WEF annual meeting to push for global collaboration

Amid escalating geopolitical tensions, accelerating climate change and rapid technological advances, the World Economic Forum will call on global leaders to prioritize collaboration when it convenes its 55th annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, this week.

Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang will be among 350 senior government officials attending the five-day forum, which opens on Monday. He is scheduled to deliver a special address on Tuesday. The forum will also see the participation of over 900 CEOs and chairs of major companies.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and several heads of state, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, are set to deliver speeches during the event. US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Monday, will attend the forum via video link on Thursday.

Klaus Schwab, founder and chairman of the WEF, said, "Despite divergent positions and great uncertainties, the annual meeting will foster a spirit of cooperation and constructive optimism with the objective of shaping the forthcoming intelligent age in a more sustainable and inclusive way."

Themed "Collaboration for the Intelligent Age", the meeting features a program of more than 300 sessions spanning five key topics: fostering new economic growth, navigating technological shifts, creating jobs and reskilling the workforce, combating climate change, and enhancing resilience for global cooperation.

The influence of technologies — particularly artificial intelligence — on business and society is a focal point of the discussions. The forum will release a new report series on AI, exploring its responsible adoption at scale across industries, alongside new research offering strategies for inclusive AI development.

AI "is reshaping industries, economies, and even the way we think about ourselves. This surge of technological development comes ... at the same time that the world is grappling with global challenges that demand our immediate, and collective, attention and action", Schwab added.

Economic recovery is another critical issue on the agenda. The forum's survey of leading chief economists ahead of the meeting found that around 56 percent of respondents expect weaker global economic conditions in 2025, while 48 percent remain optimistic about the increase in global trade volume despite concerns over escalating protectionist measures.

As China is the world's second-largest economy, its economic trajectory is central to discussions about future global growth. A panel discussion titled "Decoding China's Economy" will take place on Wednesday, featuring experts who will analyze current economic policies and the country's shift toward new quality productive forces for high-quality development.

China's annual Central Economic Work Conference, held in December in Beijing, stated that the country will take steps to make scientific and technological innovation drive the development of new quality productive forces.

"I'm bullish on China's economy in the medium and long term," Borge Brende, WEF president and former foreign minister of Norway, said on Saturday during an interview with Xinhua News Agency.

Brende noted the steps that China is taking to stimulate its economy and increase domestic consumption, as the country reported that its GDP expanded 5 percent in 2024, which is in line with its preset target and provides a solid base for stabilizing the economy this year.

He also pointed out that China's growing population of college graduates will greatly contribute to future development in the intelligent age.

Despite geopolitical tensions looming over global cooperation, the Global Cooperation Barometer 2025 report, developed by WEF in collaboration with McKinsey & Co, showed that international cooperation gained positive momentum in the areas of climate and nature.

"Even in a world where there is more competition, we will need to work together," Brende said. "I agree with the notion that we are in the same boat. Global problems have to find global solutions."