The World Economic Forum's 16th Annual Meeting of the New Champions (AMNC), also called Summer Davos, was held in Tianjin from June 24 to 26. Amid rising unilateralism, the hosting of Summer Davos in Tianjin sends a renewed message of China's resolve in sustaining steady growth and its strong commitment to further opening-up and deepening cooperation with the world, a Chinese expert said. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said it is an important platform for promoting exchanges between China and the world and enhancing practical cooperation.
Premier Li Qiang attended the opening session, delivered a special address, and met with foreign guests. President of Ecuador Daniel Noboa, Prime Minister of Singapore Lawrence Wong, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Adylbek Kasymaliev, Prime Minister of Senegal Ousmane Sonko, Prime Minister of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh and 40 government ministers also attended the AMNC, together with over 1,700 representatives from the political, business, academic and media communities from over 90 countries and regions. The number of registered participants for this year's annual meeting reached a new high.
Premier Li Qiang pledged in his keynote speech that China will become a “consumption powerhouse” capable of fueling domestic and global growth, reiterating the commitment to boosting demand and defending globalization. “This will make China a mega-sized consumption powerhouse, on top of being a manufacturing powerhouse,” Li said at Summer Davos. “We are on track to become a high-income country supported by robust consumption upgrades,” he added. Beijing’s pivot towards stimulating household spending has gained urgency amid a volatile trade war with the United States and rising global uncertainty. “The continuous expansion and upgrade of the Chinese market will create room for the global economy and trade to regain momentum,” Premier Li said. “China is the world’s second-largest consumer market and importer, with nearly CNY50 trillion of consumption and over CNY20 trillion of imports.” However, the Chinese Premier warned that an increasingly unstable global environment also posed risks. “More restrictive policies on foreign investment, compounded by trade tensions, have made multinationals more prudent. Global cross-border investment has seen negative growth for three consecutive years,” Li said.
This year's meeting aimed to accelerate progress on key shared challenges through action-oriented dialogue. Participants explored how entrepreneurship and emerging technologies can unlock and build more dynamic and resilient economies. The meeting offered valuable insights with a focus on emerging markets and their role in driving global economic growth. Under the theme "Entrepreneurship for a New Era," the Summer Davos's agenda focussed on five key pillars: Deciphering the World Economy, Outlook on China, Industries Disrupted, Investing in People and Planet, and New Energy and Materials. Li Changan, Professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies at the University of International Business and Economics, said that the wide participation of international guests and multinationals at this year's event underscores China's strong magnetism. “China is a key engine of global economic growth, contributing over 30% to global expansion. The country's super-large market and high-quality development will create new opportunities for the rest of the world,” he said. Wang Yiwei, Director of the Center for European Union Studies at Renmin University of China, added that “global industrial and supply chain cooperation is also an important topic. For multinationals across the world, China is not only a market which offers profits but also an important hub for global industrial and supply chains”. Wang said that Summer Davos, along with the upcoming third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) to be held in Beijing in mid-July, will fully showcase China's contributions to the stability and safety of global industrial and supply chains.
Entrepreneurs and experts said at the meeting that Chinese companies should relocate their entire manufacturing ecosystems – rather than just completing the assembly of goods in another country – to solidify their overseas expansion. Chinese companies will look to strengthen the resilience of their supply chains by building factories in new markets, either for export or local sales, said Ben Simpfendorfer, Partner and Chief Asia-Pacific Macro Strategist at consulting firm Oliver Wyman. “We’re moving to a world where tariffs are generally higher. Trade tensions will worsen – not just between China and the U.S., but potentially between other countries as well,” said Simpfendorfer. “In order to avoid tariffs entirely we actually might see a larger part of the Chinese ecosystem move abroad.” But Washington does not want these countries to become reliable bypass routes for Chinese products. Under Trump’s initial “Liberation Day” tariff package, unveiled on April 2, some countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) would have been subject to higher duties than China.
This overview is based on reports by the China Daily, the Global Times and the South China Morning Post.
