China Economic Outlook: Key Trends for H2 2025 and Beyond

Frederick joined HSBC China in 2008 as a graduate trainee in the Global Markets department. Over the past 17 years, Frederick has been working in the Global Markets Corporate Sales Team, providing comprehensive solutions in foreign exchange and interest rates products. He has covered numerous large multinational corporates and participated in various pilot projects under SAFE (State Administration of Foreign Exchange), as well as internal initiatives aimed at enhancing foreign exchange processes.

Outside of work, Frederick is passionate about traveling and enjoys exploring new countries. He obtained his master degree in finance from Warwick Business School in the UK.

IHG Hotels & Resorts is a global hospitality company headquartered in the United Kingdom with over 6,600 hotels and 2,200 under development and nearly 385,000 colleagues across 100+ countries and regions. Today, we proudly offer 20 distinct brands and a powerful loyalty program, IHG One Rewards.

IHG in Greater China

IHG entered the Greater China market in 1975 and has consistently prioritized its development in the region. The regional headquarters located in the heart of Shanghai’s Lujiazui area, with subregional offices in Beijing, Chengdu, and Shenzhen.

• One of the first international hotel groups to enter Greater China: IHG has been deeply embedded in the region for five decades, witnessing and contributing to China’s “Reform and Opening-Up” policy.
• Leading international hotel group by system size (number of hotel rooms) in China: IHG has introduced 13 brands into Greater China, with over 1,370 hotels either open or in the pipeline.
• Greater China as a long-term growth engine for IHG: Nearly 20% of IHG’s open rooms are in Greater China, while rooms under development account for more than one-third of the company’s global pipeline.

Head of Market and Communication, WPP Media China

Podcaster (营销有E思、林中漫步), Author, TEDx speaker

Linna owns almost 20 years of experience in market analysis, consumer insights, and brand strategy, providing consulting services to both multinational corporations and local enterprises. She is specialized in diagnosing business issues, with a passion for turning consumer insights and business challenges into new business opportunities. Her consulting projects have served clients such as Disney, Skechers, 3M, OPPO, Aldi, and the NFL, while her market research services have catered to clients like L’Oréal, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, Super Brand Mall, China UnionPay, China Mobile, Haier, Herbalife, AIA Insurance, IKEA, Samsung, PPS, and United Overseas Bank, among others. Meanwhile, her team consistently produces white papers and knowledge-sharing content in the marketing field, including reports such as “Seniors in China: The Hidden Treasure” series, “Digital Children in China,” “New Drivers of China’s E-commerce Development,” “Quality Life in China Whitepaper,” “Health and Wellness Report,” “Generation Z in China,” “HNWI Gifting Whitepaper,” “Fashion Today in China,” and more. – Linna also serves as a corporate trainer, delivering marketing and user insights trainin courses to companies and clients.

Linna believes that kindness, curiosity, and a spirit of collaboration are the driving forces behind progress. She is committed to fostering an open and inclusive cultural atmosphere, encouraging innovative thinking, and promoting the integration of business and social issues. For instance, she has initiated creative interactions with the China Meteorological Administration and the Shanghai Meteorological Museum, using a century’s weather big data to outline the varied lives of people amidst sunshine, rain, and snow; she has collaborated with Zhihu to publish the book “Our Questions to the Future”; she has launched the “UNSEEN” speech series with FABO, the College of Design and Innovation at Tongji University; and she has released “Nine Beauty Proposals for Women Over 50” with Shiseido China, among other initiatives.

Thomas Hale is the FT’s Shanghai Correspondent and focuses on China’s economy, financial system and consumer industries. He has been at the FT for ten years, mainly in London, covering areas ranging from capital markets to education. Before arriving in Shanghai, he was based in Hong Kong for two years and has also worked as a reporter for the FT in Madrid. In 2018, he was a journalist in residence at the Booth School at the University of Chicago, and has a degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Oxford.