In this section, authors share their views on economic and financial issues.

For nearly 30 years, Western media have regularly portrayed China as an economic problem case. Predictions have ranged from a real estate collapse and a banking crisis to a hard landing or even the breakdown of the Chinese economic model.

Graphic: Daniel Fasnacht

Yet over the same period, China has evolved from the world’s factory into the world’s second-largest economy, one of the largest markets for digital payments, and a leading innovation hub for artificial intelligence (AI), electric mobility, robotics, and semiconductors. For the Swiss financial center, therefore, the key question is not whether China should be copied, but what strategic lessons can be learned from its development.

China 3.0: From the World’s Factory to an AI Ecosystem

China 1.0 was defined by reform, opening up, and the development of an export-oriented economy. China 2.0 began with the country’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 and was characterized by urbanization, digitalization, and the rise of major platform ecosystems. The focus has since shifted from growth to technological leadership.

Since 2020, China has entered a third phase. Rather than focusing on producing goods as cheaply as possible, the country is pursuing the goal of becoming the global leader in the most strategically important technologies of the future. China 3.0 is far more than a political vision. According to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s (ASPI) Critical Technology Tracker, China now leads in 57 of the 64 critical technologies examined.

A Generational Strategy Instead of Election-Cycle Thinking

In the West, this development is often underestimated because China is primarily viewed through the lens of geopolitical tensions, trade conflicts, and economic challenges. These challenges are real. But it is equally true that, over the past several decades, China has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to fundamentally shift economic priorities and reshape entire industries within just a few years.

«China is no Longer Digitalizing – China is Already Building the Next Generation of Banking.»

China does not think about innovation in terms of election cycles, but in decades. Its long-term strategy aims to establish the country as the world’s leading innovation and technology power by 2049 – the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Its current lead in many areas is therefore no coincidence, but the result of a consistently pursued generational strategy.

Understand China, Don’t Copy it

This offers an important lesson for Switzerland’s tradition-rich financial center. The point is not to copy the Chinese system, but to understand how long-term thinking, consistent investment in future technologies, and systematic capability building can create sustainable competitive advantages.

China increasingly views digitalization as a foundation rather than an end goal. The focus is now on AI-powered business models, intelligent cross-industry ecosystems, and a working environment in which humans and machines collaborate.

Swiss Banking Lacks New Capabilities

The greatest challenge of the AI transformation is not technology, but people. Accenture’s latest Top Banking Trends for 2026 study clearly confirms this: only 28 percent of employees feel adequately prepared for the AI transformation. This reveals a significant gap between management’s strategic ambitions and the actual capabilities of the workforce.

A look at China shows why new skills are becoming critical to competitiveness. Digital innovations are adopted much faster there than in Europe – not only because of technological advances, but also because the necessary foundations have been created in education and the workplace.

Cultural Openness Toward AI

China’s education system has been systematically geared toward future skills. Thousands of traditional degree programs have been restructured or replaced by programs focusing on AI, robotics, and other STEM disciplines – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The result is a workforce that increasingly views AI as a natural part of everyday working life.

The cultural dimension is equally noteworthy. While AI in Europe is often associated with job losses, regulation, and risks, many employees in China primarily view it as a tool to increase their productivity and an opportunity for professional development. This openness significantly accelerates the adoption of new technologies.

Combining AI With the Strength of Swiss Banking

AI not only creates efficiency, but also makes data understandable and usable. By translating complex information into comprehensible recommendations and personalized services, it creates tangible value for clients.

The ability of Chinese companies to use AI to translate data into understandable decisions and personalized services could ideally be combined with the greatest strength of Swiss banking – trust. Sustainable trust today is no longer created through discretion alone, but increasingly through transparency and explainable decision-making.

The Courage to Change Perspective

China is a valuable point of reference for Swiss banks. Yet many Swiss boardrooms still display a reflexive reluctance to learn from China – often because of political, cultural, or regulatory reservations. This attitude may be convenient, but it is dangerous. While Switzerland is still debating digitalization, AI governance, and pilot projects, China’s digital infrastructure has long ceased to be the objective; it has become the foundation for business innovation.

These observations are consistent with the experiences of a recent University of Zurich study trip to Shanghai and Hangzhou. Participating executives agreed that Chinese companies not only execute faster, but have already moved beyond the digitalization phase in key areas. Today, they are focusing on new business models, ecosystems, and data-driven services.

While Europe was still discussing mobile payments, QR codes were already being used in China from 2009 onward. Today, super apps such as Alipay and WeChat integrate services spanning retail, mobility, healthcare, public administration, travel, and financial services. They are no longer individual apps, but operating systems for everyday life.

The 310 Model for Lending

The extent of China’s lead becomes even clearer when looking at MYbank, the digital bank within the Ant Group ecosystem. Founded in 2015, MYbank has radically automated the lending process for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Its so-called 310 model stands for three minutes to apply, one second for a credit decision, and zero human intervention. For entrepreneurs, this means no branch appointment and no manual know-your-customer (KYC) process involving paper files.

Creditworthiness is assessed using transaction, behavioral, and ecosystem data. What is particularly remarkable, however, is the combination of speed, scale, and quality. Despite the fully automated lending process, the default rate stands at around 1.5 percent – in line with or below that of many traditional corporate lending or credit card portfolios.

MYbank’s cumulative lending volume amounts to approximately 600 billion Swiss francs, generated across a client base of more than 50 million.

Learning from China

AI is not an efficiency program. It is a question of capabilities, culture, and business models. Anyone who reduces it to process optimization underestimates its true strategic significance.

«Technology can be bought. Competitive advantages only emerge when people learn to use it better than others.»

The future of the Swiss financial center will not be decided by a choice between trust and AI. It will be decided where everything comes together: Swiss trust, AI-powered value creation, and data-driven transparency.

Those who master this combination while remaining willing to learn from China’s innovation leaders will help shape the next generation of banking.

Daniel Fasnacht is Program Director, Director, and Fellow in Finance Executive Education at the University of Zurich, a professor at Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences Switzerland, and a visiting professor at IMD and Zhejiang University. He is the founder and CEO of Ecosystem Partners and the author of four books on open and digital ecosystems. His previous professional positions include SAP, Accenture, Credit Suisse, and Julius Baer.

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