China Future Tech webinar | Beyond 2025: what’s next for China tech?

A review of China’s industrial policies and the implications for the world

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Published: 5:16pm, 14 Feb 2025Updated: 1:18pm, 25 Feb 2025

The live webinar, which was available for all readers, has ended. During the event, our speakers also took part in a Q&A session. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app.

The “Made in China 2025” plan has been controversial since the day Beijing made it public. Some pointed fingers at Beijing for employing unfair policies in growing China’s preferred industries, while others called the strategy a fool’s errand, feeling there was no point seeking industrial progress through “a planned economy mindset”.

The Chinese government was forced to play down the plan – at least in public – but kept implementing its key policies by encouraging and directing resources into the industries deemed important for the country’s future.

A decade later, it seems China’s efforts have largely paid off. The country has become a formidable player in many strategic industries, from electric vehicles to robotics. A South China Morning Post review of the plan at the end of 2024 found that China had achieved most of its own targets.

With China’s political leaders set to gather in Beijing in early March to chart the country’s economic and industrial future, it is critical to review what China has done right and explore what the country might do in the next decade.

This webinar tried to find answers to some of the most important questions about China’s industrial and technological future.

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