Davos meeting an essential opportunity for rebuilding trust

In 2024, the world seeks stability amid uncertainty. According to United Nations predictions, global economic growth will slow to 2.4 percent this year, which would be the lowest global economic growth rate since 2020.

The world has emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, but concerns remain about what and when the next one will be. Meanwhile, climate change is posing an increasingly prominent threat to lives and property in the form of record temperatures and extreme weather events, and new technologies call for an urgent improvement of the technology governance system. The ongoing situation in the Middle East and the protracted Ukraine crisis, among other humanitarian crises, show a fragmenting world.

How we respond to these challenges will largely determine the fate of humanity. Fostering mutual trust has never been more important.

How China acts now can help secure stability and progress in the years to come. With China’s economic growth in the third quarter being faster than expected, the International Monetary Fund has raised its forecast for China’s economic growth in 2024.

China-US relations show signs of warmth, and China is expected to continue to be the recovery driver for emerging economies. The government has introduced policies to promote the development of the private economy and encourage foreign investment, but the key lies in how to implement them to benefit the national economy and people’s livelihood.

For over 50 years, the World Economic Forum has gathered stakeholders to provide platforms for fair and equal dialogue. Convening under the theme of “Rebuilding trust”, the 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, which will be held from Jan 15 to 19 in Davos, Switzerland, is organized around four main areas: achieving security and cooperation in a fractured world, creating growth and jobs for a new era, using artificial intelligence as a driving force for the economy and society, and providing a long-term strategy for climate, nature and energy.

China is a crucial participant in global affairs, and the World Economic Forum hopes to deepen its cooperation with China to facilitate the building of trust in three key areas.

First, East-West dialogue is crucial. China, as the world’s secondlargest economy, plays an essential role in various fields including global politics, economics and scientific and technological innovation. As the global governance system is undergoing profound changes, China is transitioning from a follower to one of its defining forces.

The WEF is committed to serving as a bridge between East and West, deepening mutual understanding, accelerating cooperation, enhancing dialogue and avoiding misjudgments, barriers and collisions.

Second, there is a need for increased public-private cooperation. Trust is the basis for interactions between countries, people, institutions and enterprises. With the aim of achieving mutual benefit and promoting a shared future for China and the world, the WEF is working with governments, business, academia and civil society to promote cooperation between the public and private sectors, gathering support from all sides on WEF initiatives launched in China.

Finally, China can contribute its insights to solving shared problems. Humanity is facing a series of common challenges that no single country or international organization can address or tackle alone. China plays a leading role in many fields, including renewable energy. Its hydropower capacity, wind power and solar power generation rank first in the world. China has also made the country’s low-carbon energy transition a principal part of its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25).

The Chinese delegation attending this year’s annual meeting has returned to its pre-pandemic size. Its members will have the chance to participate in sessions on a range of critical global issues, making China’s voice heard on the international platform and sending the signal of openness and cooperation.

The WEF acts as a window for China to understand the world and the world to understand China, exploring new areas of cooperation. When the first Chinese delegation arrived in Davos to attend the annual meeting in 1979, the country accounted only for 2 percent of the global GDP. Now that figure is approaching 20 percent.

Chinese stakeholders are increasingly active in utilizing the WEF platform to exchange ideas and viewpoints with global business leaders, academia and civil society.

Trust fosters collaboration, and dialogue leads to win-win results. We look forward to discussions with leaders from various sectors at the World Economic Forum annual meeting. The rebuilding of trust is imperative to improve the state of the world.