China’s transformation is unfolding at a scale and speed that challenges established assumptions about how economies innovate, industries evolve and societies respond to change.

In advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence, clean technologies and mobility, life sciences and digital services, China is no longer simply catching up. In some fields, it is setting the pace.

But being ahead is about more than technological capability, economic scale or speed. It is about turning innovation into applications, building competitive industries and responding to economic and social challenges, while confronting questions of resilience, sustainability and the societal trade-offs of rapid transformation.

InsightCHINA 2027 explores whether and where China is ahead, what is driving its transformation, and what this means for Switzerland in the next decade.

-Your Insight China 2026/27 Team