BEIJING – The ongoing 16th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, widely known as the Summer Davos, is drawing global attention as it takes place in north China's Tianjin Municipality.

Under the theme "Entrepreneurship for a New Era," the three-day event, which began on Tuesday, has brought together more than 1,700 influential participants from over 90 countries and regions. The focus is on how entrepreneurship and emerging technologies can drive more dynamic and resilient economies.

Speaking at the opening plenary on Wednesday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang underscored China's significant role in the global economy.

“The Chinese economy, with its further development, will continue to contribute to the world economy. Over the past years, the Chinese economy has remained an important engine of the world economy, contributing around 30 percent of global growth. The reason lies not just in China’s stability and high growth, but also in its openness and its linkage with the world economy,” said Premier Li.

He emphasized China's commitment to helping address global economic challenges.

“The Chinese economy has embraced the global market and integrated into the world economy; it is also driving global growth and promoting world development. In addition to that, China is willing to do all it can to help overcome the difficulties and challenges the world economy faces,” he added.

Li also extended an open invitation for global investment in China.

“The Chinese government will, as always, encourage and support entrepreneurs in their undertakings and endeavors, and continue to foster a market-oriented, world-class business environment governed by a sound legal framework. With arms wide open, we warmly welcome enterprises from around the world to invest in China, deepen your roots in China, develop alongside China, and work with us for a better future,” he said.

Highlighting the country's shift toward consumer-driven growth, Li noted: “We are intensifying our efforts to implement the strategy of expanding domestic demand by launching special initiatives to boost consumption. This will make China a mega-sized consumption powerhouse on top of being a manufacturing powerhouse. All these will provide more market space for enterprises around the world.”

On the topic of multilateralism, the premier stated: “We should take more practical steps proactively to safeguard free trade and multilateralism, and ensure the stable growth of the world economy.”
 

Tony Blair: Engage with a powerful and transforming China

Among the international voices at the forum was former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who advocated for continued engagement with China.

In a forum session on Tuesday, Blair described China as "probably the most remarkable story of transformation" in recent decades. He emphasized the importance of viewing China from its own perspective rather than through a Western lens.

“People like us profoundly disagree with them. China's got every right to be a major power, given its civilization, its population, its economy, and its technology,” said Blair, addressing critics of China's rise.

During his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday in Beijing, Blair also remarked that any effort to isolate China is bound to fail, asserting the world must better understand the country.

World Economic Forum President Børge Brende also expressed optimism about China’s economic outlook in an interview with Xinhua.

"I'm relatively optimistic for the Chinese economy, both in the medium-term and long-term. China has already diversified, in addition, China is pivoting from manufacturing of goods to more services and digital trade. We are also seeing a lot of new technologies being applied. China is doing very well in artificial intelligence (AI), on robotics," he said.
 

Tianjin in the spotlight: A hub for diplomacy and sustainability

Tianjin is expected to remain in the global spotlight in the months ahead, as it will host this year’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the autumn.

Known for its maritime legacy and international outlook, Tianjin exemplifies the "Shanghai Spirit" of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diverse civilizations, and the pursuit of common development—values that form the foundation of the SCO.

Tianjin's zero-carbon strategy further reflects these principles through its commitment to sustainable development.