The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts a global growth rate of 3.3% for 2026. However, this figure masks an increasingly divergent global growth landscape: emerging markets are projected to grow at nearly three times the pace of advanced economies, with the Asia-Pacific region serving as the primary engine of growth. Within this, China and India are expected to contribute over 43% of future global growth.
Amidst a shifting geopolitical landscape, these diverging growth paths are shaping vastly different development outcomes. Trade barriers have risen to their highest level in a century, challenging existing systems while also creating space for novel partnerships between markets. Supply chains are being reconfigured, a process that intensifies tensions but also opens up new opportunities in manufacturing, resource development, and energy production.
Simultaneously, artificial intelligence (AI) holds the promise of unleashing transformative potential, delivering tangible economic benefits across industries and economies. Against a backdrop of climate pressures, demographic shifts, and fiscal constraints, navigating these transitions demands fresh policy thinking and strategic action.
The ability to scale innovation has become a decisive challenge. Currently, technological breakthroughs across economies have not been fully translated into broad economic benefits. Entrepreneurs are creating new solutions at an unprecedented rate, yet innovations that truly benefit industries, labor markets, and communities remain limited. In the coming decade, hundreds of millions of young people will enter the workforce in emerging markets. Bridging the gap between technological breakthroughs and economic benefits requires not only unique creativity but also the mechanisms, capital, and policy support necessary to turn innovation into jobs and shared prosperity.
To address these challenges, the World Economic Forum will continue its tradition by convening the 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian, China, from June 23 to 25, 2026. Since its inception in 2007, the Annual Meeting of the New Champions has served as the Forum's flagship platform for showcasing entrepreneurship, sparking frontier innovation, and connecting the next generation of high-growth companies. It is widely known as "Summer Davos."
Core Agenda Focus Areas
The meeting's agenda will be structured around five pivotal questions:
How can we pursue prosperity within an evolving trade and industrial landscape?
How can we gain insight into the next phase of China's economic development trajectory?
How can we harness technology to yield tangible economic benefits?
How can we ensure growth creates jobs and opportunities for the next generation?
How can the energy and climate transition become a source of competitiveness?
Hosted in Asia, the core engine of global growth, this year's meeting will bring together over 1,700 leaders from business, government, academia, and innovators, all committed to translating technological vision into economic progress, business development, and job creation. The conference agenda will revolve around these five key questions. To turn change into opportunity in these areas, innovation, entrepreneurship, and public-private sector collaboration are essential.
Live Coverage Details
More than 50 sessions of this year's meeting will be broadcast live via the World Economic Forum's official website, cn.weforum.org, and its official Weibo account. Viewers are invited to join the discussion using the hashtag #2026夏季达沃斯. The official meeting agenda schedule is provided below.
*Session details are subject to change; please refer to the official website for the latest information.