Global leaders underlined the importance of collaboration in new frontiers to spur growth amid a rapidly evolving global landscape at the ongoing 2024 Summer Davos.  

The 2024 Summer Davos, or the 15th Annual Meeting of the New Champions of the World Economic Forum, kicked off on June 25 in Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning Province. Themed “New Frontiers for Growth,” the event gathered 1,700 representatives of the political, business, academic and media communities from more than 100 countries and regions. 

While addressing the opening plenary on June 25, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said the theme carries profound practical relevance at a pivotal moment in global economic development.  

He said a wave of frontier technologies and industries with immense potential for breakthroughs is emerging, heralding hope for a new upward cycle in the global economy.  

The new frontiers encompass new technologies like information technology, energy technology and biotechnology, along with new industries such as artificial intelligence (AI), green energy, and biomedicine. 

“The correct course of action is to approach development issues with a broader perspective and a more inclusive mindset, seeking one’s own legitimate interests within the framework of expanding the pie together,” Li said. 

Representatives from different frontier sectors have affirmed the essential role of cooperation in advancing new growth drivers. 

The Global Battery Alliance (GBA), an organization uniting companies across the battery value chain, engages in initiatives such as mapping applicable regulations and standards that are affecting the global battery value chain. 

Inga Petersen, GBA’s Executive Director, said collaborative efforts are necessary to establish global battery standards. This way, they can help consumers identify quality products and counteract misinformation about issues like battery life and recycling to build consumer confidence on electric vehicle (EV) battery products.  

Wan Gang, President of the China Association for Science and Technology, believed that continued cooperation is necessary to address the challenges facing EV exports. 

He observed that while Chinese consumers driving imported cars is commonplace, the export of Chinese EVs still makes people uncomfortable. This is due to the lack of integration between trade and investment. Trade in goods provides new products, whereas investment trade boosts local economic growth. As a result, China is now seeking to invest in Europe and integrate into the local industrial chain. 

“The world is now in a situation where not only governments need to agree on trade, but cities must also engage in dialogue with each other. Cities are playing an increasingly important role on the international stage,” Niklas Gustafsson, head of the Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs at Volvo Group, said.  

Gustafsson told Beijing Review that it is important for cities around the world to engage in mutual exchange and cooperation, believing that only through such efforts can the green transition become sustainable from environmental, social, and economic perspectives. 

In the AI domain, global stakeholders also believe collaboration to be key. Erika Kraemer Mbula, Professor of Economics at the University of Johannesburg, described the challenges faced by African countries in developing AI as a “digital divide.” Key issues include the continent’s linguistic diversity, which complicates AI operations due to the lack of a unified language, limited Internet access, and insufficient electricity to support AI infrastructure.  

She emphasized that overcoming these hurdles requires international cooperation, warning that a failure to do so may leave Africa far behind in the AI era. 

Xue Lan, Dean of Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University, told Beijing Review that the global solutions for AI governance require collective international efforts.  

He said that when we think of atomic bombs, we might envision institutions like the United Nations. Although the atomic bomb is just an analogy, AI is fundamentally different as its impact is broader and more challenging to regulate and govern. All stakeholders need to work together, including institutions, governments, businesses and the general public. 

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon  

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