The 14th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, also called the Summer Davos, started in the critical port city of Tianjin, China.
China hosts annual gatherings known as the Summer Davos. The meetings organized by the World Economic Forum started in the city of Tianjin.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang made the opening speech of the Forum, which was attended by approximately 1,500 people from the business world, governments, international organizations and academics.
Prime Minister Li, who took office in March, gave messages to the Western world, especially at the forum, where he addressed with the dust of his feet after his visits to Berlin and Paris.
Noting that China serves as an important anchor for free trade and stable growth in the world, Li did not neglect to list his country’s contributions to the global economy. Stating that they are unwaveringly committed to opening up and reform, the Prime Minister emphasized that their doors are always open to Western companies.
Stating that isolation and anti-globalization should be rejected within this framework, the Chinese Prime Minister also opposed the concept of “De-Risking” recently.
The concept, which refers to reducing or ending dependence on China in supply chains, has recently been a priority for companies based in Germany, Japan, Korea and the USA. Companies in large industries such as chip, automotive and electronics are shifting or planning to shift their production especially towards South Asia.
In this process, the trade wars that started during the Trump era, China’s Kovid closures, the Washington-Beijing tension and finally the Taiwan fears triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine play the leading role.
Sessions of interest
The main theme this year is ‘Entrepreneurship’ as the driving force of the global economy. The issues addressed by the guests within this framework are focused on the issues that the world is paying attention to at the moment.Climate change and energy transformation stand out as the most frequently discussed topics in the sessions. Issues such as restoring growth and China’s place in the global economy are also in the focus of attention of the participants. In addition, topics about whether artificial intelligence is friend or foe and what it means for the world economy are also included in the meetings.
Mid lane session header
Another special issue on the agenda is the Middle Corridor, which Turkey attaches great importance to.One of the speakers of the session held under this title is Sabancı Holding Industry Group President Ahmet Cevdet Alemdar. The other guest of the session is Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.
Szijjarto’s participation in meetings where many high-level European officials do not attend also makes a special sense. Because it is one of the countries where Chinese battery and electric vehicle companies such as CATL, EVE and BYD show the most intense interest, especially during the energy transformation and transition to electric vehicles. The amount of fixed capital investments that Chinese companies have announced or started in the last few years alone has exceeded 10 billion. Among these investments, battery giant CATL is at the forefront with an investment of 7.6 billion dollars. The final capacity target of the Chinese company, which has started the construction of one of its largest factories, is 100 gwh.
Battery and solar giants at the meeting
On the other hand, in the sectoral context, the most curious companies of Summer Davos are CATL and Longi, the world’s largest battery and solar industries.Longi, which shipped 43 gw modules last year, is known for its superiority in wafer production and technology. Company President Zhong Baoshen is attending the session on Decarbonization within this framework.
Ni Jun, Production Director of CATL, which makes one of every three electric vehicle batteries produced in the world, is a participant in the meeting on the Materials Age. In this context, the perspective of the company, which ranks first in R&D expenditures by far, on new technologies is eagerly awaited.