Every January, the World Economic Forum turns Davos, Switzerland, into a snow-covered stage for world powers. Its summer meeting in China serves a different purpose: to signal the direction in which the forum believes innovation, capital and influence will go next. Officially known as the Annual Meeting of New Champions – more commonly called the “Summer of Davos” – this year it takes place from June 23 to 25 in Dalian, China. Under the theme “Innovation at Scale,” the World Economic Forum’s second-largest annual gathering is expected to attract more than 1,700 policymakers, corporate executives, entrepreneurs and academics. They will meet for high-level discussions on international trade, artificial intelligence, energy systems, technological innovation and the development of the Chinese market.
“The core of this meeting is about innovation. Mirek Dušek, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum, said: Radio Davos Podcast last year. “And since we are in Asia, in China, this meeting has always been very useful in terms of deciphering the rapidly evolving landscape on the innovation front in Asia and China.”
In Switzerland, China and the broader Asian market can sometimes seem like part of the background. In Dalian, they are central to the agenda. While January Davos features heavy snow and a busy calendar, summer Davos swaps the Alps for the coast of China and focuses more on entrepreneurs, industrial growth and emerging technologies.
Although this gathering is smaller and less well-known than the Davos forum held in January, attendees often describe it as unusually intimate. “You will accidentally end up in the same room with Prime Minister Li Qiang and Tony Blair,Written by Sarah Tong, co-founder of Big Bang Academy LinkedIn After attending last year’s meeting as part of the Hong Kong delegation. Entrepreneurship panels “work differently when you realize that you are actually part of the global innovation conversation,” she wrote.
World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab has long flirted with China
The Davos Summer Conference arose out of World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab’s long courtship of China. The Davos Forum in January hosted its first Chinese delegation in 1979, during its ninth edition, as China began to open up its economy after decades of a closed, state-planned system. Seeing an opportunity, Schwab quickly traveled to Beijing with a European business delegation that included 20 executives, beginning what the World Economic Forum described as a long-term relationship. By the 1990s and early 2000s, China had become a major destination for Western companies, peaking in… Entry 2001 To the World Trade Organization.
Schwab proposed bringing the Davos model to China in 2005. After touring several cities, the forum chose Dalian, a port city known for trade and maritime commerce, and Tianjin, an industrial center near Beijing, as rotating hosts. The first Davos Summer Course opened in Dalian in 2007.
“Countries like China and India have emerged as new global players and partners,” Schwab said in his opening remarks that year. “Above all, companies are suddenly driving the global economy as the new champions.”
Nearly two decades later, the same global transformation is unfolding under even more tense circumstances. This year’s meeting opens at a time when Washington and Beijing remain at loggerheads over tariffs, supply chains and artificial intelligence chips and software, while the U.S. Expands scrutiny From Chinese companies that say they are linked to the Chinese military.
Against this background, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng was employed Davos stage in January To call for more global dialogue and cooperation. “We are committed to building bridges, not walls,” he said.
Who will attend Summer Davos this year?
This year in Dalian, the gathering remains large, although public figures indicate it has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. He directed the 2018 meeting in Tianjin More than 2000 participants; Last year’s gathering attracted more than 1,700 people, and this year’s conference is expected to attract a similar number from more than 90 countries.
Political participation appears lower than last year. In 2025, the World Economic Forum said more than 160 senior political leaders are expected to attend, compared to more than 90 this year. Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who open Meeting last year, he will deliver a special speech this year. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the prime ministers of Bangladesh, Guinea, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Mongolia and Montenegro will attend the conference.
this year Co-chairs Offering a window into the leaders shaping the discussion. They include Robin Zeng, founder of Chinese electric car battery giant CATL; Esther Byget, CEO of Danish biotechnology company Novonesis; Giovanni Caforio, president of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis; Margery Krause, founder and CEO of Washington, D.C.-based APCO; and Jonas Preysing, CEO of Milwaukee-based ManpowerGroup.
At least 130 founders have registered in Dalian, according to Verena Kuhn, head of innovation communities at the World Economic Forum. Many people build “material things.” “Including new materials, artificial intelligence, energy infrastructure and robotics,” she wrote. LinkedIn. Kuhn also pointed to a wave of companies focusing on infrastructure for AI agents, which is “a clear signal that the agent economy is going mainstream.”
This year’s agenda is organized around five key questions for executives and policymakers: how trade is transforming, where the Chinese economy is headed, whether artificial intelligence and other technologies can deliver real productivity gains, how growth translates into jobs for the next generation, and how energy becomes a competitive advantage.
“At a time of economic uncertainty, geopolitical tension and rapid technological change, this meeting is an opportunity to focus on practical solutions,” Alois Zwinge, President and CEO of the World Economic Forum, said in a speech. statement.
