Summer Davos Chartering a New Course for Growth

by+Alex+Liu

Plagued by uncertainty and fresh stock market volatility， the world economy has been further weakened and will recover slower than expected. Furthermore， concerns about the health of Chinas economy， considered a ma- jor engine of the global recovery， grow as the worlds second largest economy faces a further slowdown this year.

In this context， over 1，700 prominent business leaders and scholars convened at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the New Champions， popu- larly known as the “Summer Davos，” sponsored by the World Economic Forum （WEF） in the coastal city of Dalian， northeastern Chinas Liaoning Province， to discuss pressing issues affecting China and the world， with an aim of chartering a new course for future growth.

Economic Crossroads

Recent global growth indicators paint an unsteady and uncertain picture， placing the world economy at crossroads.

Prior to this years Summer Davos， in July， the International Monetary Fund（IMF） downgraded its expected global growth for 2015 from 3.5 to 3.3 percent， citing weaker-than-expected economic activity in North America during the first quarter.

As the IMF stated in its latest edition of World Economic Outlook， “The slowdown reflects the dampening impact of lower commodity prices and tighter external financial conditions—particularly in Latin America and oil exporters， the rebalancing in China， and structural bottlenecks， as well as economic distress related to geopolitical factors—in the Commonwealth of Independent States and some countries in the Middle East and North Africa.”

While the IMF left its 2015 forecast for China unchanged at 6.8 percent， IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard remarked that it remained so amidst greater uncertainty.

Despite greater uncertainty in world economic prospects， participants at the Summer Davos still attempted to “charter a new course for growth，” which was the theme of this years event.

A critical question in todays world is how to stimulate global， sustainable and equitable growth. Addressing this question is imperative to driving long-term economic value， enabling individuals to improve their lives and ensuring a healthy future for the world we inhabit， according to Mitchell Baker， chair of Mozilla Foundation.

“Global growth is still moderate， so it is very important for us to work for growth，” declared Min Zhu， deputy managing director of the IMF， at a panel of Summer Davos. “The key driver of growth is structural reform. Meanwhile， the financial sector risk management is under construction. So countries need to monitor the financial sector to ensure financial stability.”