China vital engine for global economic growth

Q4 As China continues to pursue high-quality development through a homegrown path to modernization, what is the vision for your company's business in the country over the long run? What business opportunities do you foresee emerging as part of the process of Chinese modernization?

PEI: There has been high-quality development in China's pharmaceutical market, changing from one dominated by generic medicines to one driven by innovation, with strong and beneficial policies of the Chinese government transforming the entire industry.

Astellas sets a strategic focus on the breakthroughs of oncology, innovative drugs and therapies. We have been accelerating the introduction of our innovative drugs and improving access to benefit Chinese patients.

We will continue to focus on market development, industrial upgrades, innovation and creativity, quality, efficiency enhancement, and so on. We will also continue to work with government and local partners to lead the innovation and service upgrade of the Chinese healthcare industry toward the achievement of "Healthy China 2030" and support the high-quality development of the Chinese economy.

WANG: In the context of China's pursuit of further modernization, we believe that globalization has become an increasingly important strategic direction for more and more Chinese companies, which unleashes Linked-In China's business potential.

In 2023, we shifted our local business focus to assisting companies operating in China in finding skilled international talent and marketing their products and services overseas.

Our business mainly focuses on these three areas: LinkedIn Talent Solutions helps Chinese companies create competitive international talent strategies and achieve more efficient talent-hiring; LinkedIn Marketing Solutions supports Chinese enterprises in accurately reaching their target audience in overseas markets and creating a cohesive brand and marketing effect; LinkedIn Learning Solutions helps Chinese companies promptly identify and empower employees with essential skills and respond swiftly to market changes.

According to data from third-party research institutions, there will be approximately 59,000 Chinese go-export companies establishing branch offices in overseas markets with 4.5 million employees by 2024.These companies are our target customers. Thus, we are fully confident in the future development of our business in China.

HA: In terms of opportunities, we've seen many sovereign wealth funds setting up dedicated funds to invest on the Chinese mainland, and we've also heard of interest from Middle Eastern funds looking to invest in high-tech and renewable energy industries. With our networks and connections in the Middle East and the work we've done advising Middle East clientele on their legal presence in China and beyond, we expect further inflows on this front. In the Greater Bay Area, we expect the insurance sector to grow further, given the large population and low penetration rate. Mayer Brown works with nearly 400 insurers and insurance-related entities worldwide and we anticipate a future increase in services, contracts and merger and acquisition activity in the sector.

WONG: We see many new emerging trends and interesting opportunities where Halma's companies could play substantial roles, including safety technologies that power the clean energy transition, eye care, smart wastewater technology and digital health.

These new trends are what we're keen to tap into globally and in China, as they're highly aligned with our purpose of growing a safer, cleaner and healthier future for everyone, every day. I believe that we will see more such opportunities in the China market while it continues to pursue high-quality development, which also explains our strategy here — Invest in China, empower APAC growth.

Q5 Could you share with us one or two of your successful business or personal stories in the process of growing with China?

PEI: We will continue to leverage China's favorable policies, and work with the government and all partners to accelerate our life-changing innovations at a faster pace over the next three to five years. This will enable us to address highly unmet medical needs in China.

WANG: Recent LinkedIn data show that the skill sets for jobs have changed by around 25 percent since 2015, and this number is expected to reach at least 65 percent by 2030 due to the rapid development of new technologies such as AI.

We believe that Al will accelerate workforce learning and increase the importance of skills. According to LinkedIn Data Insight, companies that support upskilling and embrace Al will have the most success in attracting and retaining top talent.

Adopting a skills-first approach to talent management is the best way to expand talent pools, upskill current employees, and build workforce agility. To support this approach, we brought LinkedIn Learning Solutions to the Chinese market in July this year, helping employees of Chinese companies to comprehensively improve in-demand skills.

To help Chinese companies promote the learning and development of AI skills, LinkedIn will open up the top 10 most popular AI-related courses among global companies for free to Chinese enterprise users before Dec 15, 2023.

HA: I started working as a trainee solicitor in the early 1990s when there was an increasing interest in inbound investment in China. I assisted clients in forming numerous cooperative joint ventures and equity joint ventures in various industry sectors. We were one of the pioneers from Hong Kong working with our colleagues on the mainland. We have continued that journey since — from mergers and acquisitions to helping clients navigate the regulatory environment. It is amazing how the growth and development of China's legal and regulatory system have helped to craft my professional journey.

I'm also grateful to be in Hong Kong, which serves as a gateway into the mainland with close links to the Greater Bay Area. I have the privilege to witness all the new developments and be the first on the ground to help clients in capturing the opportunities, both inbound and outbound.

WONG: Since the reform and opening-up, China has experienced the largest and fastest urbanization in world history. Safety is one of the top priorities in both the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and the 2035 long-term target. Our safety sector brings advanced safety technologies, including fire detection and suppression, people and vehicle flow monitoring, industrial access control and much more. We leverage global technologies across a range of critical industrial and logistics operations for cities in China, enhancing their abilities of urban governance, as well as protecting people and assets at work.