Touching the Pulse of China's Economy - What Sources Summer Davos Brings to the World | Economy

Authors: Li Kun and Liu Weizhen, reporters from Xinhua Daily Telegraph

In mid summer June, the scorching sun shines like fire, and the banks of Bohai Bay in China are like clouds of victorious friends. The 14th Summer Davos Forum will be held in Tianjin from the 27th to the 29th, with over 1500 political and business elites and scholars from nearly 100 countries and regions around the world confirming their participation.

"After three consecutive years of postponement due to the epidemic, this forum continues to be held in Tianjin, which makes us feel honored and responsible." Yu Pengzhou, Deputy Secretary General of the Tianjin Preparatory and Coordination Committee for the Summer Davos Forum and Deputy Secretary General of the Tianjin Municipal Government, said.

The preparations for the 14th Summer Davos Forum are ready. All the pictures were taken by Li Ran, a journalist from Xinhua News Agency

This year marks the 17th year that the Summer Davos Forum has resumed in China after four years and returned to Tianjin after five years. Touching the pulse of China's economy and inspiring global development, the Summer Davos Forum has profound significance for the world.

China's confidence

The predecessor of the World Economic Forum was the European Management Forum founded by its chairman Klaus Schwab in 1971. After changing its name to its current one in 1987, this forum gradually gained wider attention and was hailed as the "unofficial international summit". Its location in the Swiss town of Davos is also famous worldwide for this grand event.

In fact, the relationship between China and the Davos Forum has a long history. As early as 1979, China received its first invitation from Davos. With the improvement of China's international status, the topic of China in the World Economic Forum is increasing day by day. In 2007, the first Summer Davos Forum was held in Dalian, located on the coast of the Bohai Sea in China, gradually forming a "dual city characteristic" of Dalian and Tianjin taking turns to hold the forum.

Regarding why this grand event came to China, Schwab, the recipient of the China Reform Friendship Medal, publicly stated that after years of development, the World Economic Forum has turned its attention to emerging economic powers and growth companies, and China has become one of the new leaders.

The report released by the World Bank shows that from 2013 to 2021, China's average contribution rate to world economic growth was as high as 38.6%, exceeding the total contribution rate of G7 countries, and is the first driving force behind world economic growth. Recently, international organizations and institutions such as the International Monetary Fund have also raised their expectations for China's economic growth this year, demonstrating confidence in China's economic development prospects.

Journalists have interviewed Schwab for several consecutive years before the opening of the Summer Davos Forum. Although the focus of each interview was different, his confidence in China's development has always been the core point of every dialogue.

On September 17, 2018, Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, was interviewed by Xinhua News Agency in Tianjin.

"I have always been an optimist in the Chinese economy. Over the past thirty years, China has successfully maintained high-speed economic growth and is still one of the important engines driving the world economy," Schwab said at the 8th Summer Davos Forum in 2014.

"In the fourth industrial revolution that put the world in an intelligent state, China has already been at the forefront of emerging technologies such as drones, solar energy, and supercomputers... Looking ahead, I believe China will become the leader of the fourth industrial revolution." Schwab said at the 10th Summer Davos Forum in 2016.

"Many predictions that China's economic growth is about to stop have been proven wrong, and I have always maintained an optimistic attitude towards China's economic growth." In 2018, Schwab said at the 12th Summer Davos Forum that in the fourth industrial revolution, innovation has become the most critical factor in competition, and China's innovation power is leading. China has embarked on a good development track to build an innovative society.

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China's development has never disappointed international friends such as Schwab. In the first quarter of this year, the Chinese economy grew by 4.5% year-on-year, higher than the general expectation of 4% by overseas institutions, and the growth rate increased by 1.6 percentage points compared to the fourth quarter of last year. International Monetary Fund President Georgieva said that the Chinese economy will contribute about one-third of global economic growth in 2023. She pointed out that the strong recovery of the Chinese economy is not only very important for China, but also of great significance to the world.

Opportunities in China

Not long ago, under the organization of Tianjin Electric Power Trading Center, in the summer of 2023, the venue of the Davos Forum, Fangmeijiang Convention and Exhibition Center, completed a green electricity transaction with a new energy generation enterprise, achieving a trading power of 1 million kilowatt hours, which is equivalent to saving 320 tons of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 800 tons.

This is the first time Tianjin has carried out green electricity trading for large-scale events, and it also marks the first time that the Summer Davos Forum venue has achieved 100% green electricity supply during the event period. Based on the blockchain technology of the green electricity trading platform, the green electricity used in this forum comes from wind power generation in the Xilingol area of Inner Mongolia, more than 600 kilometers away.

Leslie Masdorp, Vice President of the New Development Bank of the BRICS countries, stated that China is one of the largest investors in high growth areas such as solar energy, wind energy, and battery energy storage. With increasing investment in the field of green energy, China will make a very positive contribution to global economic growth.

Since the establishment of a wholly-owned enterprise in China with an investment of 10 million US dollars in 1996, the world-renowned manufacturer Frand Group, founded in 1899, has repeatedly increased its capital in Tianjin, and China has become an important business growth point for the company.

"Around 2000, many Chinese enterprises were still in their early stages, with high-end product market customers accounting for only about 10% of the entire market. However, today, the proportion of industrial enterprise customers using high-end raw materials, components and other products in China has reached at least 50%. This means that the technological level of China's entire industry is on the rise, and product demand is' shifting upwards', showing a positive development trend." said Gou Jianhui, Chairman and CEO of Frand Transmission Systems Co., Ltd.

In the first quarter of 2023, China's actual use of foreign investment reached 408.45 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.9%. Many foreign companies have a firsthand understanding of the enormous development opportunities brought by China's economic development.

"China is the right investment direction," said Hans Paul Bockner, Global Honorary Chairman of Boston Consulting, who has participated in the Summer Davos Forum multiple times. "China has a strong determination to reform and a strong drive for openness, which is an important asset for being the world's second largest responsible economy.".

At the same time, the Summer Davos Forum also provides opportunities for Chinese companies to go global.

Zhang Kunyu, General Manager of Tianjin Zhuolang Information Technology Co., Ltd., said that seeking global cooperation is the only way for today's enterprise development, and it is difficult for any enterprise or country to independently cover the entire industry chain in the new economic era. As an integrator of enterprise intelligent manufacturing and digital transformation system solutions, Zhuolang Technology has also participated in the Summer Davos Forum multiple times.

Zhang Kunyu said that this economic event can not only help entrepreneurs broaden their horizons, but also help companies resonate with the world trend in terms of business direction, products, and technology positioning, and communicate and cooperate with more domestic and foreign partners for common development. "Chinese enterprises not only need to tackle technological challenges and strive for excellence, but also contribute high-quality product technology to the world."

Intelligent horizontal transportation robots operate at Tianjin Port's fully IoT container terminal.

The grand event is approaching, and many guests are full of anticipation. During this forum, Tianjin Port Group will showcase the latest technological and green development achievements, such as the world's first "smart zero carbon" dock built and put into operation at Tianjin Port. "Let the world have a better understanding of Chinese ports and Chinese enterprises, and further strengthen cooperation and common development with enterprises from other countries," said Chu Bin, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Tianjin Port Group.

Chinese wisdom

The theme of this summer Davos Forum has been determined as "Entrepreneurial Spirit: The Driving Force of the World Economy". Chen Liming, President of the Greater China Region of the World Economic Forum, stated that the purpose of setting this theme is to reignite the entrepreneurial spirit and the vitality of enterprises as innovative entities in the era of change, and explore the path to economic recovery.

"In order to advance this goal, we have designed six thematic pillars: restarting growth, China in a global context, energy transformation and material supply, protecting nature and climate, consumption trends in the post pandemic era, and deploying innovation. Around these six thematic pillars, this forum has about 170 sessions," said Chen Liming.

Chen Liming stated that when designing each session of the Summer Davos Forum, they conducted extensive discussions both inside and outside the forum, taking into account the opinions of the Chinese national level and Tianjin, and conducted in-depth communication and careful consideration.

It is reported that this year, Tianjin City continues to participate deeply in the agenda setting of the annual meeting, and seven suggestions for agenda setting, with innovation ecology and innovation atmosphere promoting economic and social development as the main theme, have been adopted by the forum and reflected in the parallel forums of the annual meeting.

The core of the forum is the topic. In fact, contributing wisdom to world development, China not only provides examples in practical fields, but also directly participates in the agenda setting of the Summer Davos Forum for many consecutive years. It is understood that since 2010, multiple universities and research institutions in Tianjin have formed an issue group, successfully incorporating many topics of concern to the Chinese people and involving urban and national interests into the agenda through active submission of issues, and directly sharing China's intellectual achievements with the world.

In addition, traditional Chinese cultures such as Confucianism and Tai Chi have also made multiple appearances at the Summer Davos Forum, and ordinary Chinese citizens and representatives of outstanding small and medium-sized enterprises have the opportunity to compete with international elites on the same stage.

From winter to summer, from the tranquil foothills of the Alps to the scorching shores of the Bohai Sea, the Davos Forum held in Switzerland focuses on discussing global issues. In summer, Davos often uses keywords such as "balance," "growth," "innovation," and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. "The topics are more forward-looking and exploratory, in line with the positioning of its annual meeting of new leaders.

A scene of the forum venue filmed on June 25th at the Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin.

Looking at the agenda of this summer Davos Forum, the reporter saw that it includes not only emerging global technology topics such as flexible batteries and metaverse metropolises, but also current economic hotspots in China such as carbon markets and smooth payments. The organizers hope to explore future work patterns, lifestyles, economic growth patterns, and ways to address challenges through the "focal collision" between China and the world.

It is reported that in addition to preparing for the forum itself, Tianjin will also launch special activities such as cultural nights, art and technology exhibitions, cultural and industrial tours during the forum this year. The voice, ideas, measures, and plans of China at the Summer Davos Forum have attracted global attention, and Tianjin is also looking forward to contributing another wonderful "intellectual feast" to the world.