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A staff member walks past a wall bearing the painting of "Collaboration" at the Congress Center for the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2025 in Davos, Switzerland, January 19, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
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Economic globalization has emerged as a defining theme at the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) as world leaders gather in Davos, Switzerland, to explore new ways of collaboration.
"Economic globalization will bring some tensions and disagreements on distribution. These issues can only be resolved in the process of promoting economic globalization. Protectionism leads nowhere. Trade war has no winners," Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang stressed at the WEF on Tuesday.
According to the World Trade Organization, between 1995 and 2022, the share of middle- and low-income countries in global exports rose from 16 percent to 32 percent. In the meantime, developed countries, with their growth rates effectively boosted, did not lose out in this transition. Economic globalization, as Ding noted at Davos, is not a "you-lose-I-win" zero-sum game.
To expand the benefits of economic globalization, Ding urged fostering new drivers of global economic development. Cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technology and biomedicine present opportunities to enhance connectivity and accelerate the cultivation of new quality productive forces.
According to WEF statistics, 83 percent of executives see AI as a strategic priority for their organizations. While history has repeatedly proved the importance of innovation and technology in economic growth, the North-South divide, especially in technology, has become increasingly pronounced in recent years.
To address this, Ding, at Davos, called for more assistance to developing countries in building AI, smart energy and other advancements in key livelihood sectors so that more nations can board the fast train of digital economic development.
With its core AI industry reaching nearly 600 billion Chinese yuan ($82.5 billion), China has actively engaged in global AI governance, collaborating with the WEF and other international organizations to promote cooperation, said Chen Liming, chair of Greater China of the WEF, at Davos.
For instance, China has put forward the Global AI Governance Initiative to bridge the technology gap and ensure the security of AI. "This initiative is not only a positive response to global challenges but also provides an important reference for the international community on the issue of AI governance," Chen said.
A view at the Global Artificial Intelligence Product Application Expo in Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, December 10, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen also stressed the need to close the technology gap in her speech on Tuesday. "The focus will be to increase productivity by closing the innovation gap," Von der Leyen noted in the European Commission's roadmap for the next five years.
Apart from fostering AI-included new drivers, global leaders at the WEF also called for joint efforts to tackle major global challenges hindering economic development. Energy transition has been widely discussed at the WEF sessions.
"Clean energy is the mid-term answer because it is cheap, it creates good jobs here in the European Union and it strengthens our energy independence," Von der Leyen said, adding that Europe generates more electricity from wind and solar than from all fossil fuels combined.
China has been dedicated to energy transition as well. Since 2012, China's energy consumption per unit of GDP and carbon emission intensity have dropped by more than 26 percent and 35 percent, respectively, according to Ding. Currently, 70 percent of the photovoltaic components and 60 percent of wind power equipment worldwide come from China.
For global economic growth, more important than these efforts is the commitment of the international community to collaborate.
Ding, at the WEF, has called for the building of a community with a shared future for mankind several times. Von der Leyen also urged the international community to work together to avoid a global race to the bottom. But despite the goodwill, how to uphold multilateralism and promote inclusive development is still a challenge for a world that is becoming increasingly protectionist.
