Primavera Capital 2025 Global Investor Conference

Primavera recently concluded its 2025 Global Investor Conference in Shenzhen, China, which brought together nearly 200 distinguished experts from the international political and business community, senior executives from investment institutions, and prominent entrepreneurs.

This year’s conference featured esteemed speakers, including Nobel laureate Prof. Michael Spence; Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Columbia University Center for Sustainable Development; three-time Spanish Ambassador to China Eugenio Bregolat Sr.; and Eugenio Bregolat Jr., President of global fashion retailer Inditex, Greater China.

Throughout the event, attendees and panelists touched on Asia’s resilience as well as its growth potential. While 2025 has represented a year of disruption between trade tensions and geopolitical events, the technological revolution being led by artificial intelligence innovations continues to accelerate breakthroughs and new levels of creativity in every industry. Across discussions and panel sessions, the Primavera team and expert guests dove into the drivers behind China’s innovation engines that have been enabling major advances in AI, as well as the opportunities these are creating between the region and global markets.

In his opening remarks, Primavera Founding Partner Haitao Zhai emphasized the symbolic timing of the conference, which coincided with the 45th anniversary of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. With the region’s capital markets performing strongly throughout the year, Haitao highlighted how global investor confidence in China and the wider APAC region has continued to rebound. Shanghai Composite Index (SSEC) has benefited from coordinated policy support, increased capital inflows, and advances being made across domestic industries, propelling the index to its highest level in a decade. The Hang Seng Index (HSI) has also risen on this momentum, surging over 30% year-to-date. Haitao underscored how these gains showcase the region’s remarkable economic resilience as sentiment improves, reinforcing Primavera’s commitment and confidence in Asia Pacific markets.

 

China’s Long-Term Growth Engines Remain Resilient during the Trump 2.0 Era

2025’s macroeconomic environment has been defined by the “Trump 2.0” administration and escalating trade tensions.

In a fireside chat with Dr. Fred Hu, Nobel laureate Prof. Michael Spence observed that a partial reversal of globalization across regions is underway, reshaping traditional rules and economic relations. Both speakers agreed that while a full return to past trade frameworks appears unlikely, nations should strive to reach a limited but pragmatic global consensus.

The discussion turned to China’s notable strategic flexibility, with the country demonstrating unexpected resilience compared to other regions in recent years. Despite facing challenges in areas including the property sector risks and deflationary pressures, China has continued to build on its fundamental strengths. The country is deepening its strong foundation in research and innovation, while continuing to extend its long-term competitiveness in AI, biotechnology, and renewable energy. China’s priorities moving forward will centre on stabilizing the policy environment, which offers an opportunity for unlocking even more vitality in domestic markets.

 

Macroeconomic Trends – Emerging Market-led Trade Flows

The global macroeconomic panel, moderated by Primavera Managing Director Michael Woo, featured further insights from Dr. Man Keung Tang, Managing Director of Macro Strategy at Temasek; Andrew Tilton, Chief Asia Pacific Economist and Head of Emerging Markets Economic Research at Goldman Sachs; and Professor Ning Zhu, Chair Professor of Finance and Deputy Dean of the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Diving into the current state of globalization, the panelists underscored that there is no single global narrative, with different regions charting their own distinct paths. Trade between China and emerging markets continues to grow rapidly, now surpassing China’s export volumes to developed economies. Despite trade tensions, China’s export data has beaten even the most optimistic market forecasts. Technology and new energy industries increasingly serve as powerful economic growth drivers. Importantly, policy directions are improving as the private sector drives innovation forward while finding new opportunities for overcoming external headwinds.

 

Limited Partner Perspectives

During the Limited Partner (LP) forum, moderated by Primavera Partner Max Chen, panelists shared unique LP perspectives on markets between China, the U.S., Japan, and India. The panel included Aaron Yuan, Managing Director and Head of Asia Private Equity at Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s External Investments Group; Liam Coppinger, Senior Managing Director and Head of Asia Private Equity at Manulife Investment Management; and Thomas K. Lee, Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer of the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System.

Reflecting on how tariff policies have seen limited impact on Asia Pacific private equity’s NAV, the panel discussed the areas where many portfolio companies primarily serve domestic or regional Asian markets vs other global regions where such policies have been focused. Meanwhile, many globally-oriented LPs have a renewed appetite for the region, attracted by the track record of the private equity industry in the Asia Pacific region to consistently outperform public market returns.

 

“DeepSeek Moment” for Innovation in China

Throughout the conference, experts and attendees shared their perspectives on where they have seen innovation momentum accelerate in China following the “DeepSeek Moment” in early 2025. Across the global capital markets community, the breakthrough sparked a comprehensive reassessment of the momentum driving technological innovation in China.

In his dialogue with Dr. Fred Hu, Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, noted that China has already been leading the future of global industries such as electric vehicles, renewable energy, and robotics, thanks to its substantial advantages that it has built between domestic education, innovation and supply chain systems.

He emphasized that the Greater Bay Area represents one of the world’s most dynamic economic hubs, with integrated technology, innovation, manufacturing, and finance capabilities that surpass Silicon Valley. Building on this point, he cautioned that shifting trends in globalization are fragmenting the international scientific ecosystem. Both speakers called for sustaining scientific collaboration, arguing that win-win cooperation remains achievable even as trade policies evolve.

 

40 Years of China Relations from a European Perspective

The panel on EU-China relations brought together Fabian von Heimburg, Head of Primavera’s Europe Operations; three-time Spanish Ambassador to China Eugenio Bregolat Sr.; and Eugenio Bregolat Jr., President of Inditex Greater China.

Pointing to the foundational elements behind China’s success including its population, geography, and innovation, the panelists underscored that China has mastered the art of leveraging technology platforms for brand building and market promotion. Europe’s established brands simultaneously face fierce competition as well as valuable opportunities for learning and collaboration as they increasingly operate in the same global regions as fast-growing Chinese companies.

 

Next Phase of Artificial Intelligence

Dialogues at the conference on artificial Intelligence, energy transition, and healthcare also echoed the opportunities emerging from China’s accelerating innovation economy.

The AI session highlighted the key drivers behind the next phase of AI development, with Veronica Li, Head of North America at Primavera Capital, moderating the discussion with Simon Song, CEO & Founder of VAST; Dr. Yan Tan, CEO & Founder of Xbiome; and Zheng Wang, CFO of SenseTime contributing their expert views.

The panel walked through how AI innovation has evolved from small models for single tasks to employing large, unified models for multi-task processing, enabling the technology to emerge as a mature tool in sectors like entertainment and biomedicine. Differences remain between markets around commercial focus, with the U.S. broadly pursuing general-purpose AI, while innovators in China have emphasized more specific use-case scenarios and applications. Expansion into international markets continues to present a unique opportunity for startups in China to capture even greater value as AI adoption accelerates globally.

 

Energy Transition – Accelerating Momentum in Renewables

The energy transition panel, moderated by Primavera Founding Partner William Wang, featured Dr. Qingtang Jiang, Chairman and Chief Scientist of Solefiori Technology; Dr. Xin Li, Co-founder of Adden Energy and a distinguished researcher at the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences; and Rex Zhang, General Manager of Net Zero Strategy Solutions at Envision Group. The panelists shared their teams’ breakthroughs in heterojunction technology, solid-state batteries, green hydrogen, and intelligent systems, noting that China’s installed renewable energy capacity now exceeds traditional energy sources, with per-kilowatt-hour costs dropping below conventional power. The expert panel also explored how AI and renewable energy are creating fresh investment perspectives around how the two fields can create synergies between them.

 

Healthcare – Continued Innovation for New Breakthroughs

On the healthcare panel, Primavera Partner Jiaqi Zheng moderated a discussion around the role of technology in accelerating healthcare breakthroughs with Dr. Xin An, Founder and Chairman of OptoMedic Technologies; Eric Pan, Executive Director and CEO of Jenscare Scientific; and Dr. Hepeng Shi, Chairman and CEO of Anvistone Biotechnology. The impact of China’s “DeepSeek Moment” continues to extend far beyond the AI field itself, with panelists noting the rapid pace of developments in healthcare in the time since, with innovations already taking place between pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The panelist also agreed that Chinese healthcare innovators remain well-positioned for major breakthroughs over the next five years, citing strengthening capabilities in intellectual property, production quality, overseas registration, commercialization, and talent development.

 

Role of AI in Creating New Opportunities across Every Industry

As almost every discussion at this year’s conference touched on, artificial intelligence is driving fundamental transformations around the world and across industries. With AI innovations expanding from digital to real-world domains, they are bringing about new advances as well as fundamental change in sectors like biotechnology, entertainment, and energy and beyond. Outside of commercial applications, discussions at the conference highlighted that artificial intelligence has also significantly fueled creativity, and community-driven growth has proven to be far more effective than traditional marketing methods.

Prof. Michael Spence identified the U.S. and China as the world’s only “full-stack” AI superpowers. He noted that the rapidly decreasing costs of AI training and inference are accelerating its widespread adoption across industries. While AI breakthroughs are already bringing about breakthrough scientific innovations, he cautioned that the diffusion process of these advancements across the economy will still take time. For China specifically, AI offers potential solutions for future labor shortages caused by population decline. However, he warned that the AI era requires greater attention for preventing the loss of social connections and sense of purpose.

At the conference, Primavera Founding Partner Kenneth Wong also took the opportunity to step back and provide a broader perspective around the firm’s growth and evolution since its founding. Over the past 15 years, Kenneth shared how Primavera has expanded into a comprehensive investment firm with private equity, venture capital, and private credit capabilities. The firm has deepened its practice areas around core investment sectors while also exploring new, more opportunistic areas. The firm now has an established presence in major global markets. As a UNPRI signatory, Primavera joined the ESG Data Convergence Initiative (EDCI) this past year, integrating responsible investment principles into its organizational culture and investment process.

 

Strong Prospects Ahead

The 2025 Primavera Global Investor Conference concluded on an encouraging theme: private equity markets are heating up as momentum returns, leading the global investment community to once again turn their attention to the exceptional growth and resilience of Asia. A new era for investment is beginning to take shape as unprecedented opportunities emerge as the relentless pace of change continues across every major industry.

Primavera extends its heartfelt appreciation to all investors, partners, and companies who have and continue to share the journey towards the extensive opportunities for sustained growth and value creation that remain ahead. We look forward to capturing the next wave of growth and creating economic and social value in an ever-evolving global landscape.