PM to attend World Economic Forum in Davos

Jinpeng will be the first Chinese leader to make an appearance at the conference in its’ 47 year history.

Donald Trump won’t send an official representative to the annual gathering of the world’s economic elite in Davos, taking place this week in the days leading up to his inauguration.

Observers noted the weird reality of Communist China calling for free trade while Trump, the leader of the free world, is pushing for protectionism. Other top Trump appointees will also pass up the forum. His presence at Davos was seen by some as an acknowledgement of concern about the impact that trade wars would have on the Chinese economy.

“Pursuing protectionism is like locking oneself in a dark room”, Mr Xi said. “While wind and rain may be kept outside, so are light and air”, he said.

He said that China had once had doubts about globalisation and about the merits of joining the World Trade Organisation, but it had chosen to swim in the “vast ocean of the global economy”.

The dynamics that have led to disgruntlement and alienation are only likely to intensify from here. The long-term decline of American capitalism, the Soviet bureaucracy’s dissolution of the USSR in 1991, and the United States rivalry with the rising economic power China and the reunified and resurgent Germany have undermined the existing political order.

“It’s in Xi’s interests to take every opportunity he can and present himself as this leader who is powerful, strong and visionary, to give himself some worldwide prestige”, said Kroeber, author of “China’s Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know”. But if Trump’s administration is incapable of articulating a more inclusive vision for the world, the cheerleaders of globalisation will increasingly look east.

This is the first time that a Chinese head of state will attend the Davos forum, which has raised people’s eyebrows around the world, attracting a great deal of media coverage.

Behind the scenes, China is keen to make deals with economies that feel their relationship with the United States will become strained or otherwise compromised while the buck stops with Trump. No further details were provided.

Xi’s speech also addressed globalization’s challenges, including the threat of global warming and a widening gap between the world’s richest and poorest. He also called on all nations to support the 2015 Paris climate change accord.

In a sign of China’s ambitions, more than half a dozen senior Chinese government figures joined Xi in traveling to Davos, a bigger and more high-level delegation than in previous years.

The World Economic Forum continues in the Swiss Alps through to Friday, January 20th. Schwab helped start the Forum in 1971. The unease over the domestic economy has driven capital flight, hurting the yuan currency, and cutting China’s foreign reserves to $3 trillion at year’s end from $3.25 trillion to begin 2016.

He argued that China’s moves to opening up its economy have been advantageous to the economy globally.

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