China's sense of optimism, forward-looking businesses, and vibrant innovation ecosystem are very impressive, said Gim Huay Neo, managing director of the World Economic Forum (WEF), on Wednesday.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua during the Tianjin 2026 Global Business Leaders Roundtable, scheduled to take place on Wednesday and Thursday in north China's Tianjin Municipality, Neo said that in a recent survey that the WEF conducted among businesses globally, China's business leaders and new entrants to the job market had emerged as the most optimistic about the implications of technology for their prospects in the future.

"In many industries in China, there is appetite to embrace technology to drive productivity gains, to bring about new possibilities, and to enhance quality output," Neo said.

"China has been investing in technology and talent capabilities over the last decades, but the 'a-ha' moment about how frontier China's developments have been came about when DeepSeek actually had their launch early last year, and all of a sudden there was a lot of spotlight on how far and how deep China has gone in investing in technology, and how much this technology has diffused across industries, across the economy, and in society right now," Neo said, adding that there is a lot of interest from international businesses, as well as governments, to look at China's capabilities.

She explained that they expected to learn from China's best practices and China's experience, and to know where they can collaborate with China -- whether it is to build capabilities, to license Chinese technology, or to enhance their own productivity -- and how they can also be part of this technology dividend.

Neo further noted a shift in how multinational companies engage with China. "Many of these international businesses are not just looking at building manufacturing bases in China. They are looking at setting up innovation hubs to tap into the richness of the talent base, the sophistication of how these technologies have been deployed in the economy across all sectors, and also to be close to the market where things are happening."

This year marks the start of China's 15th Five-Year Plan period. In Neo's eyes, there are many opportunities in this Five-Year Plan, both in the domestic market and in the upgrading of industries, the catalytic growth of new businesses, new business models, and also how China will collaborate and invest overseas.

"There's a lot in there for businesses to explore and to look at how they can work closely with the Chinese government to realize the ambitions and the vision that is embodied in this plan," Neo said.