PwC released the 28th Annual Global CEO Survey China Report: Supercharging reinvention in China’s changing dynamics

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Hong Kong, 18 March 2025 – According to PwC's latest survey the "28th Annual Global CEO Survey China Report: Supercharging reinvention in China's changing dynamics", despite facing short-term challenges, 38% of CEOs in Hong Kong expect their companies' revenue to increase over the next 12 months, on par with the global average. Further, 81% of Hong Kong CEOs express confidence in their business growth prospects over the next three years, indicating a positive outlook for the longer-term.

In 2024, China's economy demonstrated a trajectory of starting strong, moderating mid-year, and rebounding later, with its GDP reaching 134.9 trillion RMB and growing by 5%, laying a solid foundation for development in 2025. However, challenges persist, geopolitical tensions remain elevated globally, world economic growth lacks momentum, and suboptimal global economic circulation all continue to weigh on market sentiment and investor confidence. The foundation for the domestic economic recovery and improvement still needs to be further consolidated, and effective demand needs to be strengthened.

Josene Zhou, PwC China Public Affairs Leader said: "The report reveals that although current macroeconomic challenges may impact short-term operations and expectations, 38% of Hong Kong CEOs remain confident about their business growth prospects over the next 12 months. This confidence stems from multiple factors: the fundamental long-term resilience of both the Chinese and global economies; the effective incentives of China's macroeconomic policies; and the advancement of Chinese enterprises' global landscape. At the same time, after years of accumulated experience in digital intelligence, China is emerging as a global innovation hub, attracting top multinational corporations to establish China as a core base for cutting-edge research and development. Hong Kong, recognised as the 'super-connector' and 'super value-adder' between the Chinese Mainland and global markets, is set to regain market vitality and further solidify its status as an international financial centre in 2025."

Business model reinvention in full swing

Hong Kong CEOs are increasingly optimistic about their companies' long-term viability. There was a significant reduction in the number of CEOs who consider their companies will last less than a decade if they continue their current trajectory, with 45%, a drop from 71% in 2024. This echoes with their heightened confidence in the Chinese business environment over the medium to long-term, as the country pivots towards high-quality development marked by new quality productive forces leading to stellar performances in strategic sectors like EV, AI modelling, robot and advanced manufacturing.

Geoffrey Wang, PwC China Markets Leader said: "Today's world is in the midst of enormous changes, which require CEOs to underscore the need for transformation in how companies generate and deliver value. Over the past two years, driven by New Quality Productive Forces, China has demonstrated a commercial evolution path distinct from those of the traditional industrialised nations, marked by improvements in production factors, transformations in business models, and the intelligent reshaping of industrial chains. This has opened fresh opportunities for global business investment and development in China, highlighting the new advantages of the Chinese market during a period of global economic transition."

The report reveals that a strong commitment to accelerated reinvention efforts has been observed, with the vast majority of CEOs in both the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong implementing at least one major initiative in the past five years. They're investing in GenAI, addressing the opportunities and threats posed by climate change, and reinventing their operations and business models to create value in new ways.

Leveraging the AI enabler for growth

As AI adoption continues to gain traction globally at an astonishing pace, Chinese CEOs (Chinese Mainland: 49%; Hong Kong: 67%) express a high degree of trust in integrating AI into their core processes, compared to 33% globally. This trust is crucial for unlocking the full potential of AI technologies and driving innovation within organisations.

The high trust premium is also partly a result of Chinese companies experiencing significant breakthrough in localising GenAI over the past year. Altogether, 73% of Hong Kong CEOs (Chinese Mainland: 64%; Global: 56%) report efficiency gains in their employee's time at work and 68% (Chinese Mainland: 63%; Global: 34%) note improvements in profitability. These figures, which surpass global averages, underscore the increasing use cases of AI in enhancing operational performance within Chinese businesses, from data analysis to task automation and customer engagement.

Wilson Chow, PwC China AI Leader said: "the combined impact of scale economies and synergy accelerate the diffusion of new technologies across industries. We have noted that China's leading technology firms are increasingly adopting the 'technology middle platform' strategy, which significantly reduces barriers to the adoption and deployment of new technologies. The 'plug-and-play' approach to technology infrastructure allows for the rapid integration of innovative technologies across a wide range of sectors. The capabilities of "modular empowerment" have enabled Chinese enterprises to develop an operational model for rapidly industrialising commercial data. This not only enhances the competitiveness of enterprises, but also accelerates the intelligent and digital transformation process of the entire industry."

Realising the dividends from climate investments

The report further shows that Chinese Mainland companies are increasingly recognising the financial benefits of climate-related investments, with 61% (Chinese Mainland: 60%; Global: 33%) reporting increased revenue from related product or service sales and 24% reporting decreased costs (Chinese Mainland: 43%; Global: 18%). China is emphatically promoting innovation and application of green and low-carbon technologies, accelerating the comprehensive green transformation of the economy and society. This process will generate a large number of new opportunities for green investment.

The report suggests that although CEOs face many significant challenges in the short-term, the potential for growth through business model reinvention, AI adoption and climate investments present new pathways for future success. Chinese CEOs are encouraged to utilise these three pillars of growth to navigate the evolving market dynamics.

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About PwC's 28th Annual Global CEO Survey China Report

PwC surveyed 4,701 global CEOs, including 181 in Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong from 1 October through 9 November 2024.