The three-day 15th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos Forum, concluded on June 27th. This year's forum, themed "The Frontiers of Future Growth," brought together approximately 1,700 participants from various sectors to propose ideas for global economic advancement.
This year has seen a continued global economic recovery. According to International Monetary Fund projections, the world economy is expected to grow by 3.2% in 2024, with over 40% of surveyed chief economists having upgraded their growth forecasts. Nonetheless, the drivers of global growth remain weak, and regional development disparities continue to widen.
The forum served as a platform for contributing intellectual solutions to the fast-changing global order. Zhang Jianping, Director of the Center for Regional Economic Cooperation at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, participated as a guest. He expressed his delight at the forum regaining its former vibrancy, with global leaders, scholars, entrepreneurs, and NGO representatives gathering to discuss issues ranging from global economic governance to trade, investment, finance, sustainability, and climate governance. He noted the discussions were highly targeted, addressing pressing global development challenges of great concern to all attendees, with the dialogue on sustainable trade supply chains leaving a particularly strong impression.
Discussions Centered on Six Themes with AI, Energy Transition, and Global Competition as Key Foci
The forum's discussions were primarily organized around six core themes: the new global economy, China and the world, entrepreneurship in the age of artificial intelligence, new industrial frontiers, investing in people, and the interconnectedness of climate, nature, and energy.
The atmosphere on-site was one of intense discussion, with artificial intelligence, emerging industries, green development, energy transition, and international cooperation and competition emerging as key topics among participants.
On the topic of the global energy transition, Paul Gruenwald, Global Chief Economist at S&P Global, noted that while "physical" capital in society continues to grow, natural "capital" is increasingly being degraded and depleted. Therefore, investment in "old" energy technologies is needed to help them decarbonize through innovation, which could lead to exciting changes. He also expressed hope that the energy transition would exhibit a "non-linear" development trend, bringing unexpected progress and transformation.
Hu Min, Director and Founder of the Green Innovation and Development Institute, stated at the forum that ensuring the affordability of the energy transition is crucial to keeping it on the right track. However, many challenges remain in addressing imbalances. Concurrently, implementing the right policies, such as reducing fossil fuel subsidies, is essential.
Addressing the currently prominent topic of artificial intelligence, Samuele Ramadori, CEO of Canada's BrainBox AI, highlighted the many opportunities AI presents. He noted that data is needed across logistics, energy, costs, and resources, and with that come challenges that AI can help solve. However, he cautioned against complete reliance on AI, emphasizing the need to integrate data with industry expertise.
Warren Jude Fernandez, Asia Pacific CEO of Edelman, discussed AI's impact on the media industry. He remarked that asking AI about its own effect on media yields a long list, including enhanced efficiency, creativity, insights, and personalization, but also negative aspects like data privacy breaches and industry disruption. He suggested the media industry should focus on harnessing technological development, as verifying the authenticity of AI-generated content still requires significant time and effort.
Furthermore, participants discussed the new dynamics of the global landscape. Li Bo, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, pointed out that global trade restrictions and protectionist measures have increased significantly since 2019, with a surge in trade barriers in 2020 potentially costing the global GDP up to 7% annually. He advocated for revitalizing the World Trade Organization through reform, particularly its dispute settlement mechanism, and promoting industrial policies and international standard negotiations, championing diversified multilateralism and strengthened cooperation to ensure fair distribution of trade benefits.
Ren Hongbin, Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, stated that geopolitical tensions, climate change, and human factors have significantly impacted the international trade system and global industrial chains, leading to downward revisions in forecasts for global trade volume and value. However, challenges coexist with opportunities. China's commitment to high-quality development has also created vast opportunities for the world. With a broad network of foreign trade partners, a growing private sector, increased exports of high-value-added products like electromechanical goods, a large middle-income population, and a robust manufacturing base capable of forming stable, complete supply chains, China has made important contributions to global economic and supply chain stability.
Regarding the question of navigating China's current economic growth pressures, Peng Sen, President of the China Society of Economic Reform, provided direction at the forum. He stated that in the coming period, China will focus on formulating market-oriented reform measures to drive new quality productive forces and high-quality development.
Peng Sen believes reform must first establish vibrant, competitive, and innovative market entities. While China has a certain proportion of state-owned economy, it is more crucial to enhance the competitiveness, creativity, and vitality of the private sector. Over the past decades, China's private economy has grown from nothing to strength, creating 35 million private enterprises and over 100 million individual businesses, constituting a massive market entity. A series of better policies are needed to enable these enterprises to contribute more effectively to society.
Dalian Hosts First Side Agenda, Exploring a Framework for Future Ocean Cities
It is worth noting that this forum marked the event's return to Dalian after five years. As the host city, Dalian's presence was strongly felt throughout the event.
The ocean defines Dalian's character. For this forum, Dalian hosted its first-ever side agenda themed "A Framework for Future Ocean Cities."
As an international shipping center in Northeast Asia, its unique geographical position makes Dalian a leading hub for opening up in Northeast China. Simultaneously, with its comprehensive industrial system and complete industrial chains, Dalian is accelerating the construction of a modern industrial system.
Dalian's achievements in promoting industrial innovation and urban development—such as growing its hydrogen energy industry, upgrading manufacturing, planning and managing the ocean economy, and implementing youth development policies—are increasingly gaining global recognition. "When thinking of Dalian's marine economy development, the vivid scene of container terminal operations immediately comes to mind," said Jiao Nianzhi, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, professor at Xiamen University, and Chief Scientist of the International Project Office of Ocean Negative Carbon Emissions, during the side agenda. He added that achieving sustainable ocean development and utilization requires policy support, involving both experts developing new theoretical technologies for industrial chains and policymakers providing corresponding safeguards.
Hydrogen energy represents an important direction for developing new quality productive forces; manufacturing forms its industrial foundation; the ocean offers its future space; and youth are its key actors. Participants at the agenda unanimously agreed that closely linking and mutually supporting these four elements, guided by the logic of cultivating and developing new quality productive forces in the marine sector, constitutes the "Framework for Future Ocean Cities." This framework also reflects the high-quality development outcomes showcasing Dalian's strengths and experience.
Zhang Jianping candidly remarked that Liaoning Province deserved commendation this time. Having attended many Summer Davos forums, he noted the palpable high level of attention and meticulous organization from Liaoning Province and Dalian City. This was especially evident at the forum venue, where concepts of low-carbon green development were ubiquitous. On the way to the cultural banquet outside the main venue, government departments had thoughtfully arranged exhibition booths and displays highlighting Liaoning's strategic emerging industries, with new business forms and models like robotics, aerospace equipment, and hydrogen energy storage leaving a deep impression. Furthermore, the cultural banquet showcased much of China's culture and art, indicating that Liaoning Province and Dalian City are fully leveraging the World Economic Forum platform to further shape China's soft power.