{"id":32701,"date":"2025-06-27T05:00:07","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T05:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=32701"},"modified":"2025-06-27T05:00:07","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T05:00:07","slug":"chinas-summer-davos-offers-rare-respite-from-trade-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=32701","title":{"rendered":"China\u2019s \u2018Summer Davos\u2019 offers rare respite from trade war"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As he took the stage to open the World Economic Forum in Tianjin this week, China\u2019s second-in-command Li Qiang drew a direct comparison to the first such event in the city during the global financial crisis of 2008.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople felt disoriented and anxious, not knowing whether the world economy could emerge from the difficult situation and where it was heading,\u201d the Chinese premier said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistory often rhymes,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s \u201cSummer Davos\u201d \u2014 China<\/a>\u2019s answer to the annual winter meeting of business leaders and heads of state in Switzerland \u2014 unfolded against a backdrop of similar uncertainties, with a conflict in the Middle East and a full-blown trade war between the US and China. <\/p>\n

Washington and Beijing struck a fragile truce<\/a> in London this month to reduce their tariffs, but the end of a 90-day pause on US levies against dozens of other countries still looms on July 9.<\/p>\n

The mood at the vast conference centre on the outskirts of Tianjin was upbeat, however, especially compared with recent years that were marked by the slow thaw of Covid measures and a weaker economic backdrop.<\/p>\n

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China\u2019s Premier Li Qiang was receptive to feedback from business leaders, according to one attendee at the summit<\/span> \u00a9 Jade Gao\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The World Economic Forum in China, which alternates between Tianjin and the city of Dalian, was paused for years during the pandemic. Its relaunch in 2023 was marked by a notable drop in US attendees<\/a> \u2014 a trend that persisted this year, with 950 Chinese participants far outnumbering 180 from Europe and 110 from North America. There were no representatives from the US government.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe big shift is before and after Covid,\u201d said Darko Matovski, co-founder of London artificial intelligence company casuaLens, who has attended the event since 2019. \u201cIt was more west and east, more equal, now I think it\u2019s more east\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not good or bad,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s just different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even so, delegates pointed to opportunities for growth at a time when the US has shaken up the global trading order and Beijing has sought to position itself as a stabilising force.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is more substance this year compared to last,\u201d said Chris Torrens, managing director for greater China at consultancy APCO. \u201cMore multinational companies are serious about ramping things up with China.\u201d<\/p>\n

As well as his opening address<\/a>, Li held a closed-door meeting with executives from multinational companies, where representatives from groups including Cisco, LG Chem, Unitel, Syensqo and Louis Dreyfus were invited to comment on the operating environment for foreign companies in China. Li was \u201cvery receptive and open to their feedback\u201d, which included concerns about the risk of sudden regulatory changes, according to one participant.<\/p>\n

Hussain Dawood, group chair of Pakistani conglomerate Engro Corp, said Li touted \u201copenness and fairness\u201d at the summit. He noted that the Chinese premier bowed twice to the audience.<\/p>\n

\"Britain\u2019s<\/picture>
Former UK prime minister Sir Tony Blair was among this year\u2019s participants<\/span> \u00a9 Jade Gao\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

China has sought to expand its relations with developing economies, unveiling tariff-free trade with 53 African countries this month, and Li cited the rise of the global south in his opening address.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the kind of forum with the biggest gathering of people who believe in globalisation,\u201d said Gao Yuning, an academic at Tsinghua University in Beijing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is still very important to have the chance to participate in face-to-face [meetings],\u201d he said, adding that the \u201coptimistic strategy for China is to keep a reciprocal tariff against the US, but actively lower its tariff against all other economies\u201d.<\/p>\n

The field of delegates this year included Carlson Tong, head of HKEX, and Liu Qiangdong, also known as Richard Liu, founder of ecommerce giant JD.com, as well as the prime ministers of Singapore, Vietnam and Senegal and the president of Ecuador.<\/p>\n

On the main stage, former British prime minister Sir Tony Blair outlined an emerging world order, which he said by mid-century would be directed by three superpowers: the US, China and India.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are people who do not want China to be powerful, and then there are people who are perfectly willing to accept that China should be powerful but wonder to what purpose this power will be put,\u201d he said, putting himself in the latter category.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I say to people is, we should be strong enough to deal with whatever happens in China, but we should be engaged with China,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

That sentiment was echoed by Arnold Puech d\u2019Alissac, president of the World Farmers\u2019 Organisation in Rome, who told the Financial Times he had a \u201cvery good meeting\u201d with a former Chinese WTO representative.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey [China] buy some of our products, [so] we need [a] connection with them,\u201d he said, pointing to French exports of flax, sugar, beef and cereal.\u00a0<\/p>\n