New Champions Meeting Puts Dalian In The Spotlight

Nicknamed the Summer Davos, the event welcomes leaders and entrepreneurs from around the world this month

The Annual Meeting of the New Champions, held every two years in Dalian, has become a showcase to display the recent development of the coastal city in Northeast China's Liaoning province, according to local officials and experts.

The event, also known as the Summer Davos Forum, is organized by the World Economic Forum, a Geneva-based not-for-profit organization best known for its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

WEF began to hold the Annual Meeting of the New Champions in China in Dalian in 2007. Since then, the annual event has been held in Dalian and the northern coastal city of Tianjin alternately.

The event is a summit meeting for the world's top growth companies with the greatest development potential, experts and government officials.

Tan Zuojun, Party chief of Dalian, said the Summer Davos Forum has played a crucial role in displaying the city's image to the international community and promoting Dalian's local growth.

"We hope to use the event as a platform to further promote Dalian's innovation-driven and opening-up strategies," Tan said.

He added that Dalian wants to better integrate with the world, using global resources to facilitate the city's economic transformation and sustainable development.

Since 2007, the coastal city has successfully hosted five sessions of the meeting.

More than 1,500 delegates, including government officials and business leaders - including the young entrepreneurs who are regarded as the "new champions" of their respective industries - as well as scholars and experts have attended the forum's every session in Dalian.

According to Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, before the event's first session was held in Dalian in 2007, more than 70 percent of the foreign participants were not familiar with Dalian.

After the 2007 meeting, about 90 percent of attendees said they had a better understanding of the coastal city, Schwab said.

The Summer Davos Forum is regarded as an important platform for Dalian to understand global economic changes and growth trends.

During past years' sessions, the event highlighted topics of pressing concern, helping Dalian to incorporate the world's advanced experiences for the city's development.

High-level event

Liu Haiying, a council member of the Union of International Fairs, said the Summer Davos Forum was one of the highest-level events introduced to China when the first session was held in Dalian in 2007.

"Dalian is one of the most dynamic cities in Northeast China. It has left a deep impression on the event's participants with its good environment, delicious seafood and the locals' hospitality," Liu said.

Dalian has also used the opportunity to improve its urban environment and service quality.

Liu said the airport, local airline carriers and hotels have constantly improved their facilities and services in every detail according to international standards.

"Dalian has accumulated rich experience in hosting high-level international events in the past few years," Liu said.

Gao Jifan is the chairman and CEO of Trina Solar Co, one of the leading photovoltaic companies in China. He has taken part in the WEF events in Davos, Switzerland, and China's Dalian and Tianjin since 2010.

He said the Dalian city government is a competent organizer of international events such as the Summer Davos Forum.

"Participants in the forum have agreed that Dalian is a civilized, safe and beautiful city," Gao said.

The local government and businesses view the Summer Davos Forum as a bridge linking the city to the world, offering opportunities for cooperation between international and local companies.

During the Summer Davos Forum in 2015, more than 20 member companies of WEF, which were mostly from the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Japan and China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, signed investment agreements with local companies that involved total funding of $8.14 billion. The projects covered such fields as finance, advanced manufacturing, e-commerce, healthcare and other social undertakings.

To date, 113 companies on the Fortune Global 500 list have invested in 262 projects in Dalian.

zhaoshijun@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/28/2017 page6)