The Global New Energy Vehicle Cooperation and Development Forum (GNEV2026) convened in Shanghai from August 19th to 21st, with its flagship plenary session centering on the theme of "New Pathways for Global Cooperation in the Automotive Industry." The event brought together representatives from government agencies, industry organizations, domestic and international vehicle manufacturers, component suppliers, and the broader supply chain ecosystem to explore innovative cooperation models, supply chain synergies, and internationalization strategies amid the ongoing transformation of the global automotive sector.

In his address, Zhang Yongwei, Chief Expert at Chebai International, emphasized that China's automotive globalization is transitioning from the "China Opportunity 1.0" phase to "China Opportunity 2.0" — a shift from passively integrating into the world market to actively shaping global strategy. He urged the industry to abandon fragmented, unilateral efforts and instead treat collaborative international expansion as a binding industry norm, avoiding overcrowded overseas investments and unhealthy competition. Zhang recommended that automakers plan production capacity rationally, bring component suppliers along in their overseas ventures, and empower local industries abroad. He also suggested that countries identify strategic convergence points across four dimensions — market access, supply chain integration, logistics hubs, and manufacturing — to connect with China's industrial resource pool and jointly benefit from the electric and intelligent mobility transition.

Keynote Insights from the Morning Session: From "Product Export" to "Ecosystem Export"

The morning session, themed around new pathways for global automotive cooperation and moderated by Liu Xiaoshi, President of Chebai International, featured opening remarks from Liu Jiafeng, Deputy District Chief of Shanghai's Jiading District Government. Liu highlighted that Jiading has established a comprehensive automotive industry chain spanning complete vehicles and software-hardware R&D and manufacturing, with 2025 output value from automotive enterprises above designated size surpassing 300 billion yuan for the first time. As 2026 marks the inaugural year of the "15th Five-Year Plan," Jiading will continue advancing its new energy vehicle industrial ecosystem and deepening its high-level autonomous driving demonstration zone.

Jiang Yaoping, former Vice Minister of Commerce, delivered a keynote report outlining three strategic directions for exploring global cooperation: first, co-construction, moving from product exports to ecosystem building; second, mutual recognition, progressing from rule adaptation to standards harmonization; and third, win-win outcomes, transitioning from one-way output to bidirectional empowerment. Jiang stressed that innovative cooperation is an imperative for overcoming global growth challenges, noting that no single country or company can dominate in the current wave of technological revolution and industrial transformation.

During the thematic presentations, Di Zhirui, Vice President of Changan Automobile, reflected on the past decade of Chinese automotive globalization. He noted that Chinese automakers leveraged supply chain advantages and cost efficiency to solve the "ability to go out" challenge over the past ten years, and have entered the "selling well" phase in the last three years. However, for the next 5-10 years, achieving "deep entry and sustainable presence" will require addressing three key challenges: brand premium, volume-profit imbalance, and localized foundations. Di proposed a new path for global cooperation anchored in localization, supported by collaboration, and bridged through rules. Wang Lang, Vice President of Chery Automobile, emphasized that Chinese automotive globalization has entered a "long-term operation" phase, where success is measured not by the number of countries entered but by sustained value creation locally — reflected in enhanced user value, deepened industrial integration, and viable long-term operations. Lu Fang, Chairman of Voyah Automobile, further articulated that Chinese automotive globalization is evolving from "going out" to "going up" and "merging in" — requiring superior products and local adaptation to open markets, a shift from scale advantages to value advantages, and a transition from pure product exports to ecosystem co-building. Liang Linhe, Director of Sany Group and Chairman of Sany Trucks, noted that domestic new energy heavy truck exports remain at an early stage of roughly a thousand units annually, with global electric truck penetration below 2%, yet the market potential is vast. He stressed that "those who don't go global will be eliminated," advocating for a high-quality export route characterized by collaborative, industry-wide, standards-driven, and full-factor internationalization. Kang Pinglu, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of DST, shared commercial vehicle export experience, emphasizing that going global is not merely about product shipments but about exporting a complete ecosystem. Overseas commercial vehicle markets are essentially operations-driven, requiring an asset lifecycle perspective where vehicles are matched to different regions and customers at each stage to maximize lifetime value. Zhu Yongqing, Deputy General Manager of Great Wall Motor's Technical Center, argued that globalization is not a simple replication of "one car for the world" but rather scenario-based vehicle development rooted in and serving local markets. He emphasized that global cooperation is not about individual companies acting alone but about leveraging technology and ecosystem foundations to achieve symbiosis across technology, ecology, and value. Shalini Palmer, Global Vice President of ADI's Automotive Business, similarly noted that globalization fundamentally differs from scaling up domestic success, as regulations, trade policies, market access rules, and supplier systems vary by region, requiring fresh establishment or integration. Lin Guangqiu, Senior Vice President of Desay SV, recommended three flexible pathways for OEMs expanding overseas: first, bringing supply chains along to build localized systems from scratch; second, partnering with Chinese Tier-1 suppliers with mature global capabilities or collaborating with local international component manufacturers; and third, promoting coordination between domestic and international OEMs and component suppliers to empower local industrial upgrades rather than replacing existing ecosystems. As automakers transition from product exports to ecosystem exports, Liang Rui, Co-President of Sunwoda, stated that battery companies must likewise evolve from single-product services to system-level capability offerings. Over the next two years, systematic capability advancement will be the decisive factor in global competitiveness, with data infrastructure, localization capabilities, and standards coordination forming the moat for battery companies' global expansion.

Concurrently, the forum witnessed the signing ceremony for the "Automotive Industry International Cooperation Base" co-construction agreement. The Chebaihui Research Institute and Shanghai International Automobile City will leverage their respective strengths to deepen cooperation in international technology collaboration and industrial coordination, jointly establishing a platform for automotive industry international cooperation. Shi Jianhua, Vice Chairman of Chebaihui Research Institute and President of Chebai Think Tank Research Institute, and Pan Xiaohong, Deputy Secretary and General Manager of Shanghai International Automobile City, signed as representatives, witnessed by Jiang Yaoping, Liu Jiafeng, and Zhang Yongwei. Subsequently, the first batch of partner units were inducted, and the "China-Thailand New Energy Vehicle Service Talent Certification and Training" project was signed, further injecting strong momentum for international cooperation into the base.

Keynote Insights from the Afternoon Session: From "Operating in China" to "Global Synergy"

The afternoon session, themed "In China, For China; In China, For the World," was moderated by Shi Jianhua. Zhang Lin, Chief Representative and General Manager of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (China), outlined future trends in Sino-German cooperation: a shift in cooperation models from German technology plus Chinese market to Chinese innovation plus global sharing; dimensional upgrades from product co-manufacturing to standards co-creation and ecosystem coordination; and spatial expansion from "in China, for China" to "in China, for the world." Addressing the challenges facing multinational automakers in China, Wu Yanyan, Vice President of BMW Group and Head of Government and External Affairs for Greater China, identified three key hurdles: accelerating adaptation to China's electrification, digitalization, intelligentization, and decarbonization transition; fully leveraging Chinese innovation outcomes to integrate with global technology systems and bring innovations to the world; and balancing global supply chain layouts amid complex geopolitical conditions. Li Yaxu, President of Magna China, described China as the world's most dynamic yet fiercely competitive market. He argued that the automotive industry does not lack good ideas; the real challenge lies in transforming innovation into large-scale, deliverable products while meeting customer demands for regulatory compliance, quality, cost, efficiency, and reliability — requiring robust engineering capabilities, manufacturing excellence, resilient supply chains, and rigorous lean operations. Yang Xiaoming, President of Aptiv China and Asia Pacific, candidly acknowledged that amid China's rapid automotive export growth and domestic market pressures, foreign enterprises must shift from "in China, for China" to "in China, for the world" by integrating into Chinese supply chains, strengthening local R&D innovation, promoting Chinese technology and supply chain capabilities globally, and exploring new growth areas such as AI, embodied robotics, energy storage, and data centers. Mathew Vachaparampil, CEO of Caresoft Global, highlighted challenges facing the global automotive industry, including rising trade barriers, supply chain regionalization, escalating cost pressures, and shortened innovation cycles. He emphasized cost optimization as the key to competitiveness, advocating a "right first time" philosophy — noting that most OEMs and suppliers discover cost issues late in the engineering cycle, whereas benchmarking analysis can establish optimal designs from the outset, reducing R&D waste. Xu Jie, President of Mann+Hummel's Global Passenger Vehicle Division and China Region, argued that to achieve "in China, for the world," foreign enterprises must fully integrate China's national and industrial strategies as essential components of their global strategic planning. Li Xiaohe, Executive Vice President of NXP Semiconductors and General Manager of China Business, stated that for global layout, companies must balance both domestic and overseas cycles, which operate under fundamentally different logics: the domestic market emphasizes rapid iteration, flexible supply chains, and localized responsiveness, while overseas markets prioritize long-term reliability, lifecycle costs, and supply chain resilience. Gu Jianmin, CTO of Valeo China, cautioned that amid China's automotive export boom, companies must not only see opportunities but also prepare in advance across four dimensions: innovation capability, brand reputation, global resource allocation, and localized compliance practices. Zhong Xiaolong, Vice President of Infineon Technologies, noted that software-defined vehicles demand greater flexibility in chip architecture adaptability. He highlighted RISC-V's attributes of flexible adaptation, scalability, and customization, which can cover MCU applications at various levels, positioning it as a potentially significant architectural choice for the automotive industry.

During the conference, the M100 Multinational Automotive Enterprise High-Quality Development Action Partner ceremony was also held, further empowering multinational companies to integrate into China's automotive industry and achieve mutually beneficial development, while injecting fresh momentum into the global cooperation of China's automotive sector.

This plenary session addressed both the practical challenges facing Chinese automakers in their internationalization efforts and the new opportunities for multinational enterprises in China, further consolidating consensus on open cooperation within the global automotive industry. Looking ahead, as the industry continues its deep trajectory toward electrification, intelligentization, and green development, the global automotive sector will require more open cooperation mechanisms, closer industrial coordination, and more diverse ecosystem connections to jointly chart new pathways for global cooperation.