2024 is marked by the Year of the Dragon according to the Chinese zodiac. The dragon symbolizes strength and good fortune. As per Kavan Choksi, in many ways, the dragon frames the backdrop for China’s journey forward subsequent to a challenging 2023. In the previous year, China was navigating the aftermath of the pandemic, as its economy was beginning to recover from stringent lockdown and travel restrictions. However, even with a range of challenges in the real estate sector and weakening consumer confidence, China’s economy registered a number of notable gains.
Kavan Choksi marks certain trends that are likely to shape business in China in the near future
China managed to surpass its GDP targets in 2023 with 5.2 % year-on-year growth. It also played an instrumental role in the expansion of the global economy, and also contributed approximately one-third of total global GDP growth. 2024 is expected to be a transformative year for China in several areas, starting from biopharmaceuticals to multinational corporate performance.
When it comes to the biopharmaceutical sector, the progress of China indicates its expanding role in the global pharmaceutical landscape. It also highlights the country’s innovative capabilities in drug development. The agriculture sector in China continues to impress with its productivity and efficiency. In fact, over time, China has emerged as a key player in the global agricultural market. The operating environment in China for multinational corporations presents a range of opportunities, and many of them have been experiencing robust growth. The emergence of Chinese consumer brands on the global stage additionally highlights the growing influence of China in the global market through strategic marketing and innovative products. All these developments indicate a period of significant change for China.
Kavan Choksi marks that China has been making huge strides in the domain of bio-pharmaceutical innovation. The country has established considerable strengths in efficiency-driven and customer-focused innovation. The recent progress in biopharma innovation, in scientific research and development especially signals to the emerging leadership of China in particular areas of science-based innovation. Steady progress has been seen across the biopharma innovation value chain.
For China-based biotech companies, partnerships prove to be quite attractive due to gaps in their development and commercialization capabilities outside of China. In fact, a number of such bio-tech firms are on the verge of becoming global biopharma players. They are known for their globally competitive innovation, comprehensive value chain capabilities, international mindset, and strong financial backing.
In the year of 2024, multinational companies (MNCs) in China are set to face divergent fortunes. This trend is underscored by the polarization of performance metrics. Some of the top MNCs in China are experiencing robust growth. On the other hand, their under-performing counterparts are contracting. The enterprise software sector in China is also an important area that is undergoing rapid transformation. Quite a considerable growth has been seen in China’s software and SaaS industries in the recent years. In the near future, there are likely to be more locally-developed Large Language Models (LLMs) that can embed GenAI into these offerings to further expand their functionality.
