Xinhua News Agency, Davos, Switzerland, January 15 (International Observation) The world is looking forward to seeing the dawn in the crisis-the preview of the 2023 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting
Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Junxia Chen Binjie
The 2023 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting will be held in the Swiss town of Davos from January 16 to 20. As one of the most famous economic forums in the world, the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum will be held in Davos again in winter. This reflects to a certain extent that the world is looking forward to seeing the dawn in the crisis and expecting the global economy to come out of the gloom and return to normal. increase.
The world faces multiple risks
The theme of this year’s conference is “Strengthening Cooperation in a Divided World“. The world today is facing multiple crises: the new crown epidemic, geopolitical conflicts, and rising energy and food prices. Leaders around the world urgently need to find solutions.
The World Economic Forum recently released the “Global Risks Report 2023”, pointing out that conflicts and geoeconomic conflicts have triggered a series of deeply related global risks. In the next two years, energy and food shortages will continue to plague the world, and the cost of living and debt servicing will rise sharply. At the same time, these short-term risks will undermine the actions of the international community to address long-term challenges such as climate change and biodiversity conservation.
Standing at a crossroads, where is the world going? Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, has repeatedly emphasized the importance of “cooperation”. He said in a video speech a few days ago that the world today is indeed facing many crises, but what is more worrying is the short-term decision-making behavior caused by the crisis mentality, which may lead to destructive consequences for the world.
In an exclusive interview with a reporter from Xinhua News Agency, Borger Brende, president of the World Economic Forum, said that this year faces the risk of a global recession, and the risks come from war, trade protectionism, climate change, etc. This annual meeting is the most complicated in decades. Against the backdrop of geopolitical and economic conflicts.
Hand in hand to meet common challenges
Although the situation is grim, the world can still hope to gain the impetus to emerge from the crisis and flourish again. On the eve of this year’s annual meeting, many managers of the World Economic Forum expressed optimism and expectations.
Brende said that in addition to attracting dozens of heads of state and government, this year’s annual meeting also attracted many ministers of finance, central bank governors and trade ministers, which shows that countries around the world are eager to strengthen communication and jointly solve problems. current problems.
More than 1,500 leaders from 700 organizations have registered to attend this year, said Mirek Dusek, a member of the World Economic Forum’s management board. He said that infrastructure investment, including clean energy investment, will become one of the focuses of this annual meeting, which will add new momentum to global growth.
Liang Jinhui, director of the Center for Nature and Climate at the World Economic Forum, said that this annual meeting will also focus on the most pressing environmental issues facing the world, and will focus on discussing how to reshape and lay the foundation for a new agricultural industrial system.
It is reported that this forum will focus on five major topics: how to solve the current energy and food crisis, how to deal with the current high inflation and high debt, how to deal with the industrial recession, how to solve the current social vulnerability, and how to deal with the current geopolitical risks.
China’s contribution attracts attention
Many experts believe that in the face of a divided world, China has always played the role of a “stabilizer” and is an important driving force for global economic recovery.
“Countries should again try to find areas for cooperation rather than confrontation,” Brende said. “China has played an important role in bringing together key stakeholders and stressing the importance of continuing to trade with each other, which I think is important. “
Brende believes that China’s optimization and adjustment of epidemic prevention and control measures will help the global economic recovery. “I think China’s initiatives in terms of sustainable development are very important … China’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative is important to promote the development of other emerging economies,” he said.
Talking about addressing climate issues and the growth potential brought by new energy investment, Brende pointed out that China is the largest producer of solar and wind energy in the world today. Renewable energy is beneficial to the environment and climate, and will create more job opportunities.
Sadia Zahidi, executive director of the World Economic Forum, said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from Xinhua News Agency on the eve of the opening of the annual meeting that China’s optimization and adjustment of epidemic prevention and control measures will greatly promote global economic growth and boost confidence in global medium- and long-term development.
She believes that China’s measures to deal with climate change and protect the environment, as well as China’s technology and innovation will have a global impact, and China’s role in promoting global cooperation is crucial.
[Responsible editor: Xu Dan]