantage in developing AI amid re-globalization, industrial possibilities brought by AI, and how AI can propel doing business for good by providing scarce resources.

"Only two countries, China and the US, can lead AI revolution in the next decades," emphasized Dean Li. "China has done lots of accumulation for decades with infrastructure, data, talent, and market to establish a unique AI ecosystem. Beyond home appliances, smartphones, and automobiles, humanoid robots have the greatest potential to become a trillion-dollar industry in China. CKGSB aspires to systematically prepare business leaders for what the AI era requires for strategic architecture capabilities and new leadership skills."

Moderated by renowned journalist Yang Lan, the panel also featured executives and scholars including Unitree Robotics Founder and CEO Wang Xingxing, Haier CEO Zhou Yunjie, USC Professor of Law Angela Zhang Huyue, and Workera Founder and CEO Kian Katanforoosh.

In addition, Dean Li delivered a keynote speech at the session around Gen Z consumers. He noted that with Gen Z's robust purchasing power and authentic passion for eco-conscious consumption, and as more start to evaluate companies' sustainable commitment when making career decisions, companies must build a new collaboration structure where people at all levels get to affect decision making, contribute their own knowledge and jointly create value. Dean Li also participated at the Global University Leaders Meeting, discussing how higher education institutions should shape the future of research through partnerships and continue to serve as engines of innovation.

CKGSB also co-hosted CKGSB's 2025 Davos Night in collaboration with Tencent's Tencent News.