Hongqiao forum spotlights Pudong’s role in global industrial innovation

A session at the Ninth Hongqiao International Economic Forum in Shanghai brought together business, academic and government leaders to discuss innovation, industrial integration and opening-up. Speakers framed Pudong as a bridge for global resources, AI-driven discovery and faster progress from research to patient impact.

Why it matters: - The Shanghai session put Pudong at the center of a larger question: how China can link industrial upgrading with global resources and faster innovation. - The discussion tied AI, scientific discovery and manufacturing execution to real-world outcomes in medicine and advanced industry. - Speakers framed Pudong as a place that can help convert research momentum into patient impact and broader economic growth.

What happened: - The Ninth Hongqiao International Economic Forum held a session in Shanghai titled “Pudong and the World: Technological Innovation Driving Industrial Upgrading, Smart Integration Shaping a Shared Future.” - Global leaders from business, academia and government gathered to discuss innovation, industrial integration and high-level opening-up. - The session focused on how Pudong can connect with global resources and unlock new growth opportunities.

The details: - Michael Levitt, the 2013 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, said AI accelerates everyone and makes users smarter. - Levitt said the central question is what matters when AI makes tasks cheaper. - Levitt called for teaching people to ask what is worth solving. - Levitt stressed curiosity and judgment as skills needed to decide what is worth doing, not just what can be done. - Levitt pointed to China’s rapid development of AI and homegrown AI chips. - Levitt also cited China’s strength in AI applications. - Chris Riley, Global Chief Executive Officer of Cytiva, said the value of China speed lies in the momentum and execution it enables. - Riley said discovery is only the beginning of the process. - Riley said the harder work is validating biology, proving safety and efficacy, and manufacturing reliably. - Riley said scientists, clinicians, industry partners and regulators came together around one mission. - Riley said Chinese institutions are helping define the future of medicine, not just participate in it. - Riley said AI can guide discovery, but science must establish truth. - Riley said Pudong can serve as an important bridge. - Riley said China speed is powerful because it helps teams learn faster, connect capabilities and carry momentum through to patient impact. - Riley said China, and Pudong in particular, will play a defining role in making that possible.

Between the lines: - The remarks suggested a shift from viewing China as a manufacturing center to seeing it as a strategic hub for innovation, validation and scale-up. - The emphasis on judgment, truth and patient impact signaled a caution against treating AI as a substitute for scientific rigor. - Pudong was presented as both a regional platform and a global connector.

What's next: - The forum’s discussion points point toward deeper collaboration across research, industry and regulation. - The focus on AI, chips and life sciences suggests more attention to technologies that can move from discovery to deployment faster. - Pudong’s role will likely be judged by how well it links local capabilities with global partners and real commercial or medical outcomes.