Davos economic forum set to convene
Amid growing geopolitical uncertainty, leaders of governments, businesses, civil society and academia will convene in Davos, Switzerland, for the five-day annual meeting of the World Economic Forum starting on Monday, to engage in forward-looking discussions to address global issues and find a stabilizer for the world economy.
The Davos forum comes at a time when the United States has threatened to impose additional 10 percent tariffs on eight European ally countries that have opposed its pronounced aim to annex Greenland, a self-governing territory of Denmark, by means that do not exclude the use of military force.
The US and the European Union share the largest bilateral trade and investment relationship. Together, they represent almost 30 percent of global trade in goods and services and over 40 percent of global GDP.
Experts said the proposed tariffs, if implemented, would exert tremendous pressure on European nations, slowing down the global economic recovery, and further drive protectionism and unilateralism.
According to US President Donald Trump, the latest round of tariffs will take effect on Feb 1 on goods imported from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
If no deal is reached on the "complete and total purchase" of Greenland, the tariff rate would rise to 25 percent on June 1, Trump said.
European nations, some of which already voiced their opposition to last year's trade deal with the US, calling it "unbalanced" and detrimental to their economies, have once again made their dissatisfaction known.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the tariff move as "completely wrong", while French President Emmanuel Macron called it "unacceptable".
On Sunday, the EU convened an emergency meeting for coordination of responses.
On Wednesday, Trump is scheduled to address the Davos forum. This year's forum is themed "A Spirit of Dialogue" to emphasize cooperation amid intensifying global fragmentation.
Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng will attend the forum together with around 65 state and government leaders and around 850 top business executives. He is scheduled to deliver a special speech on Tuesday.
According to the Foreign Ministry, during the forum, China will seek to advance its ideals of practicing true multilateralism, jointly building an open world economy, striving for global development that is more inclusive, resilient and beneficial for all, and injecting more stability and positive energy into the world economy.
China's role at this year's forum is a hot topic globally. Heather Stewart and Dan Sabbagh, editors of The Guardian newspaper, wrote in an article published on Sunday,"Though American power is significant, China and other developing countries continue to grow as a share of the global economy, meaning the long-term balance is slowly tipping away from the US."
Sheikh Tanjeb Islam, who heads the World Economic Forum's event editorial team, said in an interview with financial media outlet Yicai that China continues to attract growing attention from participants with regard to its economic performance, innovation ecosystem and structural transformation.
