From March 28 to 30, 2025, the "China EV100 Forum 2025," jointly initiated by authoritative institutions including the Development Research Center of the State Council and the Ministry of Science and Technology, was held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.
This year’s forum, themed "Strengthening Electrification and Advancing Intelligence for High-Quality Development" brought together top global think tank scholars, multinational corporate executives, industry policymakers, and leading experts in research to jointly engaged in discussions on new trends in the future development of the automotive industry, promoting global collaboration in the automotive industry chain and the innovation and upgrading of the value chain. Dr. Xiaoli Hong, founder and managing partner of Shanghai Sunway Law Firm, was invited to attend the event.
China EV100, established in 2014, is an unofficial non-profit organization and third-party think tank platform, jointly initiated by authoritative institutions including the Development Research Center of the State Council and the Ministry of Science and Technology, dedicated to advancing the development of new energy vehicles and intelligent connected vehicle industries. Since its inception, the EV100 Forum has become a pivotal platform for cross-industry collaboration, bringing together high-level discussions and industry leaders, and becoming an important exchange platform for cross-industry sectors such as automotive, energy, telecommunications, and transportation.
Through policy research, technological innovation, and ecosystem development, China EV100 has played an integral role in shaping national industrial planning. Notable contributions include the publication of the “China Electric Vehicle Development Report” and the “Technology Roadmap for Intelligent Connected Vehicles,” as well as leading the creation of key standards, including national guidelines for battery swapping and charging infrastructure development. Over the past decade, China EV100 has continuously empowered industrial transformation with its “policy-driven and technology-driven” positioning itself as a key think tank force in the electrification and intelligence of China’s automotive industry.
As a bellwether for the transformation and upgrading of the global automotive industry, this year's forum explored twelve strategic topics, deconstructing the core driving forces behind the automotive industry evolution. Key discussions focused on cutting-edge areas such as vehicle-road-cloud integration, integrated intelligence, and innovative technologies for smart vehicles. Top global think tanks, multinational executives, and leading experts in research collaboratively outlined an integrated blueprint featuring "intelligent connectivity, green energy, and industrial ecology." These intellectual discussions not only outline the path forward for the industry but also lay the foundation for cross-border technological collaboration, enhancing the innovative momentum of global intelligent mobility value chain.
With the rapid development of new energy technologies, the significant increase in global demand for green mobility and significant changes in the global supply chains, industry players are in the midst of an unprecedented automotive revolution and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Data has evolved from playing merely a supportive role to becoming a critical driver of business models, service innovation, and value creation—shifting industry profitability from traditional manufacturing towards software and high-value-added services. Nevertheless, challenges such as the lack of internationally recognized standards, discrepancies in data security regulations and compliance requirements, insufficient international collaboration in technology development, and underdeveloped global supply chains increasingly pose significant obstacles for Chinese intelligent electric vehicles’ overseas expansion. Thus, strengthening multilateral collaboration, promoting mutual recognition of data rules, and enhancing alignment of standards, regulations, and oversight mechanisms have become essential. Industry professionals widely emphasize a “new internationalization development” strategy, emphasizing the depth of technological barriers, precise localization, and the ability for ecological synergy.
Leveraging deep insights from previous case experience, Sunway Law aligns with the core concept proposed by China EV100's which advocates that "Chinese automakers should shift from a traditional trade-driven approach to localized partnership strategies." Automotive industry participants should actively facilitate the development of mutually beneficial, cross-border and cross-regional “Industry-Ecosystem Partnerships”, assisting China’s automotive industry in achieving deeper integration with overseas markets. This involves establishing globalized integration across design, R&D, manufacturing, marketing, and operations, enhancing service systems and after-sales support, and formulating comprehensive long-term globalization strategies. Such efforts will promote effective allocation of industrial capital and technological resources, ultimately fostering synergistic industry development.
At this historic turning point characterized by the shifting dynamics of the global automotive industry, Sunway Law leverages a dual-driven strategy combining legal technology and cross-border resources to support Chinese new energy enterprises. Sunway Law assists businesses in revitalizing idle capacity and expanding into overseas markets, by providing comprehensive and professional legal services, including capital structure optimization through asset restructuring, cross-border data compliance, industrial chain integration, cross-border production planning, and localized brand development strategies. Sunway Law is dedicated to helping businesses navigate compliance risks, address core needs, and enhance their competitiveness and regional adaptability in the global marketplace.
Sunway Law believes that: "Compliance is not a constraint, but a lever to unlock global markets." Looking ahead, Sunway Law is committed to empowering Chinese manufacturing with legal intelligence, driving China's emerging productive forces toward greater international competitiveness and the transition of China’s new productivity forces from “product export” to “standards export”, achieving "open cooperation, mutual benefit, and deep integration."
Dr. Xiaoli Hong
Sunway Law Firm
Founding Managing Partner
About Dr. Hong Xiaoli
Dr. Hong Xiaoli, founding partner of Shanghai Sunway Law Firm, has over 15 years experience in legal practice, mainly in securities capital, investment and M&A, cross-border transactions, and bankruptcy reorganization. She has worked with renowned domestic and international investment institutions, national-level industry investment funds, sovereign wealth funds, and industry leaders. Dr. Hong has served as an independent director for listed companies and as a member and director of investment committees for various funds. She is an expert in industrial capital operations and cross-border transactions, with extensive experience in both domestic and international investment, financing, and trade.
