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MNCs’ strategy in China in the Era of AI

  • Date: November 5, 2025 2:30 pm

About this event

Date: 5th November 2025
Time: 14:30 – 17:00
Venue: CKGSB Beijing campus (offline only)
Language: English

The rapid rise of artificial intelligence is profoundly reshaping the global business landscape, becoming a strategic imperative that no enterprise can afford to ignore.

The State Council, China’s Cabinet, recently issued a guideline to implement the “AI Plus” initiative, promoting the extensive and in-depth integration of AI across various fields to accelerate the cultivation of new quality productive forces. Per the guideline, China aims by 2027 to make major progress in AI’s deep integration with six key sectors (over 70% penetration of new-gen intelligent terminals/AI agents); by 2030, AI will fully empower its high-quality development (over 90% penetration) with the intelligent economy becoming a key economic driver; by 2035, it will fully enter a new phase of intelligent economy/society to support socialist modernization.

All this marks a paradigm shift that goes far beyond technological deployment—it challenges how organizations think, decide, and evolve. AI is not just a tool but a catalyst for systemic transformation. Enterprises must move from reactive adoption to proactive capability building: developing cognitive insight, restructuring governance, enabling AI powered trial, and rethinking talent and leadership. AI is not an endpoint—it is the beginning of a new mindset.

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (European Chamber) and Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB) cordially invite you to join this co-hosted seminar, which will delve into pressing topics covering:

  • • How is AI transforming organizational thinking and decision-making?
  • • What are the key challenges for MNCs operating in China’s AI landscape?
  • • What high-potential opportunities does China’s push for an “intelligent economy” offer MNCs?
  • • How can MNCs tailor their China-focused AI strategies to align with the goals of China’s “AI Plus” initiative in the 15th Five-year Plan (2026–2030)?

 
Join us to engage with China’s leading global business strategists, AI experts, and senior business leaders.

Agenda

14:30-15:00 | Registration

15:00-15:10 | Welcome Remarks

15:10-15:35 | How AI is Transforming Organizational Thinking and Decision-making?

  • • Dr. Edward TSE, Professor of Managerial Practice of Strategy, Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB)

15:35-16:00 | Panel

  • • Speaker to be updated

16:00-16:40 | Discussion and Q&A: MNCs' strategy in China in the Era of AI

16:40-17:00 | Closing and Networking

* This event will be conducted in English with no translation services and is off the record.

Speakers

Edward TSE

Professor of Managerial Practice of Strategy, Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB)

PhD University of California, Berkeley

Professor of Managerial Practice of Strategy, Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB)

PhD University of California, Berkeley

Dr. Edward Tse is founder and CEO, Gao Feng Advisory Company, a founding Governor of Hong Kong Institution for International Finance and Adjunct Professor, School of Business Administration, Chinese University of Hong Kong. He has 30 years of strategy and management consulting and senior executive experience, in 20 of which he started and led the China practice of two leading international consulting firms, first as Managing Partner, China for the Boston Consulting Group and later as global Senior Partner as well as Managing Partner and Chairman, Greater China for Booz Allen Hamilton/Booz & Company, having started his strategy consulting career with McKinsey & Company in San Francisco in 1988.

Dr. Tse is widely known as “China’s leading global business strategist.” Australia’s In The Black magazine calls him, “the Father of Business Consulting in China.”, and “One of China’s leading strategic management gurus” by China Daily. He has consulted to hundreds of companies (headquartered in and outside of China), investors and start-ups, as well as public sector organizations on the definition and implementation of strategies, organizations and transformation. He has extensive experience in working with companies from a wide range of industries, and was appointed as a board member of several major Chinese state-owned enterprises and a Sino-foreign joint venture. Furthermore, he has provided consulting services to multilateral organizations such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, and has advised a member of local Chinese governments on issues such as stateowned enterprise reform and Chinese companies going overseas, as well as local government development strategies. Dr. Tse has deep expertise lies in technology-2 driven strategies, innovation and entrepreneurship. He is also Co-Director of the Gao Feng-Tech Mahindra Joint AI Lab in Shanghai and the Gao Feng–Augmentum Joint Blockchain Lab in Shanghai and Silicon Valley.

Dr. Tse has held different roles in senior management throughout his career, including being Managing Partner for The Boston Consulting Group in China (1993-1996); part-time member of the Central Policy Unit of the Government of HKSAR (1998 – 2002); Executive Vice President of Corporate Planning and Business Development and Managing Director of Greater China Region for Hong Kong Telecom (2000 – 2001); Senior Partner and Chairman of Booz Allen Hamilton/Booz & Company Greater China (1997-2014); Adjunct Professor, Shanghai National Accounting Institute (2015-2018); Member, Board of Business Executives, Gridiron Capital LLC (2005-Present); Adjunct Professor of Marketing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (2016-present); Member, Commission for Strategic Development, HKSAR Government(2013—2017); Advisor, Our Hong Kong Foundation, (2017-Present); Advisory Panel, Cyberport Hong Kong, (2017-Present); Governor, Hong Kong Institution for International Finance (2018-Present); Member, Global Future Council, World Economic Forum (2019-present); Advisor, CDIB Capital International (2020-present); Special Policy Advisor, Shanghai Municipal Government (2010-2012); Business strategy expert of Chief Executive China; Advisory editorial board member of Harvard Business Review (Chinese version); Strategic Advisor of Harvard Business Review Online; Judge of Harvard Business Review (Chinese version)’s “Management Executive Award” (2007 – 2009) and China Entrepreneur’s “Future Star Award” (2006 – 2009); Independent Director in Baoshan Iron & Steel Co.,Ltd (2006 – 2011) (Baoshan Iron & Steel Co.,Ltd was awarded “National Board of Director Award” by Shanghai Stock Exchange in Dec. 2009); External Director of SAIC Group (2009 – 2012), Non-Executive Board Director of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co., Ltd (2013 – 2019);China Travel International Investment Limited (2018 – present).

Has published several hundred articles on various media both within and outside China, such as South China Morning Post, Nikkei Asian Review, China Daily, Yabuli Standpoint, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Washington Post, China Business News, Caixin Global, Master-Insight.com, etc.

Frequent speaker at major business and academic forums. He was an invited guest to the Yabuli China Entrepreneurs Forum multiple times and hosted panel discussions. He also spoke at events hosted by The Economist, SCMP, Aspen Institute Germany, Asia Society Switzerland, ETH Zürich, UC Berkeley, Stanford University, University of Sydney, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Tongji University, University of Hong Kong , Chinese University of Hong Kong, UBS, CLSA, Nomura, Luxemburg Renminbi Forum, University of Minnesota (National Bob & Kim Griffin Speech by 3 China Center),“Australia-China” Week 2016, etc. He also delivered keynote speeches at events held by China’s Ministry of Commerce, US Chamber of Commerce, EU Chamber of Commerce, Germany Chamber of Commerce and International Finance Forum. Various international and local media, such as CNBC, CNN, BBC, CGTN, Channels Network Asia, Yahoo Finance, RTHK, and Hong Kong Cable News have interviewed Dr. Tse.

Author of several hundred articles on all aspects of business related to China and China for the world, and five books, namely《方向:中国企业应该学习什么》 (2007), The China Strategy (2010), 《跨越:中国企业的下一个十年》 (2012), China’s Disruptors (2015), as well as 《竞争新边界》 (The New Frontier of Competition), which was co-authored with Yu Huang (2020).

Holds a SM and a SB in Civil Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a PhD and an MBA from University of California, Berkeley. At Berkeley, he was recipient of the Converse Prize for being the most outstanding graduate student in his discipline.

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