The World Economic Forum’s Summer Davos opens in Dalian, China, on June 23, the first major gathering under interim leadership and a darkening outlook for global growth.
The Forum’s 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions runs from June 23 to 25 under the theme Innovating at Scale. It will draw more than 1,700 leaders from over 90 countries across business, government and academia to discuss how new technology can lift economic growth.
The meeting is the first big event since a leadership shake up. Børge Brende stepped down as president and chief executive in February after scrutiny over ties to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, saying he had been unaware of Epstein’s past and criminal activities. An external review found no concerns beyond what had already been disclosed, and Alois Zwinggi, a Forum executive since 2010, now serves as interim president and chief executive.
The talks open against a weaker economic picture. The Forum pointed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which it said has cut its global growth forecast to 3.1 percent for 2026 from 3.4 percent in 2025, citing rising geopolitical risk, with a slight pickup expected in 2027.
For the host, the timing matters. China is using the gathering to promote its 15th Five Year Plan, which runs from 2026 to 2030 and leans on what Beijing calls high quality development in areas such as clean energy and advanced chips. Officials want global firms to buy into that drive, even as the economy contends with strains in property, demographics and debt.
Five questions frame the programme, from how technology can lift sluggish productivity to how the energy transition can sharpen competitiveness. One looms over the rest: jobs. The Forum cited an estimate that 40 percent of global employment is exposed to artificial intelligence (AI), a scale of disruption that will test education and skills systems worldwide. Zwinggi said the meeting is “an opportunity to focus on practical solutions.”
Africa has a seat at the head table. Samaila Zubairu, president of the Africa Finance Corporation, is among the leaders chairing the meeting, alongside executives from companies including Yara, Novartis and the Chinese battery maker behind much of the world’s electric vehicle supply. The Forum will livestream more than 50 sessions, including debates on the next billion jobs and the future of US and China relations.
