In Davos, All Eyes on China

Even after the world’s political and business leaders concluded their five-day gathering at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Swiss ski resort on January 31, China remained the focus of their attention.

Though the “China fever” has continued for years, the word “China” was once again the most eye-catching one at the annual WEF meeting.

This year marked the 40th anniversary of the WEF annual meeting, which drew more than 2,500 leading figures from political, business and academic circles around the world.

The five-day gathering was filled with more than 270 working sessions under the organizing theme of “Improve the State of the World: Rethink, Redesign, Rebuild.”

During the discussions, “China” was the word which participants mentioned most frequently among a series of topics, ranging from the world economic recovery after the financial crisis, the global fight against climate change, the international financial reform, to better global governance.

Compared with previous meetings, the focus of this meeting was no longer on the rise of China, but went further on what impact China’s every move would have on the world.

To this end, there were two sessions specifically designed for China this year, with the first one on how China-U.S. relations will reshape the global agenda and the other on the global dimensions of China’s economic transition.

Two years ago the voices from China were largely absent in Davos despite the “China fever,” but this year Chinese participants were more actively involved. They were increasingly confident to voice their views.

The most prominent figure among them was Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang, who delivered a special address on January 28.

Other big names included former vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Cheng Siwei, vice president of People’s Bank of China Zhu Min, and China Mobile CEO Wang Jianzhou.