The 2025 International Forum (TEDA) on Chinese Automotive Industry Development to Kick Off Soon

The 21st International Forum (TEDA) on Chinese Automotive Industry Development will be held from September 11 to 14, 2025, in Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA). Under the theme of “New Momentum, New Chapter, Global Reach”, this year’s forum will position itself as a high-end think tank event, bringing together expertise from the automotive industry and beyond. It will facilitate in-depth discussions on key factors influencing industrial development, such as policy directions, strategic planning, and forward-looking technology trends, to jointly outline a vision for high-quality growth in the automotive sector.

After two decades of development and innovation, the TEDA Automotive Forum has become a premier exchange platform that brings together industry think tank experts, releases insights and recommendations, and showcases intellectual achievements. It is hailed as the “Davos of the automotive industry,” consistently setting trends and leading the sector. In 2025, the forum will introduce new highlights in four key areas: promoting cross-industry integration and innovation, enhancing content quality, building government-enterprise dialogue platforms, and facilitating discussions on cutting-edge fields. Guided by the principles of “foresight, leadership, and effectiveness” in topic selection, the forum will feature 18 themed sessions with diverse and substantial content, aiming to create a high-end think tank platform of superior quality and greater practical impact.

Upgrading Organizational Structure to Anchor Deep and Broad Trend of Multi-Industry Integration  

Building on existing collaborations in power batteries, big data, and information and communications, this year’s forum will invite influential industry organizations and leading companies in energy, artificial intelligence, and other fields to serve as co-organizers and ecosystem partners, jointly promoting cross-industry integrated innovation.  

Improving  Content Quality to Strengthen Think Tank Output  

To better make the intellectual achievements of all parties widely known and support government decision-making, industrial development, and enterprise growth, the forum’s organizing committee will release the think tank report during the ecology session and themed session, delivering the achievements with high frequency and from multiple perspectives.

Creating a New Government-Enterprise Dialogue Model to Facilitate Policy Implementation and Industrial Development

The forum will hold a high-end closed-door think tank meeting, soliciting opinions on the topics from government departments before the event. During the event, it will build a dialogue platform for enterprises sharing feedback on policy implementation and their needs, so as to make formulate the policies in a more targeted way, respond to the requests of enterprises and have a clear direction for industrial development.  Additionally, the opening ceremony and closed-door sessions will extend invitations to newly established government departments related to the automotive sector, promoting the communication of policies in emerging fields and the feedback of enterprise requests.

Expanding Invitations to High-Profile Speakers in Emerging Fields to Guide Forward-Looking Industrial Planning

To respond to development and reforms in the automotive industry, such as technological innovation and globalization, the forum will invite academicians, industry experts, and senior executives in such fields as solid-state batteries, artificial intelligence, humanoid robots, low-altitude economy, and resource recycling to gain insights into cutting-edge technological trends. Furthermore, by setting the new sessions of  high-end and global topics, it will lead the industry in accelerating technological and industrial planning.

Charting the Strategic Layout for the 15th Five-Year Plan and Embarking on a New Chapter of Development

As a barometer for the development of the automotive industry, this year’s forum will bring together government departments, industry elites, and senior corporate executives through four high-level dialogues, including the opening ceremony, two summit sessions, and closed-door high-end think tank meetings. The forum will target at the roadmap during the period of the 15th Five-Year Plan to convey policy orientations and assess development directions.

Focusing on New Technology Applications and Ecosystem Development to Inject New Momentum into Industry Growth

The forum will feature six specialized sessions across three major themes, inviting technical experts and corporate executives to share insights on the new industrial ecosystem, covering topics such as the low-altitude economy, digital technology, vehicle-network integration, dual-carbon goals, and artificial intelligence.

Towards a Green, Intelligent and High-end Industrial Transformation and Global Expansion

This year’s forum will host multiple thematic sessions to discuss new pathways for the green, intelligent, high-end, and global development of the automotive industry. In particular, two globalization-focused sessions will delve into global automotive industry trends, policy movements in various countries, and the opportunities and challenges in market expansion, providing valuable references for Chinese automotive companies going global.

Tianjin serves as a gateway to international openness in Northern China and a hub of modern industry. Leveraging its port advantages, Tianjin has become a critical hub connecting domestic and international markets. It boasts comprehensive supply chain and serves as a major automotive production base in the country.

TEDA, serving as the hub for Tianjin’s automotive industry, has been designated as a National Automotive and Parts Export Base and one of the first National New Industrialization Demonstration Bases (Automotive Industry). Leading automakers such as FAW Toyota, FAW-Volkswagen, Great Wall Motors, and Geely Farizon Commercial Vehicles have established operations here, supported by over 200 parts and service enterprises. In 2024, the output value of TEDA’s automotive industry reached RMB 149.89 billion, with vehicle production totaling 693,500 units, accounting for over 85% of Tianjin’s total output. The area boasts a comprehensive automotive industrial chain covering vehicle design and development, engines, transmissions, bodies, chassis, interior and exterior trims, and automotive electronics. It is also home to numerous domestic and international R&D institutions, including the China Automotive Technology and Research Center (Tianjin) Automotive Engineering Research Institute, FAW Toyota R&D Center, Schaeffler Tianjin R&D Center, and AVL List Technical Center. In recent years, companies such as Volkswagen Group, Hella Faway, and Nobo Auto have expanded their R&D operations to TEDA, further driving innovation and development in the automotive industry.

Moreover, Tianjin boasts abundant talent resources, providing a steady supply of professionals for automotive enterprises. As a critical transportation hub, the Tianjin Port significantly reduces the business costs of logistics and time, enabling TEDA to respond swiftly to the domestic market while efficiently expanding its overseas operations. Against the backdrop of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development strategy, Tianjin’s vast automotive consumer market hinterland offers solid support and broad market space for automotive enterprises.

Since its inception in 2005, the International Forum (TEDA) on Chinese Automotive Industry Development has been dedicated to advancing the high-quality development of China’s automotive industry. Over the past two decades, the forum has strengthened its role as a think tank, generating extensive outcomes and providing robust intellectual support for the growth of China’s automotive sector. As a key hub of the country’s automotive industry, TEDA and the forum have empowered each other. The forum injects forward-looking insights and innovative thinking into TEDA's automotive industry, while TEDA offers a practical industrial foundation for the forum. This synergy not only accelerated the rapid development of the local automotive industry in TEDA, but also provided valuable insights for the transformation and upgrading of China’s automotive industry.  

As the automotive industry continues its shift toward electrification, intelligence, and connectivity, this collaborative model will deepen further. The forum will continue to leverage TEDA’s industrial base to enhance its platform capabilities, while TEDA will use the forum as a bridge to attract cross-industry innovation resources, fostering a more competitive automotive ecosystem. Together, they will contribute to the high-quality development of China's automotive industry.