Guests shake hands at the Dalian International Conference Center, the main venue of the 2024 Summer Davos Forum in Dalian, east China's Liaoning province, on June 26, 2024. (PHOTO: XINHUA)

Edited by TANG Zhexiao

Responding to the fast-evolving global landscape, the World Economic Forum (WEF) recently convened the 15th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as Summer Davos, in China's northeastern city of Dalian.

Running from June 25 to 27 and themed "Next Frontiers for Growth," the event, gathered more than 1,700 representatives from business, government, civil society and international organizations, as well as prominent entrepreneurs, innovators and academics to collaborate and encourage a variety of options to maintain and drive global growth.

Innovation-driven response to global challenges

All indications are that the global economy is approaching a soft landing. Data from the World Bank shows that global economic growth is projected to slow down for the third consecutive year, declining from 2.6 percent in 2023 to 2.4 percent in 2024. Additionally, the period from 2020 to 2024 is to become the slowest five-year span for global economic growth in the past 30 years.

"Growth is in recovery, headline inflation is easing and the rapid pace of technological innovation in technologies such as AI is pushing industries forward," according to the WEF.

Executive chairman of the WEF Klaus Schwab highlighted the necessity of global cooperation and innovation during the opening plenary.

"To drive future economic growth, we must embrace innovation and foster collaboration across sectors, regions, nations and cultures to create a more peaceful, inclusive, sustainable and resilient future," he said.

Vitality and resilience of Chinese economy

The 2024 Summer Davos once again brings the vitality and resilience of the Chinese economy into the spotlight, providing opportunities for cooperation.

Since the event first convened in Dalian in 2007, China's GDP has increased from nearly 3.5 trillion USD to 18 trillion USD in 2023, accounting for about 17 percent of the global economy.

As the largest emerging economy, China plays a vital role in promoting international cooperation and multilateralism in an increasingly contentious geopolitical environment, said Elizabeth Ingleson, assistant professor of international history at the London School of Economics.

There is a lot of capital sitting on the sidelines looking to invest in China, Kungsheng Fan, head of China at Lazard Asset Management, told Financial Times during a panel discussion at the event.

Bill Deng, founder and CEO of XTransfer, the world's leading B2B cross-border trade payment platform, said he was excited and looks forward to supporting more collaborations with China and worldwide innovative enterprises. "We hope to reach more collaboration to accelerate our global development," said Deng.

"This event brings people together from all over the world and I think right now we need to ensure there is more global cooperation and friendship. So I'm here to establish more global connections, more relationships with Chinese partners, and also with global partners," said Alex Zhavoronkov, founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine, a biotechnology company, adding that "[the] WEF is of course a platform for international collaboration."