Chen Liming, chair of the Greater China of World Economic Forum (Photo courtesy of the the World Economic Forum)
The 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the World Economic Forum's "Summer Davos," will be held in Tianjin from Tuesday to Thursday.
Decoupling and anti-globalization are unrealistic and not conducive to the long-term interests of all countries in the world, said Chen Liming, chair of the Greater China of World Economic Forum, in an interview with the People's Daily.
"The Summer Davos this year comes at a critical time," Chen said.
After three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy still faces multiple challenges such as geopolitical conflicts, sluggish growth, energy and food crises, climate change and energy transition, he said.
"Global challenges can only be tackled through dialogue, innovation and cooperation," Chen said.
In recent years, geopolitical tensions have brought many uncertainties and risks to the world economy. Some Western countries have turned their rhetoric of decoupling from China into de-risking.
"Decoupling is unrealistic and it is necessary to prevent decoupling from being replaced by another way of saying it," he said.
Chen said that trade wars, tariffs and sanctions are not good for the countries concerned.
On the contrary, they have caused huge losses to those countries and their enterprises.
"We are glad to see that China-US relations have recently shown signs of easing, with repeated signals of dialogue and cooperation," Chen said. "This is a positive move that makes platforms like the World Economic Forum more important than ever."
China is the world's second-largest economy and has a huge population and market, he noted. In many fields, China is already the largest market in the world and China is also a major trading partner of 140 countries around the world.
"China's economy has a pivotal position in the world and the consumption of goods and services will also have spillover effects on neighboring countries," Chen said.
The United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and other institutions predict that China will contribute one-third of global economic growth this year, he said.
"China continues to develop investment and trade with regions such as Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, creating equal development opportunities for developing countries," he said.
The theme of this year's annual meeting is "Entrepreneurship: The Driving Force of the Global Economy."
Entrepreneurs are the creators of social wealth and the main force of innovation, Chen said.
Six major topics will be covered at the forum: rewiring growth, China in the global context, energy transition and materials, post-pandemic consumers, safeguarding nature and climate, and deploying innovation.
More than 1,500 representatives are set to attend the event.
