China to woo foreign investors as it hosts upcoming World Economic Forum gathering
As a shipping, logistics and regional financial centre, Dalian is seen as a gateway for the country’s northeast to the world.
As a shipping, logistics and regional financial centre, Dalian is seen as a gateway for the country’s northeast to the world.
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DALIAN, Liaoning: Chinese officials will be on a charm offensive to woo foreign investors, as the coastal city of Dalian gets ready to host the World Economic Forum’s second largest annual gathering.
Known as the Summer Davos, the three-day event beginning Tuesday (Jun 25) is expected to attract about 1,600 local and international participants from business, government, civil society and academia.
Among them are Poland President Andrezj Duda and Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang will give a special address at the gathering and meet with WEF executive chairman Klaus Schwab and foreign guests, China’s Foreign Ministry said.
The number two ranked Chinese leader will also have a conversation with representatives of the foreign business community.
As a shipping, logistics and regional financial centre, Dalian is seen as a gateway for the country’s northeast to the world and is home to one of China’s busiest international ports along the Pacific Ocean.
Into its 15th edition, the event returns to Dalian after a five-year hiatus partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has traditionally alternated between being held in Dalian and another port city in China’s north, Tianjin.
CHANGING TIMES
Summer Davos has been a feature of the Chinese calendar since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, at a time when the world’s economy was booming. China was seeing rapid economic growth and making its mark on the global stage.
However, in a vast difference compared to when the first edition was held, the theme this year is “Next Frontiers for Growth”, with WEF’s Chief Economists Outlook in May pointing to “cautious optimism” for the global economy, with bright spots emerging, including “consistently buoyant activity in the economies of Asia.”
The role of the meeting has evolved over the years, observers said.
When it started, Summer Davos marked China joining the mainstream world, said Mr Einar Tangen, senior fellow at Beijing-based think tank Taihe Institute.
“Many years later, it's kind of become more of a talk shop and networking. We're at a point now which is the exact opposite of 2007. Things are very pessimistic, you have geopolitical contests and because of that, things are gridlocked.”
Despite watered down expectations of tangible outcomes at the event, Mr Tangen said talking is better than not at all, with organisers expecting discussions to focus on the global economy and the potential of technology.
The forum is part of a broader calendar of international forums in China, including those in Beijing, Hainan and Shanghai.
Aside from business, such events are also a way for China to deepen political and commercial ties with partners and showcase Chinese culture, said Mr Tangen.
CHINA WOOS INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Chinese authorities will be keen to reach out to the international business community at the conference following a slump in foreign investment inflows, and as unemployment creeps up.
China’s foreign direct investment fell to a 23-year low last year.
Director of international cooperation at China’s National Development and Reform Commission Pan Jiang said that the country continues to build a “market-oriented, legalised, and internationalised first-class business environment”.
“It also has a super-large market and this market is in a stage of unleashing potential. This will provide broad space and very valuable opportunities for the development of foreign-funded enterprises in China,” he said.
As China works towards achieving its goal of around 5 per cent growth this year, similar pledges are expected to be amplified in Dalian in the coming days to drum up investor confidence amid headwinds in the country’s property sector and weak domestic demand.
