DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- In the face of global uncertainties, cooperation remains essential to advance the global economy and foster sustainable growth, said participants at the five-day World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting, which concluded on Friday in Davos, Switzerland.
China's steady economic growth, marked by a 5 percent increase in 2024, has provided significant momentum to the global economy. WEF participants expressed confidence and optimism regarding China's economic prospects and contributions to global economic recovery.
UNCERTAINTIES AHEAD
While the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slightly revised its global economic growth forecast for 2025 to 3.3 percent, uncertainties and uneven growth remain key concerns.
During the annual meeting, politicians, leaders of international organizations, and business executives warned that protectionism and decoupling could severely undermine global economic growth and prosperity.
Trade protectionism has begun to resurge, Fred Hu, founder and chairman of Primavera Capital Group, told Xinhua during the WEF annual meeting, adding that it once triggered a global economic depression.
"Historical lessons have fully demonstrated that the path of protectionism is not sustainable," Hu said.
Voicing strong opposition to protectionism, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organization, said, "This will not really benefit anyone."
The WEF's Chief Economists Outlook report, released before the opening of the annual meeting, revealed that more than half of surveyed economists expect the global economy to weaken over the next year.
Their concerns stem from growing trade protectionism, global economic fragmentation, public debt and persistently high inflation.
Rising unilateralism and protectionism are intensifying geopolitical and economic fragmentation, while trade enhances the efficiency and dynamism of the global economy. The strain on multilateralism makes effective global cooperation more urgent than ever.
GLOBAL COOPERATION
In his closing remarks, WEF President Borge Brende said the world is at a time of immense consequence and uncertainty. "Political, geopolitical, and macroeconomic landscape -- all are shifting under our feet," he said.
Critical priorities such as driving economic growth, reducing carbon emissions, and finding ways to end conflicts require urgent attention, he said. "All of these challenges cannot wait, and the only way to make progress on these issues is by working together."
"Prosperity is indivisible. I can't prosper unless you are prospering," Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam said at the "Global Economic Outlook" session on Friday.
"No nation, even the largest, will prosper unless the rest of the world is prospering," he said.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva also highlighted that the evolving geopolitical landscape will reshape trade and economic relations, leading to more regional cooperation and supply chain-based collaboration.
"I think there is no way we can wipe out collaboration from the future of humanity," she said.
"Advancing global innovation, health, prosperity and resilience cannot be done alone. Leaders will need new mechanisms for working together on key priorities, even as they disagree on others, and the past several years have shown this balance is possible," said Bob Sternfels, global managing partner of McKinsey.
CHINA'S CONTRIBUTIONS
China's economic development garnered significant attention at the annual meeting, with participants expressing confidence in its growth prospects.
Hu noted that China's economic fundamentals are constantly improving and China's capital market is full of opportunities.
Though China's economy faces challenges in the short term, it still has many bright spots in the fields of manufacturing, new energy industry, consumer spending and technological innovation, he said.
China's high-quality economic development over the past few decades has injected momentum into global economic growth, and China will continue to be an "important engine" for driving global economic growth in the future, Hu said.
Joe Ngai, chairman of McKinsey & Company in Greater China, reaffirmed his confidence in China's economic fundamentals, describing the market as "full of opportunities and worthy of investment by global companies."
China's advancements in technology, including its rapid progress in artificial intelligence, drew widespread attention at the annual meeting.
Chen Liming, chair of Greater China for the WEF, highlighted China's contributions to global AI governance and its active collaboration with international organizations to share insights and foster cooperation.
"If you look at China, its entrepreneurialism, its development, Europe needs to be in the same footing," said Laurence Fink, chairman and chief executive officer of BlackRock, an asset management firm. ■