What has it conveyed to the world?, Haihe Guanjin | Tianjin This "Brainstorming" Economy | China | Guanjin

In midsummer, on the coast of the Bohai Sea. From June 27th to 29th, the 2023 Summer Davos Forum and Tianjin once again "traveled in both directions" after five years. More than 1500 political and business elites from more than 90 countries and regions around the world gathered in Tianjin, opening a super "brainstorming" around the hot topics in the current world economic field.

Tianjin Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center, an endless stream of participants. Photo by Cui Xinyao

From the small town of ice and snow under the Alps to the eastern coast of the Eurasian continent at mid latitudes, with a distance of over 8000 kilometers, after a 4-year gap, people of different skin colors once again gather in China's midsummer. As described by the US website "Business Insider": "In recent days, Tianjin, China has been bustling with activity. Inside the exhibition center, people have started shaking hands, transactions are being completed, and funds have begun to flow..."

What did Davos convey to the world in the summer of 2023?

"Ballast"

The President of the World Economic Forum, Brend, stated in a media interview before the opening of Davos that the world economy is facing multiple challenges and the international community urgently needs to strengthen global cooperation. The forum is being held at the right time.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Myung sung also stated at the "Facing Challenges: Restarting Growth in a Fragile Environment" sub forum held on the 27th that the impact of economic downturn, inflation, the aftermath of the pandemic shock, and geopolitical factors on food, energy, and other supply security have posed many challenges to the world.

How can the ever-changing world economy return to the track of healthy development? Through Tianjin Davos, we seem to be able to hear the voice of hope.

"In the past decade, China has been an important driving force for stable growth of the world economy, playing an important role as a 'ballast stone' and a driving force for promoting international free trade and stabilizing world economic growth. In the longer term, China will continue to provide strong momentum for world economic recovery and growth, and also provide mutually beneficial cooperation opportunities for investors from all countries." Premier Li Qiang said in his opening speech.

"Although global economic growth is facing many challenges, China's economic growth has shown a positive recovery trend since the beginning of this year, with a relatively stable economic trend in the past few months. The GDP growth in the first quarter was 4.5%," said Zhang Yuzhuo, Director of the State owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, in a speech at the sub forum.

dignitaries and guests from various countries visited the venue. Photo by Cui Xinyao

"Klaus Schwab, Honorary Citizen of Tianjin and Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, once again highlighted his identity as a" Chinese economic optimist "in his opening speech:" China has set over 5% of its economic development goals, bringing positive signals to the world economy. ""

"The Chinese market is huge and has a large population, making it a very strategic market for us. According to statistics, China's sports market will reach five trillion yuan in 2025." Zheng Huafeng, co-founder and CEO of ONE Champions, said in an interview that China's high-quality development will further expand market size, create cooperation opportunities, and provide a driving force for global economic recovery and growth. The whole world will benefit from China's development.

"The more you come to China, the more you can feel its bright prospects," said Polish business representative Paulina Mazurek of this trip to China.

"We have great confidence in the Chinese market and continue to pay attention to talent cultivation, technology integration, and some cutting-edge development issues." Yan Caiming, General Manager of PPG Industry in the Asia Pacific region, introduced that recently, the PPG Global Coatings Innovation Center - TEDA project has successfully passed joint acceptance and is about to be officially put into use.

"Just as delicious as New Zealand!" During the break in the forum, New Zealand Prime Minister Hopkins took some time to stroll around a supermarket in Tianjin and tasted the kiwi fruit imported from New Zealand, showing a pleased smile. He said, "China accounts for about a quarter of our exports. Before the epidemic, it was our second largest source of tourists and an important source of overseas students. China is crucial to our economic recovery."

According to the International Monetary Fund, China's contribution to global growth is expected to reach about one-third in 2023.

"Entrepreneurial spirit"

Every Davos edition has a theme, and why the guests come and what they talk about has always been a topic of great concern. Over the years, Tianjin, as the host city, has organized universities and research institutions multiple times to actively participate in the agenda setting of the Summer Davos Forum.

The theme of the Davos Forum, "Entrepreneurial Spirit: The Driving Force of the World Economy," was announced and sparked heated discussions. "Enterprises and entrepreneurs are creators of social wealth and also the main body of innovation." According to Chen Liming, Chairman of the Greater China Region of the World Economic Forum, the core goal of the forum is to reignite innovation vitality and entrepreneurial spirit in Asia and around the world, explore ways of economic recovery, and promote the world economy to steadily move towards a more equal, sustainable, and resilient future.

"The global operation of enterprises is becoming the main way to connect the world, and their globalization process will inject new impetus into the global economic recovery." TCL founder and chairman Li Dongsheng said at the sub forum that entrepreneurial spirit is the key to breaking through the situation of anti globalization, reshaping the global economy, and achieving win-win cooperation. Especially in the face of the global epidemic, no enterprise can stand alone, only global cooperation can overcome difficulties.

"Chinese entrepreneurs and technicians have tremendous momentum to create a better Chinese economy," said Lu Minfang, President of Mengniu Group. Global economic transformation requires upholding the spirit of openness and cooperation, and unleashing the entrepreneurial spirit.

Participants took photos outside the venue. Photo by Cui Xinyao

"The forum chose the theme of entrepreneurial spirit, hoping to further help participants understand the economic prospects of China and the entire Asia through the forum platform, stimulate innovation vitality and entrepreneurial spirit in Asia and around the world, and promote sustained and healthy economic development." said Huang Yong, Director of the International Cooperation Center of the National Development and Reform Commission.

"Two unwavering, three unchanged, and always treating private enterprises and private entrepreneurs as their own people." In China, more and more private enterprises have taken the "reassurance pill" and, under a series of supportive policies, have played a crucial role in promoting economic recovery and high-quality economic and social development.

Dong Xuefeng, General Manager of Dingtaifeng Private Economic Development Co., Ltd., has a good understanding: According to the "2022 Beijing Tianjin Hebei Private Enterprise Development Environment Research Report", nearly half of the private enterprises in the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region have confidence in this year's economic recovery, and believe that "the business environment is gradually improving", "the enterprise mutual assistance platform is improving", and "the industry prospects are broad" are the main support for this confidence.

"Innovation"

As an important part of the Davos Forum, the "Top 10 Emerging Technologies Report 2023" was recently released. These ten emerging technologies include flexible batteries, generative artificial intelligence, sustainable aviation fuels, engineering bacteriophages, metaverse for improving mental health, wearable plant sensors, spatiomics, flexible neuroelectronics, sustainable computing, and artificial intelligence assisted healthcare.

"The top ten emerging technologies will disrupt industries, promote economic growth, improve lives, and protect the planet. Of course, the prerequisite is that these technologies can be responsibly designed, expanded, and applied," said Jiang Ruijie, Executive Director of the World Economic Forum. "We hope this year's report can become a powerful tool for business leaders and policymakers to unlock the potential for emerging technology change and shape inclusive adoption."

Attending entrepreneurs take a group photo in the venue as a souvenir. Photo by Cui Xinyao

Davos is a fertile ground for intellectual collision and a stage for new technologies to amaze the world. On the second floor of Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center, in front of the Tianjin Port Smart Zero Carbon Wharf Technology Exhibition Booth, many foreign friends rushed to sit on the simulation console to experience the charm of smart loading and unloading operations. From construction to operation, Tianjin Port's "Smart Zero Carbon" terminal has overcome 13 global challenges. With new processes and technical solutions, it has achieved iterative upgrades of automation terminal solutions in Europe and America, using the "Tianjin Port Model" and "China Solution".

"On the forum, I learned about some exciting new medical technologies, and it can be seen that innovative technologies are of great help to future human health. Across industries and countries, enterprises from all walks of life will collide and connect their ideas and wisdom at the summer Davos forum, which will definitely generate many new cooperation opportunities." Hong Xiaoming, founder and chairman of Tianjin Haihe Biomedical Technology Group, said that through this forum, I have found a potential partner in South America and have also scheduled two meetings. I am very much looking forward to the follow-up results.

"China is one of the countries leading the application of technology, making healthcare services possible, which has a great impact on many people, and these innovations may also spread to various parts of the world," said Andreas Lawson, CEO of Argentina's Osana company.

It is understood that "innovation" is one of the six main themes of this forum. During the summer Davos forum, out of 170 activities, dozens of them were related to new technologies and innovation.

On June 29th, the 14th Summer Davos Forum came to an end. Many attendees expressed their emotions during the "journey of confidence," "journey of cooperation," and "journey of mutual benefit.". In the face of an increasingly uncertain future, we are still certain that with the stability of "ballast stones", the agitation of "entrepreneurial spirit", and the inexhaustible power provided by "innovation", the world economy can move towards a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable tomorrow.

Meeting on the coast of Bohai Sea, looking forward to our next gathering.