On Feb 21, the 24th annual conference of the China Entrepreneurs Forum was held in Yabuli Ski Resort in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province. With the theme of "Building a new development pattern and promoting high-quality growth", hundreds of entrepreneurs, experts and scholars gathered here to share insights, exchange innovative ideas and discuss high-quality development. Let's take a look at some ideas they shared.

More governance needed for large models at the forefront

Over the past five years, large models have become a mainstream trend in artificial intelligence development. In the past year and a half, especially since ChatGPT emerged, the pace of AI development has shown a leaping progress. No matter it's domestic or foreign, there are many new innovations and developments.

With great power, large models of artificial intelligence, whether language models, visual models or multi-functional models, have brought not only opportunities but also risks. For example, the risk of personal biological information being simulated and the risk of models being used by bad people. Now people are still in the early stage of artificial intelligence research, there are many ways to change its direction. But if people do not have risk awareness, they will never avoid it.

Some multinationals have left China because of a failure to compete with domestic firms

The phenomenon of some multinational companies leaving China can be seen from multiple aspects. We should also see that the many multinational companies leaving is because they cannot compete with the leading domestic enterprises in China.

Nowadays, it is very difficult for multinational companies to compete with leading Chinese companies in China. In fact, since the mid-1990s, there have been some multinational companies leaving China. Many multinational companies had been prepared to localize in China in the areas such as home appliances, communications equipment, construction machinery, LED panels and e-commerce, but found it very difficult.

In addition, if multinational companies do not bring very good technologies or markets, China is not necessarily as unconditionally welcome and accepting of foreign investment as before.

There are many factors behind the departure of multinationals. Times have changed, and Chinese people need to have confidence in themselves and make an objective evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses.

Automotive industry is bound to experience restructuring

Competition in the car industry is bound to intensify. For example, in a room, everyone eats together, there are only limited dishes and the number of tables is fixed. Suddenly the door opens, and a large group of new people enter. The competition is certain to be intensified. And in a certain period of time, there will be some irrational competition. The high-speed transformation of the auto industry will also produce a variety of uncertainties. In the process of high-quality development, the automotive industry is bound to experience a wave of restructuring.

China's new energy vehicle production and sales became the world's first for the ninth consecutive year, which of course is thanks to the key support at the national level, the rapid development in new energy models and the rise in intelligent network. The mature development of related industries and supply chains has also provided the necessary prerequisites for the entry of more new manufacturers, contributing to fierce competition of China's modern automotive industry.

According to statistics, as of the end of 2023, there are 442 new energy brands registered in the Chinese automobile market. But not all of them are in high quality and comprehensive development. Among the 442 new energy brands, 143 brands sold only one car in the whole year of their last year retail sales, and only more than 50 brands sold more than 10,000 cars via retail sales. It is impossible for all of these 400 companies to exist in the market in the future.

China's most important dividends of going abroad is Chinese engineers

Chinese engineers bring huge dividends for China's going global. In the past, people said that China has huge dividends in manufacturing, because Chinese workers work long hours and they are efficient and disciplined. But now the most important dividend of China's going global is the dividends offered by the country's engineers.

About 8 to 9 million college students graduated in China every year. This is a huge amount, consolidating the supply of engineers. Moreover, these engineers are affordable, well-supplied and well-trained. They also work longer hours than their American counterparts. If China can make good use of the engineer dividend, make good use of China's huge market, train a variety of models, produce a variety of products, and doesn't fall behind in the AI era, many Chinese brands will go to the world.

The housing market now a systemic economic problem

Governments of China's four first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen adjusted their house purchase restriction policies before Spring Festival in February. After the adjustment, the biggest benefit is to reveal changes of the real demand of the market. After this round of restrictions' ease, more sellers than buyers are seen in the market, a situation that will take several months to reach a relative equilibrium before the market regains confidence.

As long as the government lets go of the previous restrictions and return to the normal process of market trading, the market will gradually move forward. As long as the economy grows, people's incomes and jobs will increase, the demand for housing will increase, which is not something to worry about. The government should fully liberalize purchase restrictions, because now it is not only necessary to repair the market, but also to repair the system, and establish a dual-track system of both indemnificatory and market-orientation.

The release of purchase restrictions will not trigger a new wave of investment, making the instability of the property market again. The housing market is now a systemic economic problem. Therefore, even if the purchase limit is fully lifted, the market may still decline until it stabilizes and then rises again.

Today, China is in a period of economic transition. After 45 years of industrialization and urbanization, China's economy has entered an period of transformation toward the post-industrial era, the service industrial age. This is a very important change.

The development of enterprises in the past was characterized by savage growth and rapid, diversified, high leverage and resource-based development. After the economic transition, these enterprises will face great challenges, because the logic of corporate behavior has changed fundamentally.

Leading enterprises should focus on their main businesses, and focus on professionalism. Their development should be driven by efficiency and innovation, relying on long-term professional accumulation.

The pattern of investment today has fundamentally changed. People need to find new tracks. Technology and dual carbon are new tracks. Human beings have entered the age of longevity, so the health industries are also a super track.