Global China Summit
全球中国峰会

AI and the role it will play across industries and in business in the future was the leading topic of discussion at this year’s Summit, from the growing number of AI applications across almost every industry, to the rapid pace of transformation and challenge of forecasting the exponential level of growth the technology could deliver in the spotlight.

“Some estimates indicate AI could add a further $17 trillion to global GDP by 2030,” said Filippo Gori, Co-Head of Global Banking at J.P. Morgan, in his opening remarks to attendees. Conference delegates were also asked to vote on which countries are expected to be the main benefactors of such advancements over this time period, with the U.S. and China coming out on top, according to the audience poll.

Kam Shing Kwang, Chairwoman of North Asia and Vice Chair of Investment Banking for Greater China at J.P. Morgan, was joined by Joe Tsai, Co-Founder and Chairman of Alibaba Group, where they discussed the advancement in large language models (LLMs) and how the growth in machine learning will go hand in hand with the growth in cloud computing necessary to power the burgeoning AI industry. Tsai discussed how LLMs can currently match PhD level knowledge in specific subjects in three to four years. With the “scaling law” in effect, machine intelligence will be able to reach artificial general intelligence (AGI) eventually as more data and computing power is invested, he added.

On another panel, CEO of Private Bank, Asia, J.P. Morgan Harshika Patel and James Sullivan, Head of Asia Pacific Equity Research for J.P. Morgan spoke with Intel Corporation CEO, Pat Gelsinger, on what the future of the semiconductor industry could look like in China and the rest of the world. Topics of interest included how the U.S. intends to ramp up its chip production capacity in the next decade, which should ultimately build resilience for global technology supply chains.

“Some estimates indicate AI could add a further $17 trillion to global GDP by 2030.”

Filippo Gori

Co-Head of Global Banking at J.P. Morgan

Industry leaders at the Summit also focused on how China has been at the forefront of growth in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries since the inception of the Global China Summit 20 years ago, growing from just a handful of companies to 60 publicly listed companies, with scientists at the forefront of innovation.

Howard Wang, Head of Greater China Equity at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, hosted an all-female panel of health care industry CEOs and pioneers, Dr. Samantha Du of Zai Lab, Jean Hynes of Wellington Management and Dr. Michelle Xia of Akeso discussed how China has successfully moved away from purely focusing on generics to a more innovation-led model.

In the last two decades, China has moved away from purely focusing on the generic medicines space to a more innovative, patient-led model. But even with the groundbreaking advancements seen in the industry and Chinese products making it onto the market in Europe and U.S., the group highlighted the importance of forming partnerships on the global stage to sustain growth in the biotech industry going forward. As government is becoming more supportive of health care innovation and AI is improving our understanding of biology, the panel agreed the next 20-30 years of development are set to be profound, as the first AI drugs addressing unmet medical needs are entering clinics.

The panel discussed how industries have gone through cycles of deep investment and a lack of funding, so investors need to have a long-term time horizon, as drugs that truly address medical needs, that then go on to become profitable take decades to develop - but the resurgence of IPOs and secondary funding will be driven by data and progress.

“Look through the cycle, innovation is what will drive the economics for companies,” said Wang.

“Look through the cycle, innovation is what will drive the economics for companies.”

Howard Wang

Head of Greater China Equity of J.P. Morgan Asset Management