The China Night, an official series of events of the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2025 Annual Meeting, was held in Davos on January 22, Swiss time. As one of the key events of the WEF, this year's China Night organizes exchanges between representatives from domestic and international political and business circles in order to explore opportunities for global cooperation in the age of intelligence. Wang Li, General Manager of Moutai Group, was invited to attend the event on behalf of Moutai, and shared Moutai's way of integrating heritage and innovation with the theme of "Changes and Constancy in Traditional Industries in the Age of Intelligence".

Wang Li shared her insights at China Nights

"As we all know, there are two red ribbons on Moutai's bottles, which are unique to Moutai." Ms. Wang started her speech from the red ribbon of Moutai. She said that a bottle of Moutai is tied with a red ribbon by hand by a female packaging worker before it leaves the factory, a process that takes about six seconds. Some people have questioned this: "Why not use AI to replace the manual tethering of ribbons?" The thinking triggered by this question echoes the industry's query: under the trend of the rapidly advancing digitalization and intelligence era, what changes do traditional industries need to make, and what constants do they need to adhere to.

Regarding constancy, Ms. Wang pointed out that a strong core is essential for a business to sustain its growth over the years. For Moutai, this core is the traditional craft. Compared with other spirits around the world, the brewing process of Moutai features six major techniques: taking grains as the main raw material, natural mixed-bacteria inoculation, open solid-state fermentation, solid-state distillation in retort barrels, long-term storage in ceramic altars, and blending of spirits with wine. The key to this brewing process is the rich microbial diversity and the diversity of the base wines it creates, on the basis of which the distiller's skill achieves a characteristic style and consistent quality of the product. To summarize, what Moutai needs to retain are the natural and human elements that influence the formation of microbial ecology, and what it needs to hold on to are the material, spiritual and humanistic kernels that shape the characteristic style of Moutai wines, which also provides a reference for Chinese traditional food enterprises.

What to change? Ms. Wang affirmed that there is no development without innovation. Under the wave of the intelligent era, what we have to change are the concepts, modes and methods. In the face of global warming, sustainable development and practicing ESG have become the main development concepts at present. With the advent of the rational consumption era, responsible marketing will become mainstream, and the new marketing model of providing customers with experiential and emotional value through the combination of online and offline marketing needs to be on the agenda. At the same time, we need to apply more new technologies and methods in industrial scenarios. Currently, Moutai is planning to apply the big model in park management, security and fire prevention, customer service, knowledge management, packaging and logistics, and even in the construction of parameter models for traditional processes as well as the study of microbial interactions mechanisms and metabolic pathways. Such concepts, models and methods that keep pace with the times will allow the long-established Moutai to burst with new vigor and vitality, and drive future higher-quality development with innovation.

"Back to our opening question, should manual tethering ribbons be replaced with AI-driven operations? Our current answer is 'No.'" Ms. Wang explained that the two red ribbons symbolize the dancing sash of the Flying Apsaras, which is a figurative expression of the "Flying Apsaras" trademark, and the female packaging workers use the "Chinese Knot" to tie the red ribbons, which also injects human warmth and humanistic kernel into them. These female packaging workers are only 35 years old on average, and losing their jobs will greatly affect their normal lives. Therefore, Moutai will do its best to retain this humane process on the new automated production line in the packaging and logistics park.

Ms. Wang concluded that traditional enterprises in the era of intelligence can only achieve sustainable and high-quality development by adhering to themselves and actively embracing the changes of the times.

Prof. Schwab and a number of executive directors of the WEF collectively met with representatives of Chinese entrepreneurs

During this annual meeting, Prof. Schwab, the founder of the WEF, had an in-depth exchange with representatives of well-known Chinese brands, including Moutai. He said that the WEF is an important platform for discussing global economic issues and a pioneering force in promoting international exchanges and cooperation. Since 1979, more and more Chinese enterprises have appeared in the WEF, and the forum hopes that more Chinese enterprises will join in the future, to learn about the world development trend through this platform, and jointly contribute wisdom and strength to global development.

Wang Li communicated with Liang Jinhui

During the event, Wang Li also had face-to-face exchanges with Liang Jinhui, Global Executive Director of the WEF, on enterprises' management of carbon and water in sustainable development, as well as the promotion of the international image of Chinese enterprises.

The WEF, also known as the Davos Forum because it was first held in Davos, Switzerland, is an unofficial international organization that focuses on studying and exploring issues in the world economy and promotes international economic cooperation and exchanges, which serves as "the wind vane of the world economy". This was Moutai's second appearance at the WEF, following its first in 2024. Moutai's voice this time has received attention from all parties attending the meeting, who expressed broad recognition of Moutai's work in sustainable development, ESG, and keeping right and innovation.

In this January, the lively exchange of ideas made the snow-covered Davos a center for “brainstorming”. At the same time, on the eve of the joyful and peaceful Chinese New Year, bottles of Moutai wine tied with red ribbons are waiting for sealing caps, spraying codes and packing boxes in the packaging workshop. Next, they will carry Moutai's craftsmanship and humanistic care to the global market, bringing happiness and warmth to thousands of households.

Traveling all the way from the depths of the mountains in southwest China to the top of the snow-capped mountains in Davos, Switzerland, Moutai will spread its fragrance of wine all over the world.